The return of Donald Trump to the White House in January was the dispiriting start of an often miserable year.Alex Brandon/The Associated Press
In all too many ways, 2025 was the darkest year of a dark decade. The return of Donald Trump, and the disintegration of the post-war world. Wars that stretched on for far too long. And a resurgence in antisemitism that culminated in a murderous attack in Australia last month at the start of Hanukkah.
It might seem trite, then, to think about causes for optimism in the year just past. We would argue the opposite: it is during the darkest times that the existence of good things, of joy, needs to be cherished most. With that in mind, here are some of the things we think worth taking solace in.
The red wave of patriotism: Mr. Trump’s campaign of economic coercion and decidedly unsubtle threats to Canada’s existence had one decidedly positive, and somewhat unexpected, effect: a resurgence in patriotic pride.
The maple leaf was something to celebrate, rather than leave at half-mast. A national mood of malaise dissipated with astonishing speed.
It was more than a slogan for Canadians: the determination to resist Mr. Trump’s annexationist ambitions continues to show up in plummeting tourist trips to the U.S., and a continuing boycott of American goods.
The resurgence of the orca whale population: Sometimes news comes in (relatively) small packages, like the new calf born to the endangered southern resident killer whale K Pod last month, the first in three years. That won’t move the whales off the endangered list, but it is definitely a turn in the right direction.
The resurgence of the Blue Jays: Speaking of endangered species, the winning Canadian baseball team made a comeback this year, with the Toronto Blue Jays coming agonizingly close to winning the World Series. No matter – fans saw the best game that baseball has to offer. And the Jays demonstrated how far grit and love of the game can take you.
The new horizons of the Canadian economy: For far too long, Canada’s economic thinking has been stuck in a morass of can’t do: regulations, rising taxes and a federal government seemingly ashamed of an economy blessed by natural resources. (Witness: the supposed lack of a business case for LNG exports from the East Coast.) That began to change this year, prompted by the pressure of the U.S. tariff war. Interprovincial trade barriers are being dismantled, a new liquefied natural gas export facility began operating in British Columbia and, perhaps most significantly, Ottawa and Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding that creates the foundation for a new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast.
It’s only a start, but Canada is at least reaching for possibilities, not grasping for excuses.
The new horizons of space exploration: Sometimes the blur of current events obscures wondrous things. Such is the case with the astronomical telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on a mountaintop in Chile, which shared its images with the world in June.
The telescope will – quite literally – change how humanity sees the universe. It is able to capture both the sweep and the detail of the cosmos, with the resulting images making clear the stark grandeur of space. It would take 400 ultrahigh-definition (4K) television screens to display at real size a single image from the observatory’s 3.2 gigapixel camera.
Beyond visually dazzling images, the telescope also promises to provide long-sought insights into dark matter and how the universe changes over time. New horizons, indeed.
The start of a blue wave in the United States: The return of Donald Trump to the White House in January was the dispiriting start of an often miserable year. A trade war on allies, pressure on Ukraine to effectively surrender, draconian-to-brutal immigration measures and, for good measure, the vandalism of the White House: there was a great deal about which to be disheartened with the regrettable return of Trumpism.
But there is also cause for (guarded) optimism, in what we hope was the start of a blue wave in next year’s mid-term elections. Democrat candidates in statewide offices won by unexpectedly large margins in special elections in November. And Mr. Trump continues to sink in the polls, as independents shift away from Republicans. Elections are months away, and there is much damage that Mr. Trump could do even with a Democratic-controlled Congress. But the Democrats’ early success at the ballot box is a reminder that Mr. Trump does not define what has (always) made America great.