The Leveller

"We Inherit Struggle" - The Leveller Progressive politics in Canada looked bleak at the end of 2024. For months, polling had indicated that a conservative movement was ascendant in Canada, mirroring Donald Trump’s return to the American ...

As part of our series on the #NDP leadership race, The Leveller spoke to @avilewis.ca about his candidacy. We asked about the political struggle moving from the streets to the ballot box, the rise of fascism and his family's legacy.

Read it here: leveller.ca/2026/02/we-i...

#cdnnews #cdnpoli

Wrote this - very excited to be working with @theleveller.bsky.social on making this a series!

Rob, Raw - The Leveller Progressive politics in Canada looked bleak at the end of 2024. For months, polling had indicated that a conservative movement was ascendant in Canada, mirroring Donald Trump’s return to the American ...

After our hypothetical #NDP leadership tournament, longshore union pres and worker, Rob Ashton announced his candidacy.

The Leveller spoke with @rob-for-ndp-leader.bsky.social on his reason for running, fundraising, AI, and the fight ahead: leveller.ca/2026/02/rob-...

#cdnnews #cdnpoli #ndp

No Woman Should Be a Statistic - The Leveller By Jaden Croucher Editor’s Note: This article discusses recent murders and violence against women. The Leveller has included List of Resources for women experiencing intimate partner violence and home...

The rates of femicide in #Ottawa hit record highs halfway through 2025. These murders were preventable. Advocates identify the lack of resources and safe & affordable accessible housing to women of all incomes as factors.
Read our report: leveller.ca/2026/01/no-w...
#ottpoli #ottnews #onnews #onpoli

CWA Canada stands with photojournalist Amber Bracken OTTAWA (Jan. 16, 2026) – Media Union CWA Canada proudly reiterates its support for photojournalist Amber Bracken as the first week of court hearings into her lawsuit against the RCMP wrap…

Media union CWA Canada “proudly reiterates its support for photojournalist Amber Bracken as the first week of court hearings into her lawsuit against the RCMP wraps up.”

cwacanada.ca/2026/01/16/c...

I Was a Juror in Immersive Stage Drama, The Jury Experience - The Leveller Death by AI: Who Pays The Price is a moral dilemma watered down to a trolley problem

“In terms of technological accuracy, I must say I was mildly impressed…However, the performances overall felt quite flat, leaving a lot to be desired.”

Our review of immersive court drama #TheJuryExperience Death by #AI where audience plays jurors at #CarletonU

leveller.ca/2026/01/i-wa...

Documenting Carleton's Institutional Impartiality Policy - The Leveller By Maxwell Heroux & Maheeshan Sivanesan H ow can a singular policy that initially upset functionally every student group and faculty member, still manage to pass? That is the question that prompted th...

really troubling things happening at Carleton University whose Board of Governors have approved an “institutional impartiality policy” which silences departments and groups and prevents them from speaking up against global injustices and genocides.

leveller.ca/2025/12/docu...

Documenting Carleton's Institutional Impartiality Policy - The Leveller By Maxwell Heroux & Maheeshan Sivanesan H ow can a singular policy that initially upset functionally every student group and faculty member, still manage to pass? That is the question that prompted th...

“85% of consultation responses oppose a policy... it raises serious questions about whose voices actually matter in university governance.”
#CarletonU passes policy students & faculty call a "gag order" after overwhelming opposition and time constraints.
leveller.ca/2025/12/docu...
#ottpoli #ottnews

Court Rules Ottawa Police Services Board Cherry-Picked Public Presenters - The Leveller By Peter Moore T he Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) discriminated against people who wanted to present information critical of the Ottawa police at its meetings, according to a small claims court ...

“They’re protecting the police’s interest. They’re not even protecting the public interest.”

Ottawa Police Board claims of fair and inclusive rules for participants countered by court ruling that community members' Charter rights were infringed.

Read about it here: leveller.ca/2025/12/cour...

Education Minister Gains New Superpowers to Target School Boards - The Leveller By Peter Moore O ntario’s education minister Paul Calandra now has unprecedented powers to suspend school boards without an independent review and to impose police placements in schools, thanks to new...

“There is no way this is solved by putting a school board under supervision.”
Rushed through, Bill 33 ignored opposition to the new powers the Ontario Minister of Education would have over schools around the province.
Read about it here: leveller.ca/2025/12/educ...
#ottpoli #ottnews #onpoli #onnnews

The Leveller’s Gift Giving Guide - The Leveller By The Leveller Staff Black Friday just smashed through our lives like a brick through a Starbucks window. Inboxes and mail room recycling bins become full of flyers misidentifying the last Friday of ...

