Alex Himelfarb

How we can deal with the American challenge, inequality, the rupture in world affairs and the climate crisis

As the world reels from the turmoil of American politics, former senior bureaucrat Alex Himelfarb addresses the challenges facing Canadians after decades of neoliberal thinking have undermined the capacity of governments to protect and support their citizens.

Himelfarb offers an insider’s account of how the neoliberal ideas of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were first brought to Canada by Brian Mulroney and Paul Martin. In 2025, Canadians opted for the unifying message of Mark Carney and Elbows Up, and Carney’s speech at Davos in early 2026 recognized that we need a whole new approach to the world’s politics and economics. Yet in a series of rapid decisions, his government has quietly reinforced the neoliberal agenda of unregulated industries, growing inequality, and limited action on climate change. Gaining a majority in mid-2026, the Carney government was free to pursue economic growth to achieve greater independence from US-Canada ties. Yet this single-minded agenda misses much of what Canadians expect and need from their federal government.

Drawing on 30 years at the highest levels of government, Himelfarb proposes a different path for a democratic and sustainable future in Canada. “If we understand how we got here,” he writes, “we will be in better shape to find our way out.”

Featured in the Toronto Star, Quill & Quire, Perspectives Journal and The Hot Room.