Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mehnaz Rafi, PhD Candidate, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into workplace systems and operations, it’s reshaping both how work tasks are completed and the very experience of work itself.

For many employees, AI is stress-testing their tolerance for uncertainty and job insecurity. Some positions are being automated entirely. Others are becoming redundant. In many cases, full-time roles are being reduced to part-time or contract work.

These changes have been very visible in this year’s news headlines. UPS, for example, announced 20,000 layoffs in April while expressing interest in deploying humanoid robots from Figure AI to take over warehouse tasks.

Recently, this disruption has moved beyond front-line roles. Amazon has revealed plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs to reorganize around AI-enhanced efficiency. Microsoft laid off roughly 6,000 employees — most of them software engineers and programmers — as AI systems now generate up to 30 per cent of new code on its projects.

Employees do not stand on equal footing in the face of these changes, nor do they experience the same level of vulnerability. The capacity to respond to AI-related job threats varies sharply based on income, education, race and digital access.

These disparities ultimately shape who can adapt and leverage new technological opportunities, and who becomes excluded from them and left behind.

AI’s uneven impact on the workforce

Employees face unequal vulnerability to AI-related job threats largely because automation disproportionately targets entry-level and front-line positions. These are typically lower-wage roles, often held by people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and marginalized communities.

Such positions typically involve routine or repetitive tasks in sectors like customer service, retail, administration, warehousing and food service. Reports show these jobs are up to 14 times more likely to be displaced than higher-wage positions. Women are 1.5 times more likely than men to be pushed into new occupations as a result.

People in these roles also face greater barriers in accessing employment and advancement opportunities, which perpetuates cycles of economic insecurity among groups that are already vulnerable.

In contrast, AI is significantly boosting efficiency and productivity for knowledge workers in higher-wage positions. Surveys show 75 per cent of knowledge workers now use AI tools and report a 66 per cent average increase in productivity.

These employees are far better positioned to integrate AI into their workflow. For example, national data shows that Canadian employees benefit most from AI when their jobs involve “complementary” tasks. These are tasks that AI can augment or enhance.

This complementarity is strongly tied to education. It is highest among employees with graduate degrees and steadily declines as education levels drop. As a result, the benefits associated with AI flow disproportionately to higher-educated, high-income professional workers, enabling them to manage larger workloads and complete tasks faster. Some workers save up to one-third of their work hours.

AI can also improve the quality of their work. Research shows consultants who use AI produce work that is more than 40 per cent higher in quality than those who don’t use AI. These advantages can accelerate career progression and income growth for people already in privileged socioeconomic positions.

These patterns reinforce existing class inequities by expanding opportunities for those in high-income, professional roles while deepening precarity for those in low-income, entry-level and front-line roles.

Uneven access to skills training

Upskilling and reskilling are often presented as solutions to AI-related job threats, but access to these opportunities is unevenly distributed across social groups.

Upskilling refers to developing more advanced skills within a current role, while reskilling involves learning entirely new skills to transition into a different job. High-income, highly educated professionals receive far more institutional support to upskill or reskill, such as employer-funded training, paid time to learn new tools and access to advanced digital tools.

In contrast, workers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and low-income jobs often lack the financial means, time and organizational support needed to develop new skills.

These structural gaps are reflected in participation rates: a survey by Gallup and Amazon shows that 75 per cent of workers in computer-related occupations engage in upskilling, compared with less than one-third of workers in office administration, food service, production and transportation roles.

As a result, workers in precarious and vulnerable positions are further disadvantaged by the barriers they face in accessing opportunities to respond to technological threats.

Digital access shapes who benefits

Differences in digital access and literacy create another layer of inequality in how different groups experience AI.

The digital divide is tied to disparities in digital and AI literacy across income, geography, age, education and occupation.

People in high-income, white-collar roles, urban areas and well-resourced institutions typically have reliable internet, AI tools and access to digital skills training. They also develop AI literacy through formal education and job training, which gives them more opportunities to experiment with AI and integrate it into their work.

However, those in manual jobs, rural areas, low-income households, marginalized communities and older age groups often lack stable connectivity, updated technology and access to formal training, making AI adoption more difficult for them.

This leaves them more vulnerable to AI-related job threats. These gaps in access and skills reinforce existing socioeconomic inequalities by concentrating the benefits of AI among advantaged groups while heightening the risks for those with fewer resources.

AI holds great potential to positively impact employees, organizations and the workplace. However, without equitable access to upskilling, reskilling, training, digital resources and AI literacy, the technology can deepen the disparities between different social groups. Closing these gaps and creating fair opportunities for adaptation is essential if AI is to benefit our society more broadly and equitably.

Mehnaz Rafi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. AI promises efficiency, but it’s also amplifying labour inequality – https://theconversation.com/ai-promises-efficiency-but-its-also-amplifying-labour-inequality-258772

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Alfiya Battalova, Assistant Professor in Justice Studies, Royal Roads University

This year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities centres on “fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”

The theme recognizes persistent barriers faced by disabled people: disproportionate poverty, employment discrimination, inadequate social protection and the denial of dignity and autonomy in care systems.

Accessibility gains and losses

In 2022, the disability rate for people aged 15 years and over in Canada was 27 per cent. Nearly eight million people identified as having one or more disabilities, an increase of 1.7 million people over 2017, when the disability rate was 22 per cent.

The United Nations’ latest review of Canada’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities praised Canada’s progress in adopting the Accessible Canada Act and accessibility legislation at the provincial/territorial levels.

At the same time, the committee identified several areas of deep concern, such as the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for disabled people whose death is not foreseeable. The report warns that inadequate supports risk normalizing death as a “solution” to poverty, lack of services and discrimination, and that the concept of choice can create a false dichotomy, enabling death without guaranteeing support.

All policies tell stories

All policies convey narratives and stories that carry values. They deal with questions of “why” as well as “how.”

Narratives distil and reflect a particular understanding of social and political relations. A story about disability as a phenomenon can be told from different perspectives. A medical model of disability views disability as a personal problem, a social model focuses on removing the barriers, and a human rights model introduces a language of rights and their protection. We often hear deficit-based stories rooted in the medical model about disability.

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) Track 2 in Canada tell contradictory stories about disability rights and state responsibility.