Once again, the shopping season is upon us and so is Black Friday - Week - Month - whatever it's become.

For the best tips, tricks and deals these holidays, consider following The Leveller's Gift Giving Guide. This 2024 edition is still unfortunately relevant today!

leveller.ca/2024/11/the-...

Students at Carleton University Organize Sit-in for Students in Gaza - The Leveller Written by Maxwell Heroux and Maheeshan Sivanesan O n November 18, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Carleton University held a sit-in at the tunnel level of the MacOdrum Library to raise awa...

Last week, #CarletonUniversity students staged a sit in at the library in support of students in Gaza. More than 130 Palestinian students have been waiting months to be granted permits.

We spoke to sit-in organizers and attendees: leveller.ca/2025/11/stud...
#ottpoli #ottnews

Ottawa Illuminates City Hall in Palestinian Colours - The Leveller Written by Rahul Balasundaram Photography by Maheeshan Sivanesan O n November 15, the City of Ottawa illuminated the Heritage Building of City Hall and the Human Rights Monument in the colours of the ...

Last week, the Human Rights Monument and Heritage Building in #Ottawa were lit up in the colours of the Palestinian flag. Attendees sang the Palestine national anthem and listened speakers and singer.

The Leveller had a writer and photographer attend. Read about it here: leveller.ca/2025/11/otta...

Election Audits Should Serve the Public Interest not Punish Participation - The Leveller By Sam Hersh W hen Horizon Ottawa was put through a years-long election audit process sparked by former Taggart executive Ted Phillips, it was less an exercise in accountability and more a weaponizati...

The City of #Ottawa spent almost $500K pursuing a grassroots, volunteer-run organization's 2022 elections spending and reporting. A retired developer with a history of municipal candidate financing is to blame.

Read about it here: leveller.ca/2025/11/elec...

Conservative-Appointed Supervisor Cutting Class - The Leveller By Peter Moore Parents are asking questions after three months with Robert Plamondon as the provincially-appointed Supervisor of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB). The last two weeks h...

Vague, unspecific and lacking communication to parents from the provincially-appointed supervisor superseding the democratically elected #Ottawa school board.

We follow up on the turmoil of elementary and alternative program changes and cuts.

leveller.ca/2025/10/cons...

Ontario’s Recycling Targets in Jeopardy - The Leveller By Peter Moore Environmental groups are raising the alarm that Ontario is stepping away from its commitment to a circular economy that has producers recycle and reuse waste. Karen Wirsig is the plasti...

From Blue Bins to Beer Stores, recycling programs in Ontario are not meeting targets. We spoke to the Environmental Defence Fund and other environmental justice advocates about what happened and their concerns.
Read the full story:
leveller.ca/2025/09/onta...
#onpoli #onnews

I've spent the past month trying to understand what's going on behind the scenes at Ottawa's Capital Pride after they mysteriously removed their Palestine solidarity statement. Thanks to @theleveller.bsky.social for publishing this!

Putting the Community Back In Pride - The Leveller By: Emma Bainbridge For many spectators, Ottawa’s annual Capital Pride march took an unexpected turn when Queers 4 Palestine Ottawa (Q4P) and their allies stopped the parade on August 24 to make deman...

Queers For Palestine #Ottawa organized a demonstration within the #CapitalPride parade. For weeks, Palestinian solidarity activists were organizing - so were politicians and pro-genocide institutions. We explain what really happened in the run-up to these events.
leveller.ca/2025/09/putt...
#ottpoli

City of Ottawa Paves Way for Mass Evictions - The Leveller By Sneha Sumanth Editor’s Note: This article includes a timeline of events spanning September 2024 – August 2025. View it here. Tenants on Bank street between Lisgar and Nepean streets, known as Bank ...

An agreement between the City and landlord neglects tenants' demands and needs during a housing emergency.
We illustrated a timeline of a downtown #Ottawa demoviction in a feature following Bank St tenants from Sept to this weekend's eviction deadline.

leveller.ca/2025/08/city...

#ottpoli #onpoli

Nuclear power is making a comeback in Canada - The Leveller By Peter Moore Canadian environmental groups are questioning the wisdom of a nuclear power comeback in Ontario and its expansion to the rest of Canada. Energy generating projects are included in the f...

Billions in investment for #nuclear power is planned in #Canada - but is it in the national interest?

Energy justice advocates and environmentalists discuss Carney's and the provinces' plans for new plants and waste projects.

leveller.ca/2025/08/nucl...

