Five books about the Canada we inherited, the Canada we’ve become, and the Canada we can build next.
Canada As We Are is Christopher M. Michaud’s five-book examination of a country in transition. Across demographics, affordability, immigration, identity, democracy, work, opportunity and belonging, the series argues that Canada isn’t broken. It has changed, while many of its systems and expectations haven’t changed with it.
The natural starting point is The Canadianist Manifesto. It explains why I undertook this project, the questions that drove it, and the larger idea connecting the books. From there, the five books follow a natural progression, although each stands on its own and they can be read in any order.
1. After the Boom
The demographic shift underneath many of the pressures Canada is experiencing.
2. Canadianism
What can hold an increasingly diverse and complicated country together.
3. Democracy Renewed
Whether our political institutions still adequately represent the Canada we’ve become.
4. The New Canadian Covenant
A reframing of the Canadian Dream and the relationship between what Canadians should expect from their country and what citizens owe in return.
5. The New Canadiana
The human side of Canada’s transformation, told through immigration, arrival, belonging and the people becoming part of the Canadian story.
These aren’t books about returning to an earlier Canada. They’re about understanding the Canada that exists now clearly enough to decide what we want to build next.
Read one that interests you, or take the entire journey. Either way, Canada As We Are is an invitation to think seriously, and hopefully, about what comes next.
Christopher M. Michaud
Eremite Works
**Coming Sept 2026*
For generations, Canadians understood the deal, even though no one ever wrote it down.
Work hard. Contribute. Play by the rules. Build a life. And in return, Canada would provide a foundation sturdy enough to make that effort worthwhile.
But for a growin...
Christopher M. MIchaud
Eremite Works
From the assembly lines of Detroit to the factory towns of Southern Ontario, the North American auto industry did more than build cars. It built the modern middle class.
In Driven Wealth: The Rise, Fall and Future of the North American Auto Dream, Christopher M...
Christopher M. Michaud
Eremite Works
Something has changed in Canada.
Most Canadians can feel it, even if they struggle to put it into words. There's a growing sense that the country doesn't quite fit the way it used to. We argue more. We trust less. Politics increasingly feels like an endless cycle of accusation, reaction, and disa...
Christopher M. Michaud
Eremite Works
Canada is changing—and so is the story of what it means to be Canadian.
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Christopher M. Michaud
Eremite Works
After the Boom
Canada and the Demographic Shift
Canada is changing.
The country feels different than it once did. Housing has become harder to afford. Healthcare systems are under pressure. Cities are growing faster than their infrastructure can support. You...
Christopher M.Michaud
Eremite Works
Canada’s democracy is stable, respected, and widely trusted. But stability does not always mean alignment.
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Christopher M. Michaud
Eremite Works
CANADIANISM: A Calm Alternative for a Fractured Country offers a clear, centrist vision for Canada at a time of growing political division and national uncertainty. Grounded in pragmatism rather than ideology, the book presents practical, fact-based approaches to governance, economic resilience, hea...