Everything is political — even when it’s dressed up as neutral.
Whether it’s the Bank of Canada raising rates in the name of “stability,” or politicians selling austerity as “fiscal responsibility,” the system is designed to protect power, not people. We’re told it’s pragmatic. Sensible. Necessary. But for most people, it just means working harder to fall further behind.
In Canada, the political conversation is often stuck in polite denial — allergic to clarity, terrified of confrontation, and obsessed with playing to a mythical centre.
Meanwhile, inequality deepens, fascists rebrand as moderates, and corporate interests continue to shape policy across party lines.
This Substack is for people who see through the performance. Who know something is deeply broken. And who want more than just a seat at a broken table — they want a new one built for everyone.
I come from the world of hockey writing, where I spent a lot of time thinking about narratives — the ones that get told, and the ones that don’t. Politics is no different.
The story we’re told is that the system’s mostly working, that change is slow but inevitable, and that if you just vote the right way, everything will be okay. But that’s not how it feels, is it?
This Substack is about what’s really happening — in Canadian politics, in U.S. dysfunction, in global upheavals — and why so many people are tuning out just when they need to be paying attention.
My name is Ryan Ritchie. I’m a former paid hockey expert (writer/editor) who stumbled into journalism the old-fashioned way — by paying attention. I don’t have a journalism degree or a list of credentials to flash, but what I do have is a deep obsession with power: who holds it, how they use it, and who gets left behind.
I came of age during the Great Recession, shaped more by student debt, low wages, and economic precarity than by any university lecture hall. I got a 92 in high school civics. Life just took me down a different path.
On one side of my family is Bill Thoms, a former NHLer who played over a decade for the Leafs, Blackhawks, and Bruins during the 1930s-1940s (tied Charlie Conacher for the league lead in goals one season).
On the other side is a more unexpected figure: my grandfather’s second cousin, John Diefenbaker, a conservative Prime Minister who gave Canada its Bill of Rights and spoke often of the “little guy.”
I spent most of my life barely mentioning the connection. But these days, I find myself thinking about his legacy — not as nostalgia, but as a contrast to the faux-populist far-right wave threatening democracies around the world.
What This Substack Will Cover:
- Canadian politics (mostly), with a side of U.S./Global geopolitics
- Deep dives where sports, culture, and politics collide
- Commentary on major events, with a focus on underlying power structures
- The odd hockey post — especially when it mirrors the world we’re living in
- Critique of liberal and centrist narratives, and how they enable right-wing authoritarianism
- Some irreverence, some ranting, but always grounded in analysis
- Personal stories and real-world experience woven throughout
If you're exhausted by both-sides-ism, tired of voting for the lesser evil, and sick of feeling powerless in a system where the rich hoard more while the rest of us pay more, you’ll probably feel at home here.
Thanks for checking out the Substack. I’ll be posting regularly. Think of it like a post-game presser meets political debrief, with a little more caffeine and a lot less bullshit.
Subscribe, share, stick around — and let’s tear through the noise together.
You can also follow me on Bluesky for updates and side projects, like my federal legislation tracker and bill analysis doc.
Transparency Disclosure (Where Your Money Goes & What to Expect):
One quick note before we wrap: if you’re considering becoming a paid subscriber (and thank you, seriously), there are a couple things you should know.
First, about subscriptions.
If you subscribe through the Substack app on Apple or Google, they take an extra cut — as much as 30% — from your payment. That’s money that doesn’t go to independent media, it goes to Big Tech.
If you want to make sure more of your support ends up here, subscribe directly through the website instead. Totally your call, of course — just want you to have the full picture.
Second, about the paywall.
For now, most — if not all — of the content will be free and accessible to everyone. The goal is to grow this project, not gatekeep it. That means limited perks for paid subscribers in the short term (though you’ll still get the ability to gift a month to a few folks and show some early support).
Over time, this will evolve — think bonus content, deeper dives, maybe even some behind-the-scenes breakdowns. But right now, your support isn’t buying access. It’s helping build the foundation.
This Substack isn’t backed by a media company or boosted by ad dollars. It’s just one guy with a laptop, a chip on his shoulder, and a drive to call bullshit where it needs calling. If that speaks to you, welcome aboard.
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