About Us

The Walrus Foundation

The Walrus Foundation is a Canadian charitable non-profit with an educational mandate. We support Canadian writers, artists, and ideas; create forums for conversations vital to Canadians; and train Canada’s future leaders in journalism, publishing, and the non-profit sector.

The foundation is supported by individuals, foundations, corporations, circulation, advertising, and charitable grants. We are governed by our Board of Directors and receive guidance from our National Advisory Council. Our work is evaluated by an Educational Review Committee.

We would like to express our gratitude to the Chawkers Foundation for its generous ongoing support as well as acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and Ontario Media Development Corporation.

The Walrus Magazine

The Walrus is a general interest magazine about Canada and its place in the world. We publish long-form journalism, essays, fiction, poetry, illustrations, and photography by Canada’s best writers and artists. Our mandate is to educate and our journalism is edited and fact checked to the highest standards.

The Walrus Talks

The Walrus Talks is a national series of events about Canada and its place in the world. Each event features eight seven-minute talks from leaders in all sectors: scholars, writers, performers, scientists, artists, and business leaders. All Walrus Talks are open to the public and designed to facilitate meaningful conversations on matters vital to Canadians.

thewalrus.ca

thewalrus.ca is a website about Canada and its place in the world. We publish original journalism about timely and important issues. We also provide free access to the entire archive of The Walrus magazine as well as hundreds of videos from the Walrus Talks.

Praise for The Walrus Magazine

“The country does need a high-quality magazine that talks up to its readers, and which brings humour, anger, and real passion to Canadian public debate.”
—Michael Ignatieff, author and former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

“A magazine such as The Walrus promises to be the missing link in the cultural and intellectual life of this country.”
—Anne Collins, executive editor, Random House of Canada

“My God, a critical discussion of intelligent issues! What will these Canadians think of next? ”
—Clayton Ruby, lawyer

“The Walrus is one of the most intelligent magazines to have entered the Canadian scene in some time. It has shown great courage; its standards are high, and its success noteworthy. I would ask that you give generously to ensure the survival of this very important publication. The Canadian literary landscape will be better for it.”
—Margaret Atwood, author, winner of the Booker Prize

“The Walrus is one of the best things that has happened in Canada. It’s very rare, an outfit like this, informed by integrity, vision, and dedication. Please help The Walrus survive. We need it.”
—Leonard Cohen, poet, singer-songwriter, and author

“Intelligent, long-form journalism that encourages thoughtful debate is not—as you have likely noticed—easy to come by in this era of sound bites, tabloids, and ‘journalism’ designed to sell us goods and gossip. Then there is The Walrus—a sophisticated magazine with a mandate to engage Canadians in issues of national importance.”
—Pamela Wallin, journalist, broadcaster, and diplomat

“What is a country without conversations and stories to tell? How do we remember the past, think about the future, without an examination of where we are today? The Walrus brings us together: each turn of the page is a new opportunity to discover, explore, and learn more about our home and native land: I am The Walrus. We are The Walrus. Canada is The Walrus.”
—Frank McKenna, deputy chairman of Toronto-Dominion Bank, former politician and diplomat

Selected Contributors

Arts and Culture

Marianne Ackerman, Charles Foran, Don Gillmor, David Gilmour, Adam Gopnik, Pico Iyer, Marni Jackson, Pasha Malla, John Bentley Mays, Adam Sternbergh, Clive Thompson, Mark Kingwell

Design

Bruce Mau, James Victore

Fiction and Poetry

Margaret Atwood, Dionne Brand, Leonard Cohen, Douglas Coupland, Wayne Johnston, Lisa Moore, Paul Muldoon, Miriam Toews, Jane Urquhart, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Heather O’Neill, Alix Ohlin, Lynn Crosbie, Kevin Chong, Alex Pugsley

Fine Art

Shary Boyle, Damien Hirst

Photography and Illustration

Marian Bantjes, Seymour Chwast, Jason Logan, Bruce McCall, Gary Panter, Graham Roumieu, Seth, Leanne Shapton, Yuko Shimizu, Tamara Shopsin, Joost Swarte, Jillian Tamaki, Gary Taxali, Team Macho, Sam Weber, Balint Zsako, Edward Burtynsky, Rita Leistner, Eamon Mac Mahon, Louie Palu, Lana Šleziç, Larry Towell, Christopher Wahl, Donald Weber

Politics and Society

Mary Rogan, Richard Poplack, Katherine Laidlaw, Brett Popplewell, John Lorinc, Jessica Johnson, Michael Lista, Simon Lewsen, Scaatchi Koul, Kerry Gold, Patrick Graham, Omar Mouallem, Deni Ellis Béchard, Stephen Marche, Conrad Black, Don Gillmor, Tom Jokinen, Danielle Groen, Hadiya Roderique, Joseph Rosen, Leah McLaren, Mark Kingwell, Pico Iyer

Why “The Walrus”?

The Walrus’s founders sought dissociate Canada from the “log chomping” and “earnestness” of our national animal (and cliché), the beaver. Enter the walrus: an arctic icon that is curmudgeonly but clever, bulky but agile—the perfect symbol for a publication with the intellectual heft, confidence, and wit to dig deeply into matters vital to Canadians. Like its namesake, which swims with unexpected grace, The Walrus is Canada’s elegant heavyweight.