Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk

by Darrell Bricker, John Ibbitson

From the authors of The Big Shift and Empty Planet, a timely and provocative exploration of the seismic forces reshaping Canada’s political, cultural, and economic landscape.

Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson’s explosive new polemic, arrives in the midst of the greatest political crisis Canada has ever faced. The country stands at risk. Even before Donald Trump returned to the U.S. presidency, brandishing tariffs and threats of annexation, Canada had started to crack. Year after year of decisions deferred, problems ignored, and cans kicked carelessly down the road have created dangerous fissures. 

Stifling regulations drag down the economy. Younger people feel angry and alienated by dizzying housing prices and gig jobs. Regional tensions threaten unity in both Quebec and the Prairies. The immigration system is broken. And Canada stands alone, having failed to pay the cost of defending itself. 

Canadians elected a former bank governor to fix all this. But can the Liberals get us out of the mess they helped get us into? What future awaits the progressive and conservative coalitions? Will the Laurentian elites continue to misgovern, or are there alternatives? The country is at a breaking point. Canadians must act to save it before they lose it. 

Provocative, urgent, and unapologetically candid, Breaking Point will ignite debate, dominate political discourse, and become the definitive guide to understanding what is shaping up to be one of the most turbulent eras in Canadian history.

Genres: Politics, Canada, Nonfiction, Economics

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. the word “polemic” needs to be painted as brightly on the cover as the rest of the title. that’s my mistake, i suppose.


here’s some points in this book that made me rip my hair out of my head:
- the Stephen Harper nostalgia-bait (everywhere)
- that supporting a free Palestine is fuelled by “Jew hatred” and not by disagreement with the Israeli government committing a genocide (ch.2)
- that nuclear power is green energy (ch.3)
- that housing prices are “not the product of an unrestrained free market” and is only being caused by zoning laws and government standards (ch.4)
- that the Canadian Deputy Commander of NORAD was implied to be partially responsible for not stopping 9/11 since he was “in the command chair” (and criticism of the rate at which the Canadian gov’t is spending a 20-year air defence budget within the first 2 years of its existence) (ch.6)
- that Canada is not spending enough on military + discontent that Canada spent big money on military subs that they haven’t needed to use yet, calling it “a failure” (ch.6)
- that “Trudeau should have called a federal election as soon as Trump won” to avoid being vulnerable, when that would have been the most identifying vulnerable move possible (ch.7)
- that Liberals committed “theft of the Conservative platform” by considering matters of economics and defense, two basic political sectors (ch.7)
- that Poilievre had openly made several campaign vows in support of the “base of the base” supporters, but was also “by no means a member of the base of the base.” (ch.8)
- that Prairie Conservatives have “adopted a centre-right approach that emphasizes the centre as much as the right” which is a straight-up lie (ch.8)
- that only “conspiracy theorists” spread anti-vaccine rhetoric and not legitimate Conservative politicians (ch.9)
- that the solution to our market stagnation is to “eliminate every possible regulation, short of endangering public safety” as if that won’t lead to monopoly and strain on small businesses (ch.10)
- that the solution to the housing crisis is “to focus less on protecting greenbelts and agriculture”, even though there are 1.3M vacant houses owned for investment in canada (ch.10)
- that Canadian seniors should model themselves after Sweden who “ties retirement age with life expectancy”, which is sort of just sad (ch.10)
- that premiers should be allowed regional vetoes on federal bills and legislation, thus destroying the purpose of federal bills and legislation (ch.10)
- that the Senate should be abolished and replaced with the Council of Federation for the sake of more diverse opinion, as if you aren’t removing 92 representatives from this equation (ch.10)


it wasn’t all bad though. here’s some points i was happy to encounter:
- that issues in this country are not partisan but systemic in nature
- that the Canadian gov’t’s interference with legacy media hinders them more than helping them (ch.5)
- that slow bureaucratic moves are often the reason budgets go unspent (ch.6)
- that Carney has been operating as a Liberal with a Conservative platform (ch.7)
- that provinces should have the regional power and sway they are built for, although the way it’s expressed as a separation of the capital into federal departments across the country is stupid as fuck (ch.10)
- most of The Big Fix in regard to national unity and identity


tldr; i used this book as a sounding board for the authors’ conservative politics and confirmed my stance on canada. it had me thoughtful which i appreciate.

[Drake Finlay · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of John Ibbitson and listening to him yet again talk to Steve Paikin about this new book, I was excited to read his and Darrell Bricker's more in depth thoughts about Canada's current challenging predicament.

Unfortunately, while the book looked to be a bullseye, it only ended scoring a single 20 point.

I can't tell if the book was simply rushed to be one of the first to talk about the '25 election, or if Bricker and Ibbiston really did put all they had to say in this book. They missed speaking about the Coquitlam decision in BC by a few weeks it seems.

This point is important because in the very first chapter they say that basically everything Trudeau did was poor, except for

1. His Covid response
2. Reconciliation

But this is a book about Canada at the brink. These two items they give Trudeau credit for are fundamental instruments in the problems that they otherwise acknowledge. Indeed the second of which may actually rip apart private property rights of an entire province.

Other issues include correctly diagnosing that there are problems with our immigration system in one chapter. Then in the very next chapter saying we need more immigrants into the Atlantic provinces and Quebec. It comes off disjointed and confused.

I also find that this book feels much more "yappy" than prior works/talks by the two. There's less footnotes, less research, less establishing this and that. Instead they repeat "young people are locked out of homes" "the West(s) feel alienated" and these criticisms make it into every chapter without the depth they deserve.