The ACA is framed as a landmark piece of human rights legislation, emphasizing inclusion, accessibility and the removal of barriers to ensure full participation for people with disabilities, with a vision of a barrier-free Canada by 2040. Disability activists played a central role in its development, and the law is celebrated for its systemic, proactive approach to tackling exclusion and discrimination, offering rights to consultation, representation and accessible information.

In contrast, the MAID regime, especially after the expansion through Bill C-7, has been criticized for normalizing assisted death as a response to suffering caused by lack of access to medical, disability and social support, rather than addressing the underlying barriers and systemic failures that the ACA promises to remove.

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A dangerous path: Why expanding access to medical assistance in dying keeps us up at night

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Research shows that the odds for having unmet needs for health-care services, medications, assistive aids or devices, or help with everyday activities increases with disability severity. A coalition of disability rights organizations and two personally affected individuals have filed a Charter challenge with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice opposing Track 2 of the MAID law, which extends eligibility to people whose death is not reasonably foreseeable.

Narrative accounts like the ones below, and research in bioethics, highlights that many people seek MAID not because they are terminally ill, but because they face poverty, inadequate housing and lack of care. This reveals a troubling contradiction: while the ACA proclaims a commitment to inclusion and support, MAID often functions as a default solution for those failed by the very systems the ACA aims to fix.

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Ontario Chief Coroner reports raise concerns that MAID policy and practice focus on access rather than protection

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The stories told by these two policies — on one hand, the promise of full inclusion and on the other, the normalization of state-facilitated death for those marginalized by inadequate support — reveal a profound tension in Canada’s approach to disability rights and social responsibility.

Troubling cases

Cases are emerging where people access MAID due to intolerable suffering caused by systemic failures. There is a story of 66-year-old Normand Meunier who requested medical assistance in dying following a hospital stay last year that left him with a severe bedsore. He died a few weeks later.

The coroner’s report on Meunier’s case highlights the need for guaranteed and prompt access to therapeutic mattresses for patients with spinal cord injuries. Québec coroner Dave Kimpton also calls on the province to create an advisory committee aimed at preventing and treating bedsores with new tools and training. Kimpton observes:

“It is now undeniable to me, after this research, that the body of someone with a spinal cord injury speaks a different language, and that health-care professionals must learn to decode it if they are to anticipate and effectively manage medical complications.”

The stories of disabled people advocating for life-saving treatment is an example of continuing devaluation of disabled lives. Jeremy Bray of Manitoba pleaded for continued coverage of medication for his Type 2 spinal muscular atrophy. In British Columbia, Charleigh Pollock’s family fought for continued coverage of the medication for her neurological disorder. These stories individualize disability and promote a medical model approach.

Disability justice, as championed by the late activist Alice Wong and her Disability Visibility project, insists that storytelling is not “add-on” advocacy — it is evidence that exposes how policies like MAID, income-testing and institutionalization feel on the ground. Wong’s work demonstrates that disabled people’s stories are a powerful form of resistance, providing evidence that disabled people exist in societies that often erase them.

In her book Dispatches from Disabled Country, activist, educator and researcher Catherine Frazee provides an alternative vision of living with a disability. She uses a metaphor of Disabled Country to describe a “place of refuge for outlaws from the rules of fitting in a place where the value of human life is intrinsic, not contingent on a place that yields itself to our being and our capacity to flourish.”

Re-examining Canada’s disability policy story

From a policy-research perspective, understanding these narrative dynamics is essential for evaluating the effects of laws such as the ACA and for anticipating the implications of MAID expansion.

Scholars argue that policy narratives influence everything from budget priorities to program eligibility criteria and institutional cultures. They also shape how disabled people imagine their futures — an increasingly important dimension of well-being research.

As Canada reflects on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, emerging evidence underscores the importance of aligning disability policy with the lived realities documented through research, monitoring processes and personal accounts.

Examining the narratives embedded in policy frameworks can help clarify how laws and institutions either support or hinder long-term flourishing for disabled people, and can offer insights into how stories told in policies ultimately align with societal values.

Alfiya Battalova does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Disability rights and services are shaped by the narratives embedded in policies like the Accessible Canada Act and MAID – https://theconversation.com/disability-rights-and-services-are-shaped-by-the-narratives-embedded-in-policies-like-the-accessible-canada-act-and-maid-271094

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mitchell McLarnon, Assistant Professor, Adult Education, Concordia University

Over the last decade, I’ve worked closely with Montréal educators and students to better understand how climate change education occurs in schools — and how climate change curricula and policies shape everyday experiences there.

In 2019, as part of a wider climate action plan, Montréal ambitiously committed to transitioning to zero waste by 2030.

With hopes of further reducing landfill waste, 22 schools across four school boards in Montréal were promised compost collection as part of the city’s zero-waste plan.

I interviewed three teachers from three different schools, one principal from another school and a school board employee to hear their analyses of how this program unfolded. The research suggests that to effectively expand composting and zero-waste climate action through schools, the labour of educators and other school workers must be factored into a “just transition.”

As a conceptual framework and practice, a “just transition” is an approach for connecting mechanisms of climate action with social fairness.

Importance of ‘just transition’

Montréal has goals to use a zero-waste model to reduce its emissions because food waste accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of emissions in the city. The aim is to ensure food waste is either being composted or that still-edible food finds its way to people experiencing food insecurity.

As communities grapple with climate change mitigation and adaption, efforts to realize global and local climate policy ambitions like zero waste are often premised upon the concept of a just transition.

Just transitions typically seek to reconcile environmental and social issues with a low-carbon and fossil-fuel-free future. Much of the research on just transitions encircles worker and labour rights from the energy, manufacturing, transport and related sectors as they move toward zero-emission outcomes.

My research points to teachers and other educational workers as key contributors for policy development toward a just transition. Because ecological and social crises are constructed and reproduced through power imbalances, a just transition away from fossil fuels and ecologically destructive practices also needs to be a departure from unequal and extractive ways of relating.

Zero waste by 2030?

During the pilot phase of the zero-waste plan’s implementation in schools, educational workers I partnered with stated they experienced a top-down policy implementation that created additional labour and misunderstandings while undercutting existing school composting programs and other established processes.

School board and city policymakers did not initially consider who would actually take on different compost-related tasks like sorting and transporting waste, and how this might intersect with labour relations and collective bargaining agreements.

As such, teachers and other school staff were compelled to take on additional and onerous tasks, such as organizing waste across the school, raising awareness and communicating with city workers.

