The Best of 2025: Maclean’s Top 10 Stories on How to Fix Canada

One happy side effect of Trump’s trade war? It reminded us that we’re not the 51st state—and kickstarted our ambitions to finally behave like a grown-up country on the world stage. Our writers were bursting with ideas on how to get us there. Chris Keefer, co-founder of Canadians For Nuclear Energy, argued that Canada needs to invest in large nuclear reactors to tariff-proof our energy economy and satisfy surging demand. Michel Maisonneuve, a retired lieutenant-general with the Canadian Forces and senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, endorsed a mandatory national service program to bolster Canada’s institutions (military included). And, in our April issue, we featured a whopping 25 ideas, big and small, on how to solve the housing crisis. Here, the best ideas for how to fix Canada.

NO. 10

How Canada Can Become a Nuclear Superpower

The CANDU reactor, a 70-year-old Canadian technology, is our ace in the hole

By Chris Keefer

NO. 9

Canada Needs a National Vaccination Registry

COVID made it clear. Measles made it an emergency.

By Dawn Bowdish

NO. 8

Send In the Delivery Robots

Ready or not, Canadians will soon share their sidewalks with computerized couriers

By Sharif Virani

NO. 7

The Case For Solar-Powered Sidewalks

I helped build North America’s first solar sidewalk, generating enough electricity to power a house for half a year

By Amie Schellenberg

NO. 6

Give Canadian Kids $10,000 at Birth

Children are expensive. Government-managed investment accounts would give everyone a leg up.

By Joe Canavan

NO. 5

Canada Needs a Mandatory National Service

Our country can’t defend itself, and citizens aren’t patriotic enough to step up. It’s time to change that.

By Michel Maisonneuve

NO. 4

Fight Canada’s Water Shortage With Fog

Futuristic fog collectors can re-route clean water to where it’s needed on the ground

By Tatiana Estevez

NO. 3

Mine Canada’s E-Waste for Metals

Urban mining can recover critical minerals from phones, laptops and TVs—before they hit the landfill

By Gisele Azimi

NO. 2

Time to Privatize Canada Post

With another strike looming, we should enact a permanent fix for the country’s neverending mail woes

BY VINCENT GELOSO