Overall, they missed the mark. I can't shake the sense that they went into this book with rose-tinted glasses (or even beer goggles) about how Canada is. Instead of looking at Canada in 2025 with a more sober lens, their romantic attachment to the Canada of old prevented a more fundamental and challenging analysis.

[Sanyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I am only halfway through, I am really enjoying learning such nuances of the country. We witness events unfold around us, watch the news, but we don't see what transpires behind the curtains which this book reveals, and eloquently at that. Astute commentary, thoroughly researched - I am learning so much!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring recap of the last 10 years of Canadian politics you get from just reading CBC headlines, decent final chapter giving some suggestions for the future.

[Donald Leitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The spirit of the book can be summed up from this passage in the concluding chapter:
"Donald Trump's contention that Canada makes no sense and should disappear from the map as a nation may in hindsight a blessing. Either he is right or he is wrong. Let's prove him wrong.
Canada has always been an improbable country - scattered across six time zones, with two official languages, a plethora of cultures, and no obvious reason for why it should all hold together, except for the determination of its people to make it work. Canada works because enough people believe in it. But that belief must be perpetually renewed. For too long we have coasted on the effort and sacrifice of those who came before us. if we want the country to endure, we must build again."
Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson offer a solid assessment of the state of Canada and its people and the challenges at this time. However, it was in some of the suggested solutions that I was left feeling that the some proposed solutions failed to recognize complexities. If the solutions are to "steamroll" rights, such as indigenous rights, in order to build then we have failed to learn from the past. Surely we can nation build, building quickly as the crisis of our time warrants, but include people and their rights in those nation building projects. Building a nation includes infrastructure, defence and people.

[Jeff Stathopulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that made me think hard about the country I live in.

We all have our political biases and too often look for the stories that support them. This for me was different. With the use of polling data overlayed with Statscan census data, it builds a solid case for a country that has had the potential to be as economically and financially successful as Norway, but prefers to focus on issues that may be important, but too often aren’t urgent.

The authors paint a picture of a country who has chosen to make the easy choices that are popular rather than the ones that hurt now but pay off for the long term. Canada is the kids who give in and eat the one marshmallow they are given now, foregoing the three if they wait.

While it’s easy to blame the Liberal party who has presided over much of this thinking, the Conservative Party is equally to blame for their inability to choose a leader who truly represents Conservative principles and policy, but also speak to the rest of the country as their leader.

What this book left me with, was a single question: what if the party who has the ideas we absolutely need for our country, is lead by someone who can’t deliver. Do we vote for the party (and hope it works out) or for the personality, and risk more of the same?

A must read for any Canadian who is willing to look beyond the comfort zone we love so much.

[Charles Aulds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about Canada's recent history, particularly the failings of the 9.5 years that Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister. Given the time frame in which the book was written, I think more emphasis should have been given to the disastrous result of Canadians having, for too long, trusted the United States, in matters of defense, on trade, and on that "special relationship" that really never existed. The United States never had respect for Canada's sovereignty … and the trust relationship was betrayed; it's true that there is no enemy like a friend betrayed.

Of that "special relationship", the authors wrote:

Whatever remained of the "special relationship" between Canada and the United States evaporated in March 2025, when Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods: Not after consultation. Not as part of a negotiation. Simply as an act of blunt force. The United States had decided to “monetize its hegemony,” as Mark Carney said in June 2025.

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book covering recent Canadian politics with a focus on the Trudeau administration, the election of 2025 -what progressive and conservative parties can learn from it-, and, in the latter half, grievances western provinces have with the federal government.

The authors rightfully critique the Trudeau administration where they failed but don't over do it as some other commentators do.

As a central Canadian unfamiliar with western alienation, this book was really eye opening. The authors make a compelling case that the federal government's actions have ignored the concerns of western Canada.


This is also not a book of exclusively complaining. At the end, the authors present their solutions to the problems we face today and paint an optimistic vision of the future.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incisive and bold look at the threats and opportunities Canada faces by two of the leading voices on Canadian public affairs. Pulls no punches about our current state in the world, and proposes some step-changes to pivot to the country we need to become. I absolutely consumed it over three days - couldn't put it down. The chapter "The Big Fix" is the Big Read of the book. As Bricker and Ibbitson write, if the discussion about the future paths of Canada is not messy, then maybe people don't care enough. Highly recommended - and hope you disagree and debate with friends and family.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and bang on! The authors describe the difficult political/economic situation in Canada today as well as provide an explanation for how we have allowed our magnificent country to become fractured. Although the authors describe our problems in great detail they offer few suggestions on how to fix the mess!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the contemporary Canadian political landscape, however the authors' conservative bias permeates all. Also, a tad shrill. The title says it. In the authors' view, Canada will collapse if it continues with misguided big-government policies. Inconsistencies abound, e.g. "identity politics bad" vs. "Canada needs to address the legitimate grievances of young, white men with limited education." Or "establishment (read Laurentian Elite) institutions are too powerful, out of touch and need to be diminished" vs. "military and defense, a major institution and budget line item, should be better funded and more powerful."

[Mary Beth McInnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dad got me this book for Christmas. I really enjoyed it. Written in 2025 after the election, it discusses, in lemans terms,the relevant history of how we got to this Canada. The Canada at its breaking point after the terrible Trudeau decade. With opinions on what we can do to change the future of Canada.

[Sunil DR · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for everyone to understand where Canada’s position is today and what it can be to make Canada a better place on the world stage.

A must read in terms of understanding the provinces and the primary seated location. I’m very helpful in sight of trying to make Canada inclusive country.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that makes you think critically about the state of the country.