Innholdsfortegnelse for Best of Canada 2025 i Zoomer Magazine

SPOTLIGHT In this special double issue, we salute the Zoomer contributors who have been nominated for 2025 National Magazine Awards. Carolyn Abraham, a Toronto-based journalist, author and documentary producer, scored two nominations. “A Perfect Storm” (Dec. 2024/Jan. 2025), on the ethical dilemma of jugding mental capacity, was nominated for an Investigative Reporting award while “Perfect Prey,” on predatory marriages (which ran on everythingzoomer.com), received a nomination for Long-Form Feature Writing. Shanda Deziel, Zoomer’s talented features editor and top-notch journalist, scored our third nomination for “Calling the Shots” (Dec. 2024/Jan. 2025), her emotional and unfiltered cover profile of actor Jamie Lee Curtis. Canadian rocker Bryan Adams, Zoomer’s editor-at-large, captured our fourth nomination for Portrait Photography. In “Lost Boy Found” (Aug./Sept. 2024), Adams focused his lens on Kiefer Sutherland, once again delivering…

Prime Minister Mark Carney wasted no time outlining to Canadians his game plan for confronting the big issues of the day, whether it is sparring with the U.S. on tariffs, navigating global trade challenges, stimulating economic growth or defending national sovereignty. The 60-year-old Liberal leader peppered his election-night victory speech with grand nation-building plans: he promised to turn the country into “an energy superpower” that will allow us to “win this trade war” with the U.S. and “build the strongest economy in the G7” so that we can rebuff President Donald Trump and become “masters in our own home.” An ambitious program like this will occupy a great deal of the government’s attention, political capital and financial resources over the next few years. There’s a risk that, as the Liberals…

THE EARTH MOTHER PAMELA ANDERSON, 58 “It’s just part of life. I don’t want to do that chasing youth thing. I think that’s just a no-win situation. It’s going to happen so embrace it. Embrace it and have a young spirit.” —Anderson on the occasion of her 46th birthday in a profile by Ken Hegan (Summer 2013) POWER PLAY: Pamela Anderson has turned her Playmate persona on its head, taking ownership over her appearance by styling herself as a makeup-free beauty on a course-correcting second act. And it’s working. Encouraged by her two grown sons, Anderson leaned into vulnerability and authenticity in a recent memoir and documentary – along with her career-redefining role in The Last Showgirl – while embracing a slow-motion lifestyle back home on Vancouver Island. And it’s…

THE NUMBER CRUNCHER MARK CARNEY, 60 “There’s a hell of a mess to be cleaned up and … I think they’re secretly hoping you’re the hero they need, even if you do say pants instead of trousers: you’re the Dudley Do-Right of central banking, a model of Canadian restraint and steadiness.” —Elizabeth Renzetti’s open letter to Mark Carney after his appointment to Governor of the Bank of England (March 2013) POWER PLAY: For Mark Carney, the former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, who was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister two days before his 60th birthday, one is the pivotal number. He’s the first PM from the territories, the first who’s never before held political office, and the first in more than 130 years to represent a…

During the final moments of the Band’s last live show, Robbie Robertson ripped into the guitar solo on Don’t Do It, the song with that gut-wrenching refrain “Pleeease, don’t do it, don’t you break my heart.” In that moment, he writes in his 2016 memoir Testimony, “there were only the five of us in the world … My eyes circled the stage, taking in my brothers, Garth, Richard, Rick and Levon. This can’t be the final anything. This cannot be the end. What we have can never die, never fade away.” When it comes to the Band’s music, it remains as brilliant and revelatory today as the day the vinyl was pressed – or that night in 1976 at The Last Waltz, the star-studded farewell concert immortalized on film by…

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First there was outrage. Donald Trump’s tariffs, insults and assaults on our sovereignty felt like a betrayal by a best friend. Then came an uncharacteristic wave of Canadian patriotism. It made me swell with pride, especially because it was practical patriotism. And it made me resolve to do my bit. Like most of my friends, I started checking labels and putting U.S.-produced fruits, vegetables and even clothing back on the shelves. It felt really odd at first: I never thought I would target America in that way. On the contrary – “Made in the U.S.A.” usually gave me confidence. I downloaded the new digital apps that quickly came on stream to help us navigate the meaning of “Product of Canada” versus “Made in Canada” or “Packaged in Canada,” and I…