For example, one participant said the only support and resources offered to their school by the city came in the form of two large composting bins and a short workshop on what goes into the city’s compost bins. They also felt there was an assumption that the compost would simply sort itself when someone needed to be present to ensure that organic matter ended up in the right place.

When the implementation of city-mediated school composting didn’t work well, some teachers intervened. In different schools, each having its own set of patterns, behaviours and peculiarities, varied responses emerged to the composting program.

One educator opted to work with the city on structuring the kind of compost support that would be pertinent for their school, while another motivated their students to participate during instructional time.

Teachers as key players

Increasingly, climate change education is included in provincial curricula. Along with this are mounting pressures on teachers to add climate change content into existing courses. In this way, teachers are being positioned as key players in addressing the global climate crisis.

Unfortunately, decades of austerity reforms to public education are now coupled with a growing list of unmet social, environmental and health needs (for example, pertaining to child and youth mental health, food insecurity and nutrition) that schools are tasked with addressing. Yet teachers are not structurally supported to take on this important new work.

It’s important that teachers and other educational workers be included in any large-scale policy implementation addressing students or educational spaces. For example, beyond the zero-waste project, the Canadian government announced a National School Food Policy in 2024 to address hunger and health inequities among Canadian youth, boost their mental and physical wellness and promote environmentally sustainable practices. Teacher expertise is crucial for equitable outcomes.

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Recognizing people’s labour

Montréal’s 2024 zero-waste report (Montréal objectif
zéro déchet) notes that the city now has 418 educational institutions with organic waste pickup. However, how much school waste is being diverted through the program and how it fits into the larger city’s zero-waste plans are unclear.

Policymakers mean well, but municipal policies need stronger social and structural supports to help stakeholders meet climate-action goals.

If our governments are indeed committed to connecting social justice and climate action, then they should also provide additional funding and labour to local schools to acknowledge the immense efforts required to develop and sustain these kinds of climate policies.

To sketch out where we might begin, I encourage governments to:

1. Realize that climate policy like composting and notions of zero waste in schools are dependent on the labour and care of students and multiple education workers, including custodians, teachers, day-care workers, principals and others who fell outside of the scope of my research;

2. Engage, recognize and compensate teachers and other school staff for their time, feedback and expertise on issues that impact them;

3. Incorporate teacher, student and school-based reactions to proposed projects’ overall goals. Use their input to make the proposed budget realistic and relevant;

4. Commit to transparency that allows local schools, teachers, education workers and organizers to receive meaningful and detailed updates on climate change mitigation data, benchmarks and budgetary allocations; and

5. Rather than contracting or using “experts” from outside of a school and its community, work with people in the education sector to hire local climate-engaged teachers and school staff to manage the initiatives.

All climate change mitigation efforts from cities, schools and individuals ought to be applauded and encouraged for attempting to better improve and adapt to the current climate crisis.

But as a society, we shouldn’t pretend that ineffective responses are good enough — instead, climate-engaged educators and policymakers must resolve to learn from experience and insight to improve responsive policy and practice.

Mitchell McLarnon receives funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec, le Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec and the Social Sciences Research Council of Canada

– ref. Zero waste in schools? Why factoring in labour is essential – https://theconversation.com/zero-waste-in-schools-why-factoring-in-labour-is-essential-263689

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eddy Ng, Smith Professor of Equity and Inclusion in Business, Queen’s University, Ontario

As Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — enters the workforce in growing numbers, Canadian employers are encountering a cohort whose expectations and behaviours signal a fundamental shift from current norms.

Unlike previous generations, Gen Z brings pragmatic sensibilities shaped by the unique social, economic and technological landscapes of their upbringing.

Gen Z grew up amid economic uncertainty, technological upheaval and heightened social awareness. Unlike millennials, who entered the job market with “great expectations” for rapid promotions and pay raises, Gen Z is more pragmatic.

And so if Canadian organizations want to attract, engage with and retain this generation of talent, it’s essential to understand what makes them tick.

Purpose, values and why Gen Z stays

Recent research shows that this generation values job security, work-life balance and mental health above all else. These preferences are shaped by formative experiences, including observing their Gen X parents navigate dual-career households and witnessing economic disruptions and automation-driven restructuring.

For Gen Z, stability is seen as essential for their well-being at work.

This generation is ambitious, albeit in ways that diverge from traditional hierarchical advancement. Rather than prioritizing vertical mobility, they seek roles that provide flexibility, meaningful contribution and alignment with personal values.

Central to Gen Z’s workplace vision is a desire to work for organizations that prioritize diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility. This generation is the most racially diverse in Canadian history and has grown up in a more socially conscious environment. They tend to hold strong views around equal treatment and environmental sustainability, often expecting their employers to “walk the talk.”

One report suggests that Gen Z employees are significantly more likely to remain with organizations that offer purpose-driven work, with retention likelihood increasing by a factor of 3.6 when such alignment exists.

The rise of “conscious unbossing”

One notable trend within Gen Z is the preference for collaboration over authority.

A recent survey reveals that nearly half of Gen Z professionals favour promotions that do not entail supervisory responsibilities. This reluctance stems from the perceived drawbacks of traditional leadership roles, including heightened stress, rigid scheduling and diminished autonomy.

Some Gen Z workers even indicate a willingness to accept reduced compensation to avoid managerial obligations. This phenomenon, described as “conscious unbossing,” presents a structural challenge for organizations anticipating leadership gaps as baby boomers retire and millennials ascend to senior positions. This means a reconceptualization of leadership, emphasizing project-based authority, mentorship opportunities and expertise-driven influence rather than hierarchical control.

This generation is also the first to grow up entirely within a digital ecosystem, resulting in expectations for seamless technological integration across work processes. Gen Z actively leverages AI tools for skill development, yet formal organizational training often lags behind these self-directed practices. If organizations don’t offer structured, technnology-based learning, digital gaps among employees will grow.

Employers will need to invest in continuous learning opportunities such as micro-credentialing, AI-driven platforms and intergenerational mentorship that can enhance skill acquisition while respecting Gen Z’s preference for autonomy.

Flexible work arrangements also constitute an important characteristic of Gen Z workers’ employment preferences. Having studied and entered the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, they view remote and hybrid work arrangements as normal rather than an exception.

