Editorials - Jan. 23, 2026
Get your hands dirty
It seems there is a limit to humankind’s capacity for virtual entertainment, or perhaps it’s an antidote for so-called “doom-scrolling”, but Michael’s, the retail mecca for crafters and hobbyists, has reported a 186 per cent increase in searches and a whopping 86 per cent increase in the sales of craft kits. Searches for yarn kits (now known as a grandma hobby - ouch) saw an uptick of 1,200 per cent!
More people are using crafting as a mental health break from their devices. Instead of giving up technology for short-term breaks, this new shift is seeing more and more people slowing down and finding different ways to complete tasks and entertain themselves. Research consistently shows that engaging in creative activities can lead to reduced stress, improved mood, increased cognitive function, and even physical health benefits. Over 10 years ago, a study by the American Journal of Public Health concluded that arts engagement is linked to better emotional resilience, reduced anxiety and an enhanced sense of purpose. Now, a generation raised online is discovering the benefits. Of course, they are calling it “analog lifestyle”, but that is a rant for another day.
It is also a backlash to the AI platforms that are increasingly doing the thinking and creating for us. Humans need to think and feel and create, and having a constant feed of artificially-generated stories and pictures may be spurring many to go offline to find both original content and their own creativity. Tactile hobbies like knitting, crocheting, needlework and painting have kept generations sane. It’s a good time to put down the phone and pick up a needle or paintbrush. – DS
A shifting narrative
Speaking to the media after striking a new trade deal with China, Prime Minister Mark Carney - in something like a student film version of the big blockbuster film he’d screen with his speech this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos - said that Canada must “take the world as it is - not as we wish it to be” in regards to trade. He echoed these sentiments in the aforementioned Davos, saying the old world order is gone and is unlikely to return, so nations must be creative.
Many have turned their noses up at Carney’s deal with China. Now, there are many Canadians who would turn their noses up at Carney curing cancer, if he happened to do it, but among non-mouth-frothers, there are reasons to not instantly love this new direction. However, as Carney suggested, nostalgia for the old-world relationship with the U.S. is rooted in an alternate reality in which the U.S. is a reliable trade partner that doesn’t want to take over its allied countries. That isn’t the world we live in today, so concessions must be made and the economy must keep moving forward with different drivers and new passengers.
While navigating an increasingly unstable U.S., Carney’s preached the old adage of controlling what is within Canada’s grasp and this is an example of that. Not everyone is going to love a trade relationship with China (which we already had anyway), but the important part is that it is Canada actively making that decision, not sitting on its hands and reacting to the most unpredictable political force in a generation.
The winds of change are howling and hope is not a strategy. – SL
A blizzard by another name
Southern Ontario was in the grip of a blizzard this week, the kind that erases horizons, buries reliable landmarks and humbles even the most confident forecast. It’s a fitting metaphor for the way world news has arrived in 2026. The headlines have not come one at a time, politely spaced and easily processed. They have arrived like lake-effect snow: relentless, overlapping and disorienting. Before one story can be fully understood, another barrels in behind it, driven by a different wind, demanding urgency. Political upheavals, economic anxieties, technological shocks, environmental alarms; each on its own would be enough to command our focus. Together, they’re closer to a whiteout.
In these conditions, the danger is not just the storm itself, but the loss of perspective. Up becomes down. Near feels far. Panic sets in when orientation fails. In the news cycle, the same applies. When everything feels catastrophic, it becomes tempting to treat nothing as manageable. Fatigue replaces engagement. Cynicism sets in like frostbite.
And yet, anyone who has lived through a real southern Ontario blizzard knows the quiet truth: survival is rarely a solo act. You shovel your neighbour’s sidewalk because they’re elderly or stuck at work. Someone else pushes your car free when the wheels spin uselessly.
We cannot stop the snow from falling, just as we cannot pause the world while we catch our breath. What we can do is dig each other out. Share reliable information instead of amplifying outrage. Check in on those who are overwhelmed rather than dismissing them as uninformed or indifferent. Slow the pace where possible; clarity often comes from patience, not speed. Eventually, the snow stops. It always does.
For now, the forecast is in flux. Keep your footing. Lend a hand. Look up when you can. – SBS