THE TOWER OF ROCK BRYAN ADAMS, 65 “I don’t sit and think about how I’m going to make myself rock in my old age. I’m grateful and I love singing, and I’m going to carry on doing it as long as people like it and as long as I’m loving it, too.” —Adams on the release of his Tracks of My Years album, in a profile by Brian D. Johnson (October 2014) POWER PLAY: At a time when the lines between musical genres are increasingly blurred and traditional rock is no longer ascendant on the charts, Bryan Adams is still showing up and giving it to us straight from the heart – and the accolades keep pouring in. After his induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022,…

THE WILD & CRAZY GUY DAN AYKROYD, 72 “I was born on July 1, 1952, in Ottawa, the grandson of a Mountie and [son of] a French mother and an English father … I’ve got maple syrup flowing in my veins.” —Aykroyd in an interview at his Ontario lakefront home (March 2016) POWER PLAY: He may not have been at 30 Rock for Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special, but this Kingston, Ont., resident’s enduring comedic legacy was at the heart of the celebration. An original cast member for four seasons, Dan Aykroyd set the bar for generations to follow, elevating the show with eccentric characters from the Coneheads to the wild and crazy Festrunks. Along with fellow Canuck and SNL creator, Lorne Michaels, Aykroyd opened the doors to future…

Caribana weekend in Toronto always features the summer’s hottest events, in both temperature and vibes, and none more so than Drake’s All Canadian North Stars concert in 2022, when the superstar rapper leveraged his global platform to salute the city’s pioneering hip hop and R&B artists he credits for paving his way. The multigenerational lineup of legends included emcees Kardinal Offishall, k-os, Maestro Fresh Wes and singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, who had been absent from the music scene in years prior. The sold-out audience erupted in frenzied delight at the unexpected appearance of the beloved 10-time Juno-winning songstress, who strolled out on stage at History singing her 2006 chart-topping club bop Promiscuous. “It’s like Honey Jam all over again tonight,” enthused Furtado, soaking up the adoration of the crowd and referencing…

LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel (2001) This trippy novel and surprise Booker Prize winner kicked off the century, telling the tale of a teenage boy from Pondicherry, India, sharing a lifeboat for months with four exotic wild animals (including a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker). Its 2012 film adaptation won four Oscars (including a best director statue for Ang Lee), while the innovative puppetry of the stage production made it a hit in the West End and on Broadway. It may be a fantasy story of adventure and survival, but its undercurrents are decidedly philosophical, touching on spirituality and humanity’s relationship with animals. THE POLISHED HOE by Austin Clarke (2002) Taking a page from modernist landmark Mrs. Dalloway, this is one of Canada’s most important novels examining the Black…

@ GOOD TIMES I’m still laughing at the “Comedy is Hard!” Prophet of Zoom cartoon (April/May 2025). I remember all those incredible comedians – they’re so missed. That’s when TV was great. Thank you! —Audrey Gilbert ALWAYS IN STYLE How great to see Peter Papapetrou in your magazine (April/May 2025). I read his “fashion formula” with much interest. I know that after 77 years of trying to find my style, these ideas will certainly help me finally get it right. It’s never too late! —Dorothy Rohne IMAGINE THAT Your magazine is always full of surprises – Yoko Ono and John Lennon! I went through my box of LPs and found their recording of Double Fantasy! We still have our stereo so I will listen to it – it’s been a…

WAS IN MONTREAL FOR THE CANADA-U.S. HOCKEY GAME IN THE 4 NATIONS CUP. I knew I needed to be there. A few nights later, I was at home in front of our TV for the final game, which Canada won 3–2 in overtime. I watched every moment, from before the game began to after it ended. I almost never do that. Those games, I knew, were going to say something – about Canadian players, about Canadian fans, about Canada. Maybe something about the United States too. I didn’t know what. Sports can tell big stories. I was one of two goalies for Canada in the Canada–Soviet Union series in 1972, the first international best-against-best hockey series. Until that moment, professional players from the NHL were not eligible to compete in…