Flexible scheduling and outcome-based performance metrics are perceived as baseline expectations rather than discretionary benefits. Employers that adhere rigidly to traditional work structures risk attrition among Gen Z employees. Instead, employers should prioritize policies that emphasize results over physical presence.

How employers must adapt or risk losing talent

To attract and retain Gen Z talent, Canadian employers should adopt evidence-based strategies that include redefining career pathways by moving away from traditional linear models toward frameworks that emphasize lateral mobility, project leadership and skills-based advancement.

As AI and algorithmic HR systems become more prevalent, employers must consider how these tools align with Gen Z’s ways of working. They expect technology to enhance — but not replace — the human side of work.

While AI and automation can improve efficiency, Gen Z places a premium on trust and authentic relationships. Employers should ensure transparency in algorithmic decision-making and maintain opportunities for personal interaction, as these elements are critical to engagement and retention for this cohort that values connection as much as convenience.

Sustainability is another priority for Gen Z. For this generation, climate action is not a marketing slogan, but a moral imperative. Employers must move beyond superficial “greenwashing” and embed sustainability into employment practices, from eco-friendly benefits to green office policies.

These initiatives should be inclusive, ensuring that environmental efforts also advance equity and deliver tangible benefits for all employees. Gen Z expects organizations to demonstrate measurable progress on both ecological and social fronts. Likewise, diversity and inclusion will remain critical for Gen Z, even in politically polarized environments.

And because this generation values guidance but prefers collaborative, non-hierarchical relationships, mentorship must also evolve. Employers should expand mentoring programs to include underrepresented groups, creating pathways for career stability and growth.

Understanding Gen Z and taking the steps to meet these new professionals where they are will help employers create the necessary trust for meaningful growth.

Eddy Ng receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. The future of work — according to Generation Z — is purposeful, digital and flexible – https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-work-according-to-generation-z-is-purposeful-digital-and-flexible-268951

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Brodie Ramin, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

A fault line in Canada’s Yukon territory has stirred after more than 12,000 years of geological sleep. Researchers studying the Tintina Fault, which stretches 1,000 kilometres from northeast British Columbia into the Yukon and towards Alaska, have found evidence that the fault has built up at least six metres of unrelieved strain.

Like a loaded weapon, it may now be primed for a massive earthquake. To most Canadians, the news passed as a remote curiosity from the North, but the fault lies within a tectonic system that extends under Western Canada and hints at deeper vulnerabilities in eastern Ontario and beyond. Below the surface lies an uneasy truth: Canada is not immune to catastrophe.

A wildfire burned through the hills of Los Angeles in early 2025. Schools closed, emergency alerts buzzed across phones and emergency crews scrambled to get ahead of the flames as Southern California experienced one of its worst wildfire seasons on record, again.

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False alerts — like the one sent during the Greater Los Angeles wildfires — can undermine trust and provoke anxiety

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Meanwhile, in Canada, smoke from record-breaking wildfires blanketed major cities, sending air quality plummeting in Ottawa, Toronto and Montréal.

These events may feel far apart, but they share one common feature: a failure to act before the crisis hits.

Ignoring early warning signs

A recent survey found that most Canadians don’t believe their communities are ready for a major disaster. And yet, outside of the occasional fire drill or emergency alert test, Canadians continue living as though preparedness is someone else’s job.

But readiness isn’t just about cramming bottled water into your basement or changing the batteries in your smoke alarms. It’s about how we think, and more importantly, what we choose to ignore.

As a writer and prevention-minded physician, I’ve spent years studying how disasters unfold and how they might have been prevented. My new book, Written in Blood: Lessons on Prevention from a Risky World, investigates tragedies like nuclear meltdowns, natural disasters and pandemics. In case after case, I found a pattern: early warning signs were ignored, systems failed to communicate and people trusted that “someone else” had it covered.

The real danger isn’t nature or technology, it’s complacency.

Responding to the last disaster, not the next one

In Canada, the year 2023 saw the most hectares burned in wildfire history. Yet only one in four Canadian households reported making any preparation for a weather-related emergency in the past year.

When we ignore the cracks in our systems, we normalize risk. It’s easy to imagine preparedness as the government’s job or the job of emergency responders. But the reality is more complex, and the responsibilities should be more widespread.

Cities continue using outdated flood-risk maps that underestimate current climate realities. Schools overlook basic upgrades to improve air quality or ventilation. Transit networks run on aging infrastructure.

Canada’s cyber-security agency recently warned that hostile entities are targeting internet-connected control systems across the country, including those that manage water supplies, energy infrastructure and agricultural operations.

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The lesson here isn’t that Canadians need to panic, it’s that they need to think differently. In sectors like aviation or nuclear energy, safety is baked into every process. These fields rely on layered safeguards, robust near-miss reporting and a culture of constant vigilance. They know safety isn’t a checkbox, it’s a mindset.

So why doesn’t that same mindset exist in other parts of our society, and how can Canadian officials ensure it does?

A prevention mindset

Instead of reacting to disasters once they happen, Canadians should be asking:

• What could go wrong here?
• What would I wish I had done if it does go wrong?

This approach — a prevention mindset — doesn’t mean living in fear. It means being proactive when the headlines are quiet. It means investing in safety when no crisis is visible and building defences before something breaks.

Take the Los Angeles wildfire as a case study. Fire crews had been warning about dry conditions for months. Urban expansion and outdated building codes exacerbated the damage.

At the same time, cities in Canada had barely updated evacuation plans or wildfire risk assessments, despite years of worsening climate conditions. Last summer, toxic wildfire smoke shut down outdoor events , harmed the lung health of a large proportion of Canadians and exposed major planning failures.

These are not just “acts of God.” They’re also policy choices, deferred upgrades and missing item lines in a budget. And they are repeated across sectors — from health care to cybersecurity, from education to urban planning.

Safety must be built

Disasters feel sudden, but their roots often stretch back years. In Written in Blood, I explore the slow buildup to catastrophes like the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, the Notre- Dame fire in Paris and the Beirut port explosion. These were not lightning strikes — they were failures of imagination, leadership and system design.

The next crisis, whether wildfire, data breach, infrastructure collapse or disease outbreak, is already somewhere on the horizon.

The question isn’t if it will happen. It’s whether we will meet it with surprise — or with a plan.

