Every year at rabble.ca, our team of journalists work to share stories that lift up unheard voices, speak truth to power, and hopefully leave our readers more informed so they can be active participants in our democratic society.
This past year was as dramatic as any other in recent memory, and the following is a collection of a few of those top stories that defined rabble’s coverage in 2024 – and what we will continue to follow in 2025.
Depravity and defiance
Israel’s assault on Palestinians continued unabated in 2024.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel and killed over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped over 100 others. In response to that attack, Israel invaded Gaza and since the start of their invasion over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children.
Since then, organizations like Amnesty International have condemned Israel’s invasion as an act of genocide.
The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for the arrest of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes committed against the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, in Canada and around the world, a protest movement has grown calling for an end of the invasion, accountability for alleged perpetrators of genocide and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
Nowhere was this more evident in North America than the encampment protests that took place at post-secondary institutions across the continent. For months students encamped on the university campuses demanding that their schools divest themselves from investments in Israel. rabble.ca spoke to folks in the encampments, and those in support from outside, in written content and on our flagship podcast rabble radio.
Feds use labour code to violate workers rights
A worrying trend for the labour movement this year was the repeated use by the federal government of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code.
Section 107 allows the federal labour minister to direct labour relations boards to, quote “do such things as the minister deems necessary,” including forcing two parties into binding arbitration and ending work disruptions like strikes or lockouts.
This legislation which violates workers’ rights to bargain with their employer was used four separate times this year alone.
It was used to end a strike at WestJet, to force striking dock workers in Montreal and Vancouver back on the job and the same thing was also done to end a labour dispute at the Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.
Most recently, it was used to end a weeks-long strike by members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
Labour leaders warn that the use of this legislation discourages honest and open bargaining between workers and employers and its continued use will be a focus for labour in 2025.
Keeping a close eye on all labour coverage in 2024, was rabble reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga. Catch up on their work from the past year here.
Liberal government slowly disintegrates
After nearly 10 years in power, the once mighty Liberal juggernaut seems to have lost the last of its steam this year.
With the party falling precipitously in the polls, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent most of the past six months refusing to resign.
This despite losing the support of the NDP. In 2023 the NDP engaged with the Liberals in a supply-confidence agreement where the NDP agreed to keep the minority government in place in exchange for key pieces of legislation, including a national dental care plan, pharmacare and federal anti-scab legislation. In the summer of 2024, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh chose to end the agreement, leaving the Liberals vulnerable.
“The fact is the Liberals are too weak, too selfish, and too beholden to corporate interests to fight for people,” Singh said at the time.
Things only got worse for the Liberals for the rest of the year.
They lost by-election after by-election and all of these defeats led to growing tension within the top echelons of the party.
That tension finally spilled over this month when long-time deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland announced her resignation from cabinet.
In the days that followed, the NDP announced that they would call for a vote of non-confidence in the Trudeau government when Parliament returned from their winter break.
Far-right extremism triumphs in the US; what does it mean for Canada?
Donald Trump, backed by far-right billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, was re-elected as president of the United States this November.
With Trump returning to the White House many fear what is to come. In his first term, Trump appointed far-right activist judges who took away a woman’s right to choose what happens to her own body. Trump also encouraged violence against those on the left at home while allying and supporting fascist dictators overseas like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.
Wasting no time after his re-election, Trump has already been explicitly threatening Canada, both with a 25 per cent tariff he says he intends to place on all Canadian goods sold in the US, as well as by “joking” that Canada should become the US’ 51st state.
Final thoughts and looking ahead
2024 could have been a year that filled us with hope and optimism for the future. Instead, this past year has laid the seeds for what is sure to be difficult and tumultuous times in 2025 and beyond.
Whether it be in protecting labour rights, fighting the rise of authoritarianism and fascism, or uncertainty about a federal election that is sure to come in the new year, those on the left now more than ever must be prepared to meet these challenges united, with energy and hardened resolve.
In 2025, I feel it will be more important than ever to remember Tommy Douglas’ famous quote: “Courage, my friends; ’tis not too late to build a better world.”
We have a lot of work ahead of us in 2025. Help support rabble.ca in our work –in 2025 and beyond– by becoming a monthly donor during our winter fundraiser. Every bit counts!
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Nick Seebruch, editor