As the Canadian-adjacent Elon Musk (via his Saskatchewan-born mother Maye, and his support of Trump’s 51st state fever dream) “dark-MAGAs” back to his Tesla factory floor after a failed foray chainsawing his way through American politics, an Edmonton-born Master of the Universe steps into the white-hot spotlight. Meet Gregory Edward Abel, 63, the current chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Abel has been tapped to succeed 94-year-old Warren Buffett, who will he step down as the head of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025. The surprise announcement at the annual shareholder’s meeting in May was hardly a shock: Abel is a 25-year veteran of the company, and the Oracle of Omaha’s long-time heir apparent. Buffett’s “buy and hold” strategy of investing in blue-chip companies, and essentially leaving it…

Cancer touches nearly every life, whether we have faced it ourselves, lost someone dear to us or are currently caring for a loved one or family member. But thanks to the groundbreaking efforts of four of our country’s leading researchers – Tak Mak, Juliet Daniel, Robin Urquhart and Dr. David Huntsman – we can look forward to a future where cancer is no longer a devastating diagnosis, but instead becomes a conquerable challenge. TAK MAK Trailblazing scientist in cancer immunotherapy As an undergrad in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, a Chinese student named Tak Mak took a job washing test tubes for $1 an hour. But his boss said Mak could earn $1.50 an hour if he did research, and so began the career of one of the most…

THE LITERARY LION MARGARET ATWOOD, 85 “The sky is never the limit – there’s always an invisible ceiling, and there are tremors when it’s being approached.” —Atwood writes in her essay “Debt: Not Just a Four-Letter Word” (March 2009) POWER PLAY: Somewhere near the beginning of the 21st century, Margaret Atwood became more than just one of our country’s most illustrious writers – she entered an oracle era. Her 2007 non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, came out a year before the financial banking crisis hit. Then, in 2017, the TV adaptation of her dystopian 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, seemingly foretold the assault on women’s rights and freedoms under U.S. President Donald Trump, who began his first term that year. Today, the always ferociously engaged…

The last words my husband said to me when I left for the five-star Fox Harb’r Resort in Nova Scotia was, “What if you come back a golfer?” Ha! Like that was possible. Sure, I was going to take a lesson and even attempt nine holes at what is considered one of the most beautiful courses in Canada, with its rugged Scottish feel and stunning cliffside ocean setting. But this was for work – and there was no way I was going to take up the sport that I have long considered the epitome of uncool. With its early tee times, dorky attire and elitist history, it’s always been completely at odds with my gen-X grunge and skater worldview. That said, golf has been dogging me my whole life; I…

The next time you see Keanu Reeves, keep a close eye on his hands. When given a compliment that’s particularly meaningful, he presses them together in a namaste expression of gratitude. When telling a good story or philosophizing on life’s mysteries, he either gesticulates wildly, arms shooting out in every direction, or he pulls them in close to his chest while turning his hands over and over each other, fingers wiggling and waggling – a physical manifestation of a mind searching for meaning. When he talks about his girlfriend, artist Alexandra Grant, he makes a motion that suggests his heart is growing in size. And in moments of excitement, he does a two-handed fist pump. Of course, he’s also internet-famous for his hover hands – the way he poses for…

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR by Shari Lapena (2016) The blockbuster success of 2012’s Gone Girl made way for a slew of books about perfect-seeming couples harbouring deep secrets. Ontario writer Shari Lapena’s spin features Marco and Anne, whose infant daughter, Cora, goes missing as they attend a dinner party of the cagey couple next door. Nearly a decade later, readers are still debating the twist-twist ending that made Lapena’s debut an international bestseller. THE LONELY HEARTS HOTEL by Heather O’Neill (2017) Montreal’s literary darling often lingers near memoir, but not so in this epic vintage-era love story between rebellious Rose and imaginative piano prodigy Pierrot, both abandoned in a Montreal orphanage at the beginning of the 20th century. O’Neill’s lovers yearn for each other but survive apart through the Roaring…