Brodie Ramin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. From earthquakes to wildfires, Canada is woefully ill-prepared for disasters – https://theconversation.com/from-earthquakes-to-wildfires-canada-is-woefully-ill-prepared-for-disasters-270848

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michel Bouchard, Professor of Anthropology, University of Northern British Columbia

As Russian tanks rolled towards Kyiv in February 2022, a quick Russian victory seemed assured. But as Ukrainian soldiers fought off Russian invaders, Ukrainian netizens launched waves of memes to provide hope to a nation under existential threat.

These memes often mocked Russian hubris and incompetence, drawing upon news and online clips as fodder to attack Russian propaganda.

One early meme taunted Russia after Ukrainians changed road signs to confuse the military convoys. The memes show a road sign indicating that the invaders should go straight and “go fuck yourself,” turn left to “go fuck yourself again” and head “to Russia to go fuck yourself.”

Another meme involved the young Ukrainian Border Guard at Snake Island, assailed by the Russian battleship the Moskva. The final words radioed to the enemy were: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” This phrase quickly became a meme, a shirt, and — just a few weeks later — a commemorative stamp issued by the Ukrainian post office.

Memes and genes

The term “meme” was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe “a unit of cultural transmission or a unit of imitation.”

He based it on the Greek word mimeme (something imitated). It was meant to parallel the biological concept of a gene — both the meme and the gene seek to replicate themselves and, if successful, are widely disseminated. They can also mutate, taking on new meanings as they evolve.

Memes came of age on social media platforms like Twitter, now X. They usually combine iconic images or short videos with pithy text to create humorous digital cultural creations circulated on social media. Much like the traditional editorial cartoons, they often offer social and political commentary on current events. Still, they are much more anarchic, as anyone can create and share memes, hoping they will go viral.

Memes are invariably highly symbolic and often draw in disparate elements from history and current events.

In one Ukrainian meme highlighting karmic retribution, a soldier and a dog watch the sinking Moskva as the dog cries out: “This is for my doghouse.” This meme refers to a photo circulated online that showed a doghouse perched on a Russian tank loaded with goods pillaged from Ukrainian households. The meme satirically highlighted Russian looting and tied it to the sinking of the Russian warship.

Ukrainian meme crusaders aim to counter Russian propaganda that justified Russia’s invasion. These propaganda efforts include paid detractors in Russian troll factories, as well as Russian and foreign vatniks — jingoistic proponents of Russian propaganda parroting unquestioningly what is put forward by Russian political and military leaders.

The term dates back to the 1960s, when grey cotton-wool jackets were issued to Soviet soldiers. The modern-day vatnik has been depicted disparagingly by Russian artist Anton Chadski as a patched-up hand with a black eye, a red nose and missing teeth. The image circulated widely on Russian social media and became prominent during the preliminary Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.

The role of NAFO

One of the most prominent and high-profile online communities of pro-Ukrainian keyboard warriors is the North Atlantic Fella Organization (NAFO/OFAN). It’s an internet meme and social media movement dedicated to battling propaganda and disinformation about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It floods the social media posts of Russian officials, propagandists and vatniks with memes.

NAFO “fellas” use avatars depicting Shiba Inu dogs in various dress and poses. It has grown to tens of thousands of fellas with no set leadership, but all guided by the catchphrase “see a fella, follow a fella.”

Memes like those created and circulate by NAFO also serve to insult Russia, presenting the nation as an outhouse, the army as inept and the Russian soldier as “orcs,” a fictional race of brutal and aggressive humanoids famously depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

In one meme, a cloven-hooved, crowned Vladimir Putin rides an outhouse tank spewing filth. Above him, the Russian word paRasha is written, which means a prison outhouse seat and is also used to signify nonsense, or simply bullshit. The “Rasha” is capitalized, playing on the Russian pronunciation of the English word Russia.

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Latest memes

Ukraine-focused meme-making continues. Memes have emerged mocking U.S. President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan.

In one, there is a massive American flag and Trump in the background; the plan is presented as a 28-component Trojan horse for Ukraine.

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Peace in Ukraine? Believe it when you see it, especially if Russian demands are prioritized

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Ukrainian aren’t just focused on Russia — they also challenge Ukrainian leaders and officials. In a recent meme, a pair of Ukrainian state operatives note: “And (Steve) Witkoff’s tapes are much more interesting than Mindich’s tapes…”

This is a double-barrelled jab. It refers to the 1,000-plus hours of secret recordings that were made during the explosive investigation of Ukrainian-Israeli entrepreneur Tymur Mindich’s alleged $100-million Ukrainian energy sector kick-backs, and revelations that Wirkoff, Trump’s envoy in peace talks, was advising Russian officials.

Ongoing Ukrainian memes are a testament to Ukraine’s continuing resistance to Russia, even when outsiders like Trump tell them they “have no cards” to play and that they should capitulate to Russia. They are a powerful force in contemporary Ukrainian nationalism.

Ukrainian scholar Daria Antsybor, a folklorist and anthropologist, co-authored this piece.

Michel Bouchard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Ctrl-alt-defy: How Ukrainians have used memes to counter Russia’s propaganda machine – https://theconversation.com/ctrl-alt-defy-how-ukrainians-have-used-memes-to-counter-russias-propaganda-machine-270767

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Lilian Barraclough, PhD Student, Social Practice and Transformational Change, University of Guelph

Youth engagement is critical in the fight for a just and sustainable future. And creating opportunities for young people is a vital part of a just transition away from fossil fuels.

The Canadian government’s 2025 federal budget has emphasized creating new opportunities for young people by establishing a Youth Climate Corps, providing employment placements in renewable energy, protecting biodiversity and retrofitting buildings. The government promised to invest $40 million over two years starting in 2026-27.

However, while the creation of the Youth Climate Corps is an encouraging step toward a more sustainable, equitable and resilient country, the 2025 budget simultaneously caters to the oil and gas industry, reducing requirements for urgent emissions reduction and increasing subsidies supporting oil and gas production.

Scientists have called for urgent and rapid cuts to fossil fuel production and emissions for decades in order to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. While Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared that Canada remains on track to meet the emissions reductions targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, the expansion of oil and gas brings this into question.

One of the leading causes of climate grief and anxiety among young people is government inaction, in Canada and elsewhere, that has led to feelings of betrayal, anger and despair about climate change.

In our research, colleagues and I have found that young Canadians are experiencing intense emotions related to the climate crisis, and they often have little to no hope for the future, envisioning apocalyptic conditions for themselves and their children.