#cdnpoli #onpoli #cdnnews #onnews

The Future of Ottawa School Board is Unclear Six Weeks Before Classes Start - The Leveller By Peter Moore With the start of the school year less than six weeks away, the budget and direction of the Ottawa Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) remains unknown to parents. On June 27, Ontario...

“They talk about transparency and accountability... but they don't do anything about it.”

The school board in Ottawa is just one of the elected boards taken over by provincial supervisors in the aftermath of Premier Ford's underfunding.

leveller.ca/2025/07/the-...

#onpoli #ottpoli

Super honoured to have been an editor on this piece.

The housing crisis in Ottawa has become untenable, but tenants have also started to organize and tell their stories like I’ve never seen before.

Give it a read, and consider organizing your building.

Rentals Became a Construction Site for Renovicted Tenants - The Leveller By Joy Keke Farouk Shaharudin has called Ottawa’s Golden Triangle home for four years. He lives in a walkable, central neighbourhood with his wife and 16-month-old son in an apartment he says he was o...

A rental building became a construction site in the Golden Triangle neighbourhood of #Ottawa as tenants live during renovations, receive N13 eviction notices.
Read about how Concorde Properties is renovicting tenants and how they are pushing back leveller.ca/2025/06/rent...
#onpoli #ottpoli #ottnews

Carleton’s Quiet Budget Cuts to Fund Genocide - The Leveller By Maxwell Heroux & Maheeshan Sivanesan B udget cuts at universities have become commonplace across Canada, especially in Ontario. Carleton University is no exception, as shown in the 2025-2026 Operat...

Carleton University's budget cuts staff and student resources, instructors as well as library and IT services, but invests millions into companies violating human rights despite calls for divestment.

We explore the educational disparity & student opposition:
leveller.ca/2025/06/carl...

#ottpoli

Black and white collage of books, zines, flags, buttons, masks, cards and a black flag. Text reads: We're tablings at the Ottawa Anarchist Bookfair! Saturday June 28th, 10am-4pm Jack Purcell Community Centre

The Ottawa Anarchist Bookfair is run by a group of local anarchists and anarchic-organizers who are interested in cultivating a culture of autonomous and decentralized organizing in so-called ottawa. Visit our table on Saturday and talk about the news!
More info: ottanarchistbookfair.noblogs.org

We are seeking editors and a writer for our June issue!

Do you want to be involved in power-challenging, community-based journalism?

Read our Contributors' Newsletter, forward it to people you know, respond to this opportunity and consider joining our July Story Meeting: leveller.ca?na=view&id=55

The 2025 NDP Leadership Bracket - The Leveller Progressive politics in Canada looked bleak at the end of 2024. For months, polling had indicated that a conservative movement was ascendant in Canada, mirroring Donald Trump’s return to the American ...

Forget your Fantasy Hockey brackets! We pit 56 contenders for the NDP leadership from around Canada and match them up to see who could potentially lead the party from non-status status-quo to something actually progressive.

Read about our theoretical choices: leveller.ca/2025/05/the-...

#cdnpoli

Heightened Calls to Shut Down CANSEC During Gaza Genocide Campaign - The Leveller by Adrian She The world’s biggest war profiteers will descend on Ottawa’s EY Centre this May 28-29 for the annual CANSEC convention, the Canadian defence and security trade show hosted by the Canadian...

"CANSEC isn’t just a trade show — it’s a symbol of the government’s refusal to act in the face of genocide"

We're reporting on the protests to Shut Down CANSEC at the #Ottawa EY Centre on May 28.

leveller.ca/2025/05/heig...

#ottpoli #onpoli #ottnews #onnews #palestine

A Month of May Days - The Leveller By The Leveller Staff Local anarchist collective, Punch Up Collective, announced a month of International Workers’ Day (IWD) actions and events, starting on the first of the month with a celebratory m...

Tomorrow marks International Workers' Day!

We dive into the recent history of actions here in Ottawa, anticipating an entire month of May Day events that includes protests, pickets and discussions, organized or promoted by local anarchists Punch Up Collective.

leveller.ca/2025/04/a-mo...
#ottpoli

“Bubble” By-law sets Ottawa on Dangerous Path - The Leveller By Tom Ledgley On October 30 2024, Ottawa City Council asked staff to study the possibility of creating zones around “vulnerable social infrastructure” where protests would be prohibited. This include...

“We will expect more fines, more tickets, and more charges against peaceful protests should this by-law be enacted.”

Check out our op-ed in the @leveller_ottawa to learn all about the implications of a "bubble bylaw" on protesting in #OttCity:

leveller.ca/2025/04/bubb...