by Matthew Friedman | Mar 17, 2026 | Commentary
I remember the day that my father brought me up the Bank of Montreal branch at Baie d‘Urfé Plaza to open my first bank account. I was 13 years old, flush with Bar Mitzvah checks (mostly in the amounts of $18 and $36), and in need of a safe place to keep it. Founded in...
by Matthew Friedman | Feb 26, 2026 | Commentary, Politics
Nuance does not seem possible on the left right now, especially with regard to our political heroes. This has been apparent in the gatekeeping around the memory of Jesse Jackson, and the revelations of Noam Chomsky’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. In either case,...
by Matthew Friedman | Jan 8, 2026 | Commentary, Politics
There was a time when any one of these things would have sparked a national crisis: The illegal and unconstitutional attack on a sovereign nation and the abduction of its leader; the persecution of a celebrated war hero, astronaut and elected official solely because...
by Matthew Friedman | Nov 12, 2025 | Commentary, Jewish Life
A couple of weeks ago, I had lunch with a friend from work. It’s something that I rarely have time to do, given my insane teaching schedule, so I welcomed the opportunity to sit down and have a friendly chat. The chat, over macaroni and cheese from the Whole Foods...
by Matthew Friedman | Jun 30, 2025 | Behind the Lines, Commentary
This is my Canada Day confession: I lost my “us“ about a decade ago, along with my “res“ and my “gues.” I stubbornly held onto them throughout graduate school in the United states, and I even have a footnote in my dissertation about my preference for “theatre“ rather...
by Matthew Friedman | Jun 18, 2025 | Commentary, Essays, Politics
I did not march last weekend. It is not that I don’t support the demonstrations, and I still feel guilty about not “doing my part,” but I am a permanent resident in the US. That makes me a barely-tolerated foreigner in the United States with the flimsy armor of a...