Eco-anxiety

Although I am now a researcher, I have been involved in environmental and climate action since I was a child. I have witnessed the never-ending cycle of false commitments and lack of follow-through on the climate crisis.

Climate grief refers to grief in response to the losses caused by climate change — of trees, animals, place, homes as well as more intangible elements of culture and connection. Climate or eco-anxiety is defined by the American Psychological Association as “a chronic fear of environmental doom.”

Young Canadians describe their grief in visceral, embodied ways, emphasizing how their concerns about climate change invade their daily lives, relationships and life choices.

In our research, politically active youth expressed anger, frustration and hopelessness at the state of inaction on the climate crisis.

As one participant told us:

“There are times youth lose hope, when you try to push for something and then you have government push back and they just don’t get it when it makes so much sense to you that our climate is changing and we need to do something about it. Why would you not listen? Why aren’t you doing this?”

Youth need genuine engagement

It’s critical to involve more young people in the sectors addressing climate change and create better employment opportunities while building capacity to respond to increasing pressures from the realities of the climate crisis. The Youth Climate Corps is an important step in that direction.

The challenge, however, is that when youth are left out of the decisions that truly influence Canada’s ability to reduce emissions, address biodiversity loss and adapt to the changes we face, it reinforces feelings of betrayal and grief.

Models of youth-adult partnership on climate action show that the most important outcomes come from positive, meaningful youth engagement. These models, when paired with the real-world experience of youth activists, make it clear that both youth and their adult counterparts — in this case government decision-makers — have a responsibility to ensure that climate action is implemented in an intentional, thorough and meaningful way.

When youth are engaged in climate decision-making but the impact on overall action to address the crisis is negligible, it can reinforce and exacerbate climate grief and anxiety.

I see many of my peers facing an impossible job market, forced to take under-paying jobs that don’t align with their values and desires for change. The Youth Climate Corps undoubtedly represents progress, but the recent federal budget investment is limited. It will create few jobs and likely won’t meet the demands of young Canadians.

Limited progress in green jobs for young people doesn’t make up for Canada’s failure to reduce emissions and hold the fossil fuel industry accountable, making young Canadians question whether the federal budget is really one of “generational investment.”

Without inclusive decision-making and concrete action, young people will continue to feel grief and anxiety over the climate crisis and its impact on their health, well-being, jobs and future prospects.

Lilian Barraclough receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Youth Climate Lab and a regional representative for Ontario on the Young Greens Council of Canada and Youth Representative on the Green Party of Canada’s federal council.

– ref. Youth Climate Corps: Young Canadians need more action and less tokenization – https://theconversation.com/youth-climate-corps-young-canadians-need-more-action-and-less-tokenization-270050

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Eugene Y. Chan, Associate Professor of Marketing, Toronto Metropolitan University

Walk into any classroom, scroll through TikTok or sit in on a Gen Z focus group, and you’ll hear a familiar refrain: “We care, but nothing changes.”

Across climate action, racial justice and corporate ethics, many young people feel their values are out of sync with the systems around them and are skeptical that their voices, votes and dollars alone can address deep systemic problems.

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. But are young consumers truly powerless? Or are they simply navigating a new kind of influence that’s more diffuse, digital and demanding in ways previous generations did not experience?

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No one’s 20s and 30s look the same. You might be saving for a mortgage or just struggling to pay rent. You could be swiping dating apps, or trying to understand childcare. No matter your current challenges, our Quarter Life series has articles to share in the group chat, or just to remind you that you’re not alone.

Read more from Quarter Life:

• Feel like you can’t get a job? You’re not alone — but here’s how to work around it

• Moving abroad in your 20s can leave you with two identities – here’s how to cope

• ‘I have multiple side-hustles … It’s exhausting’: the challenges facing young freelance creatives

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The rise of political consumerism

Political consumerism — the act of buying or boycotting products for political or ethical reasons — is on the rise among younger generations.

A 2023 study found that 81 per cent of Gen Z consumers report changing purchasing decisions based on a brand’s reputation or actions, with 53 per cent having participated in economic boycotts.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 66 studies found that political consumerism is strongly associated with liberal ideology, political interest and media use. In other words, young people who are politically engaged are increasingly using their wallets to express their values.

For many young people, consumption is increasingly an expression of identity and belief. The rise of “lifestyle politics” involves a shift from traditional forms of participation like voting or protesting to everyday acts. For many Gen Z and millennial consumers, what you buy is who you are.

The limits of ethical consumption

Yet enthusiasm for ethical consumption often meets frustration. Consumers frequently encounter greenwashing, performative allyship and corporate backpedalling.

And if everyone’s “voting with their dollar,” why does so little seem to change? The answer lies in understanding the limits and leverage of consumer power.

Individual action alone isn’t enough. Buying ethically can feel good, but it rarely moves the needle on its own. Research suggests political polarization has made brand preferences more ideologically charged, but also more fragmented. A progressive boycott might spark headlines, but unless it’s sustained and widespread, it often fizzles out.

At the same time, enthusiasm for ethical consumption often runs into practical limits. Buying ethically usually requires extra money and the ability to research brands, so it tends to be most accessible to people with disposable income and good access to information. This means that while many young people strongly support ethical consumption, only those with sufficient financial resources are able to practice it consistently.

Where individual choices fall short, collective action can be more impactful. Co-ordinated campaigns like #GrabYourWallet, which targets companies linked to Donald Trump, or the youth-led push to divest university endowments from fossil fuels demonstrate the power of organized consumer advocacy.

Voting still matters

Consumer activism complements, but does not substitute, traditional civic engagement. Policy shapes markets, regulation sets boundaries for what companies can get away with and elected officials determine what corporations can and cannot do.

Yet voter turnout among young Canadians remains stubbornly low. In the 2021 federal election, only 46.7 per cent of eligible voters aged 18 to 24 cast a ballot, compared to 74.4 per cent of those aged 65 to 74.

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Read more:
Encouraging young people to vote requires understanding why they don’t

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In the United States 2020 presidential election, turnout among 18- to 34-year-olds was 57 per cent compared to 74 per cent for those 65 and older.

Simiarly, in the United Kingdom’s 2019 general election, only 53.6 per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds voted versus 77 per cent of those 65 and older, showing the same generational gap seen in Canada where older voters consistently out-participate younger ones.

