The U.S. isn’t the only country set to anoint a ring-wing, ultra-populist leader in 2025. If the polls are to be believed, Pierre Poilievre will boot Justin Trudeau from the PMO when the federal election rolls around this year. He wants to make Canada great again, and he’ll do so by dismantling every policy the Liberals hold dear while attempting to supercharge housing supply and crack down on immigration. Of course, Poilievre isn’t Canada’s only big story of 2025. AI will continue to loom large, worming its way into health care, public education and even wildfire prevention. Canadians will fight back-to-office mandates and embrace right-to-disconnect laws. First Nations communities will become the new Bay Street power players. And in the midst of inevitable political turmoil down south, a new season of fungus monsters on The Last of Us will remind us that things could always be worse.

This story appears in the January/February 2025 issue of Maclean’s. You can buy the issue here, subscribe to the magazine here or send a gift subscription here.