IN 2019, I WAS LIVING IN IBADAN, NIGERIA, with my wife, Kenny, and our four-year-old son, Dotun. I worked as a high school teacher. One of my sisters, Jummy, had recently moved to Lethbridge, Alberta, with her husband, who was doing his postdoc there. They'd just had a son, so I flew to Canada that November to meet him. My trip was only supposed to last a few weeks, but Jummy liked having me around so much that she suggested I extend my stay until late March of 2020, so I could celebrate my birthday with them. I applied for extended leave from my job and rescheduled my flight home.
Then came COVID. I tried to get a flight out but the borders were closed. I was stuck in Alberta. I felt miserable and useless for the next few months, because I couldn't be a father to my son and a partner to my wife during such a difficult time. Sometimes I spent four hours on video calls with them, despite the seven-hour time difference. My son was upset with me. "You told me you'd be gone for a couple of weeks!" he cried.
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Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av Maclean's.
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The world feels like a ticking time bomb. Jennie Carignan, Canada's top general, has helped defuse a few of those.
FOR MONTHS NOW, Canadians have had their eyes locked on the border, anxiously anticipating what fresh, destabilizing hell America’s mercurial president will visit upon us next.
Far From Home
When I set out to photograph college students in my hometown of Sarnia, I found a small city transformed by thousands of international arrivals—and a community facing an uncertain future
Starstruck
Millions of Canadians are turning to the zodiac to understand the world and their place in it. How astrology became the new therapy.
Make Homes Float
In a world where floods are becoming alarmingly frequent, buoyant fo undations can keep buildings safely above water.
25 Bold, Entirely Doable Ways To Make Canada Affordable Again
It's an election year and, for once, all our federal party leaders agree on something: Canada is in the throes of a debilitating housing crisis that's wreaking political, economic and societal havoc.
A Lament for Canadian Nationalism
To confront Trump’s threats, Canada needs to once again find acommon purpose
Canada's Economy Is Stronger Than It Seems
Fixating on GDP blinds us to our other assets, like good health care and happiness
Pipe Dream
Winnipeg's pumphouse is a heritage building retrofitted for the housing crisis
Reuse Construction Materials
Much is lost when homes are demolished in the name of speed. With careful disassembly, high-quality materials could be used to make something new.
Trade wars, climate change, Bitcoin-B.C. Premier David Eby is preparing his province for everything
BACK IN JANUARY, with an inconveniently prorogued Parliament and the U.S. president pressing on their necks with some very un-ally-like tariff threats, Canada's premiers decided to defend themselves.