If young people want to influence climate policy, housing or student debt, the ballot box remains one of their most potent tools.

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Read more:
Young people are less likely to vote – here’s how to help get your friends to the ballot box

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What actually makes a difference?

So how can young consumers move from performative gestures to meaningful change? Evidence suggests several ways young consumers can translate values into tangible change:

1. Support worker-led movements.

Rather than just boycotting a brand, consider supporting the workers organizing within it. Whether it’s Starbucks baristas unionizing for better labour conditions or garment workers demanding fair wages, consumer solidarity can amplify their efforts. Share their stories and respect their asks so you don’t cross picket lines, including when to boycott and when to buy.

2. Push for policy, not just products.

Advocate for systemic change such as supply chain transparency laws, supporting living wage campaigns or demanding climate disclosures from corporations. When consumer sentiment aligns with regulatory pressure, companies are far more likely to act.

3. Invest in local and co-operative alternatives.

Not all change comes from pressuring big brands. Sometimes, it’s about supporting local businesses, worker co-ops and social enterprises that embed ethics into their structure. These alternatives demonstrate what’s possible and keep money circulating in communities.

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Read more:
Why Canada needs a law that gives workers the right to govern their workplace

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4. Educate, organize, repeat.

Change is slow. It requires patience, persistence and people power. It involves educating peers, organizing campaigns and staying engaged even after media cycles fade. Montréal teenager Fatih Amin exemplifies this approach, having built a climate movement through poster campaigns, recycling competitions and Gen Z-focused conferences.

From cynicism to agency

It’s easy to feel cynical. The problems are big, the systems are entrenched and the stakes are high. But young people aren’t powerless. They’re navigating a landscape in which influence is less about individualism and more about strategic, collective action.

Political consumerism is most effective when paired with civic engagement and organizational membership. That means joining movements, building coalitions and recognizing that real change rarely comes from the checkout line alone.

So while individual choices matter, they are most effective when combined with collective action and civic engagement. If you’re seeking meaningful change, you must combine purchasing choices with organized campaigns, policy advocacy and voting.

Eugene Y. Chan receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. Why Gen Z and millennial consumers feel disillusioned — and how they can drive real change – https://theconversation.com/why-gen-z-and-millennial-consumers-feel-disillusioned-and-how-they-can-drive-real-change-270137

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Colin King, Director, Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic, Western University

What if a storybook could help parents manage their child’s anxiety?

Anxiety can be described as persistent, recurring intrusive thoughts or feelings, and physiological or behavioural responses that are considered disproportionate to the perceived threat. It is among the most common mental health concerns in children globally.

Anxiety typically emerges in early childhood and can significantly impair functioning across developmental stages. Typically, anxiety in children presents as avoidance of triggers or situations that make them anxious (for example, going to school), increased emotionality (like crying, tantrums) and cognitive challenges, including difficulty concentrating or impaired problem-solving abilities.

Despite the need for accessible interventions, it is estimated that more than half of children and youth experiencing mental health concerns do not access professional treatment.

This is especially true for children with “internalizing” problems such as anxiety. In Ontario, for example, only 32 per cent of youth who reported having anxiety were able to be seen by a mental health professional. Accessibility barriers include long wait lists, transportation barriers and financial constraints.

Our team at the Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic at Western University was interested in combining the use of storybooks that address anxiety or fears with the use of guiding questions informed by cognitive-behavioural therapy into a practical resource for families.

Parent-focused interventions

To address challenges to barriers in accessing mental health supports when there are concerns about anxiety, parent-focused interventions have been designed to provide guidance to caregivers who play a critical role in their children’s mental health and emotional development.

These interventions teach parents strategies to support their child’s mental health. This is about fostering positive parent-child interactions, promoting parental well-being and shaping more adaptive responses to their child’s emotional or behavioural challenges.

Although not a replacement for the direct guidance or involvement of a mental health professional, the increased interest in this approach recognizes that parents have an important role in supporting new learning for their child, such as promoting coping tools and strategies for anxiety.

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Read more:
As a child psychiatrist, I know it’s critical for kindergartens to embrace playful learning

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Some researchers have proposed that reading stories — both fiction and non-fiction — in dialogue with an attentive and caring adult could be a first step for children dealing with grief or anxiety.

Storybooks exploring experiences of anxiety

Storybooks enable children to feel less isolated with their experiences. They offer new opportunities to identify and label emotions and learn coping tools and strategies. A storybook for children with dental anxiety, for example, showed encouraging results in decreasing anxiety about dental visits.

Below are selected storybooks that explore different experiences of anxiety with guiding questions for parents. Questions are meant to reinforce key ideas, promote emotional awareness and help children connect the story to their own experiences.

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1. Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook is about a young girl who worries about everything, from missing the bus to making mistakes at school. With help from her teacher, Wilma learns to tell the difference between worries she can control and those she cannot, and begins to find ways to manage both.

Guiding questions:

• Wilma Jean shares a lot of worry thoughts, such as “What if I get picked last?” Do you ever have thoughts like this when you are feeling nervous?

• What do you think about sorting your worries into ones that you can and cannot control? How do you think this would impact how you feel?

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2. Juan Has the Jitters by Aneta Cruz is about a boy who gets a jittery feeling in his body when things feel unfamiliar, loud or unpredictable. With the support of his teacher, Juan is able to participate in a way that helps him feel settled and included.

Guiding questions:

• Have you ever felt the jitters? If so, what was going on while you were feeling this way?

• What sort of things do you do to help yourself feel calm?

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3. Chester the Brave by Audrey Penn is about a young raccoon who learns that bravery means doing something even when you feel scared. With help from his mother, Chester practices the “think-tell-do” strategy: when he feels afraid, he tells himself he can do it and takes a step toward facing his fears.

Guiding questions:

• Chester and the little robin feel worried when they have to present in front of their class. Do you ever feel that way when you have to speak in front of the class?

• “Think-tell-do” is what Chester tells himself when he feels like he can’t do something. What could you tell yourself if you are having a hard time facing something?

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4. Me and My Fear by Frenci Sanna is a story of a girl who has recently moved to a new country. In this unfamiliar place, fear begins to grow, making it harder for her to engage with others. As she befriends a classmate, she realizes others have fears. Slowly, her fear begins to shrink and she starts to feel more at home.

