Editorials - July 10, 2026
Shake It Off
Canada Day 2026 will be a memorable one for many people in southwestern Ontario. Not only was it a rare mid-week holiday, but a thunderstorm blew in very quickly in the late afternoon, giving little warning.
The strong winds took out many trees and branches resulting in widespread power outages. The entire village of Blyth lost power around 4 p.m., lasting until just after 1 p.m. the next day. In the modern era, this is a considerable amount of time. Not so many years ago, thunderstorms regularly resulted in power outages that could last hours or days but with the modernization of the electrical grid and improved restoration processes, we’ve become accustomed to little more than a blip. Now, when a storm rolls through many households have generators for backup but for those who don’t the lack of electricity can prove discombobulating. You wander through a darkened house, reaching for light switches without thought, grabbing the remote even though it isn’t more than a box of plastic and wires. Smart phones power the internet to cast to laptops and tablets, until batteries run out.
Then, on Thursday morning, as dozens of cars drove around Blyth to scout the damage from the fallen trees and high winds and charge up phones, Rogers went down. Now many of us no longer have landlines or, if we do, they are powered by electricity. Not being able to make any kind of phone call just added to the sense of isolation and disorientation.
In just a couple of short decades, we’ve become disproportionately reliant on a 2.5” x 6” piece of glass and titanium alloy that resides in our pockets and has become our lifeline to the outside world. – DS
Bad Blood
“Football unites the world.” So goes the FIFA global slogan to bring fans, players and coaches of all walks of life together to champion peace, health and equality. From Pride game protests to prohibitively high ticket prices to political interference spilling out onto the pitch, whether or not this round of football has united the world is unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump has officially meddled in World Cup proceedings, calling to request a red card review that saw an American player reinstated (it is, perhaps, not surprising that two of the most corrupt bodies on the planet found a way to work together on this). The economic benefit from hosting the World Cup, at least in Canada, has failed to materialize. The Canadian dream of World Cup glory, at least for now, has come to an end as Morocco brought the hosts back down to earth with a drubbing in Houston.
The action on the field has been, to put it mildly, meh. Many of the world’s soccer superpowers, such as the Netherlands, Germany and Brazil, were ousted early, while other Cinderella stories proliferate, at least until their lights of hope are, inevitably, snuffed out. Hydration breaks have had fans booing, pointing out the blatant corruption of FIFA and its scheme to generate more advertising dollars (there’s that word again) and a Toronto soccer fan has been arrested for holding up a sign that called out FIFA’s greed.
The 2026 World Cup will be remembered as the one that told fans that money talks and bullshit takes the bus. – SL
Anti-hero
For a wedding protected by non-disclosure agreements, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s big day has generated a remarkable amount of conversation. The details have been trickling out in dribs and drabs. The enormous guest list. The lavish setting. Adam Sandler officiating. Every new revelation has become a headline, proving once again that celebrity secrecy cannot compete with public curiosity.
The fascination is understandable. Swift and Kelce reached the top of their professions through talent and hard work. People have followed their careers for years, so it is natural to be interested when they get married. Good for them. Everyone deserves to celebrate finding the person they want to spend their life with.
But somewhere between “celebration” and “spectacle,” the mood shifts. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the rewards of success. The problem is the performance of excess at a time when so many people are struggling. At the same time, ordinary people are constantly told they must consume less, travel less and shrink their environmental footprint. Yet the wealthiest continue to stage ever more extravagant displays of abundance, applauded rather than questioned. It creates the impression that restraint is expected only of those who cannot afford extravagance.
None of this means Swift and Kelce’s marriage is any less genuine. If anything, it highlights how little any of the spectacle matters. Love does not require designer gowns, celebrity guests or a price tag that most people cannot comprehend.
Perhaps that is why the wedding has generated so much discussion. It is not really about Swift or Kelce. It is about what we choose to admire, and whether, in an era of rising inequality and environmental anxiety, we have become better at celebrating wealth than celebrating love. – SBS