Guiding questions:

• Have you ever felt nervous or unsure about a new situation? What helped you feel a little better?

• When the girl notices that her new friend has a fear too, she begins to feel less alone. Have you ever realized that someone else felt the same way you did? How did that change how you felt?

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5. Bundle of Nerves: A Story of Courage by Mari Schuh is about a boy named Luis who feels anxious on his first day of school. His nervousness shows up as a “bundle of nerves” in his stomach, but with encouragement from his dad, Luis learns that courage means doing something even when you feel scared.

Guiding questions:

• When Luis was feeling nervous, his dad told him to “have courage” Who do you talk to when you feel nervous? What do they say that makes you feel better?

• Luis was scared to ride the bus, but he did it anyway. Can you think of a time when you did something even though it felt scary at first? What happened after you tried it?

By combining evidence-based strategies with tailored storybooks, our Parent and Caregiver Resource Guide provides a practical, accessible way to support children experiencing anxiety.

This approach helps caregivers promote understanding, start conversations and support their children in building early skills for identifying and managing early experiences of anxiety.

Colin King has received funding from the Miggsie Fund through the Lawson Foundation to support the creation of a parent storybook resource guide.

Amy Rzezniczek received funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Committee for previous research unrelated to current article.

Rachel Krahn has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Committee for research unrelated to the current article.

– ref. 5 storybooks to help children navigate anxiety, plus resources for parents – https://theconversation.com/5-storybooks-to-help-children-navigate-anxiety-plus-resources-for-parents-266714

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Emily Impett, Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto

Some relationships end loudly, most end quietly. There is no dramatic fight or sudden revelation. Instead, partners gradually stop showing up for each other in small, everyday ways.

The legal divorce, if it comes at all, is simply the final step in a separation that happened long before. “Quiet divorcing,” the term given to this slow, mostly invisible retreat from a long-term relationship, has recently gone viral.

Borrowing from the term “quiet quitting,” it has caught fire because it names an experience many people recognize but rarely articulate.

When relationships unravel slowly, it can feel confusing or even invisible to the couple themselves. But while the label “quiet divorcing” is new, relationship science has been studying this slow-burn breakup process for decades.

The danger of emotionally disengaging

Relationships can unravel in different ways, as American psychologist John Gottman’s research shows. Some couples experience escalating conflict early on, but for many long-term partnerships, the earliest signs of trouble are subtle: moments of emotional withdrawal or small bids for connection that go unanswered.

Relationship bids can come in different forms: a funny message during the day or pointing out a bird on a walk. When partners turn toward them with interest or warmth, closeness is strengthened. When those bids are ignored or brushed aside, distance slowly grows.

Longitudinal studies — research that follows the same couples over time — reveal that declines in positive engagement are a powerful predictor of relationship distress and, for couples who eventually separate after many years together, they often precede visible conflict by a long time.

In these relationships, satisfaction frequently shows a two-phase pattern: a long period of quiet disengagement followed by a sharper drop as the relationship approaches its endpoint. By the time problems are confronted directly, the emotional infrastructure of the relationship may already be hollowed out.

Boredom makes reconnecting harder

Boredom — a sense of predictability, stagnation and diminished excitement — is another key driver of slow relational decline.

In a nine-year longitudinal study, research found that couples who reported more boredom were less satisfied, even after researchers accounted for how satisfied couples were at the beginning of the study, an effect explained by declines in emotional closeness over time.

Other research shows that on days when couples feel bored, they are also less likely to engage in exciting, shared activities, and when they do, those moments feel less enjoyable and connecting. Over time, reductions in shared growth opportunities predict meaningful drops in romantic passion.

This helps explain why many partners “feel done” long before they officially end their relationship.

Relationships rarely collapse in a single moment. They fade through the quiet loss of shared moments that once made the relationship feel alive.

Why the term resonates right now

If researchers have known about these patterns for decades, why does “quiet divorcing” strike such a chord now?

The phrase resonates with contemporary cultural pressures. As U.S. psychology professor Eli Finkel argues in his book The All-or-Nothing Marriage, today’s couples often expect a relationship to be not just secure and supportive, but personally fulfilling and exciting.

When passion fades — as it naturally does for many couples over time — the shift is interpreted not as normal, but as a sign that something is fundamentally broken. Add in social media comparisons and performative affection online, and even subtle disengagement can feel especially stark.

While anyone can experience quiet disengagement, gendered patterns do emerge. Across multiple studies, women are more likely to detect emotional disconnect early, to seek conversations about relationship issues and to ultimately initiate divorce. Men, on average, are more likely to withdraw or avoid emotional confrontation.

Cultural norms play a role too. In many societies, women are expected to manage the emotional maintenance of relationships — noticing when something feels “off” and initiating conversations, organizing social plans or being the one to plan date nights to keep the couple emotionally connected.

When that invisible emotional labour is met with silence or resistance, research suggests it can erode feelings of being loved, increase distress and fuel conflict — conditions that make emotional disengagement and, eventually, relationship dissolution more likely.

When the slow fade can be reversed

“Quiet divorcing” highlights that many breakups are not discrete events, they are processes.

Researchers have observed that couples often undergo months, even years, of slow decline before the final unraveling. The tragedy is that many partners only recognize the growing distance once it feels too wide to cross.

Yet the same quiet, incremental shifts that create distance can, when redirected, begin to rebuild connection.

Responding to everyday bids for attention, expressing appreciation and introducing even small sparks of novelty into familiar routines can rebuild closeness. Declines in emotional and sexual engagement don’t always mean a relationship is doomed, they can be signals that it’s time to tend to it.

But not every relationship should be saved. Sometimes the quiet fade reflects an honest reckoning with the fact that the relationship no longer meets both partners’ needs or has become chronically painful or imbalanced. Recognizing that is not a failure.

Choosing to leave can be an act of care, not just for oneself, but for the possibility of a healthier life beyond the relationship.

Paying attention to the subtle changes in a relationship — the missing laughter, the waning curiosity, the pauses that go unfilled — gives couples the chance to course-correct. But it also gives them the clarity to know when reconnection is possible and when it’s time to just let go.

Emily Impett receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

– ref. ‘Quiet divorcing’ puts a new name to an old problem — the slow erosion of intimacy – https://theconversation.com/quiet-divorcing-puts-a-new-name-to-an-old-problem-the-slow-erosion-of-intimacy-270871