• A photo of copies of Briarpatch from 2009 strewn across a wooden table. The cover of the topmost issue shows a police in riot gear looming behind a woman, with the words
    Magazine

    File rejected

    In 2009, Briarpatch’s $33,000 application to the Canada Magazine Fund was rejected, without explanation, by Stephen Harper’s Minister of Canadian Heritage. It would take an access to information request to reveal that, behind the scenes, the fund’s staff were also being stonewalled by the minister’s office. 

    by Patricia W. Elliott – 13 min read

  • A collage of magazine clippings from New Breed, showing Métis people cooking, meeting, and protesting, along with headlines like
    Magazine

    Métis militancy and Saskatchewan media

    by Sara Birrell and Mike Gouldhawke – 13 min read

    In the ’70s and ’80s, Saskatchewan’s left was chronicled by two formidable magazines: New Breed and Briarpatch. This is the story of how they made grassroots media in Saskatchewan.

  • A digital illustration of a ship (similar to the one on the New Brunswick Flag) sailing on an inky purple sea against a yellow sky. The sail on the ship is a newspaper copy of the NB Media Co-op.
    Magazine

    “Don’t hate the media, be the media”

    by Tracy Glynn and Aditya Rao – 11 min read

    How New Brunswick’s Media Co-op is standing up to the Irvings’ corporate power

  • An illustration of a person with six arms. They have brown skin and black locs. With their many arms, they are frantically sipping an energy drink, typing on a laptop, holding a cell phone to their ear, waving a newspaper, and holding a
    Magazine

    Independent media’s bad labour problem

    by Matthew DiMera and Nora Loreto – 13 min read

    From union-busting to systemic racism, when bad labour practices have embedded themselves in the very publications trying to write into existence a more just world, what is to be done?

The Latest

  • Announcement

    Announcing the interim editor, Sophie Jin

    by Saima Desai – 1 min read

    While Saima takes a one-year leave in 2023, Sophie will be the interim editor of Briarpatch.

  • An illustration of a gaggle of Briarpatch community members: someone wearing a sasquatch costume, people holding cameras, ice skates, a baby, a receipt, and a stack of magazines.
    Magazine

    The people’s magazine

    by Saima Desai – 5 min read

    The funny, strange, and dogged ways that Briarpatch’s readers have helped this magazine reach its 50th anniversary

  • A digital collage showing an underwater ecosystem. Fish swim near fish-shared lures with Google logos for eyes. At the top, a dragnet made of interlocking Meta logos looms over the fish.
    Magazine

    The dangers of Big Tech funding journalism

    by John Cameron – 9 min read

    Google and Meta are spending millions on programs and awards to help news outlets in crisis. What’s at stake when tech giants are allowed to brand themselves as the saviours of an industry they helped destroy?

  • An illustration from the perspective of a person working at a laptop. Looming over their laptop screen is a wide man in a suit and Canadian flag brooch, his hands grabbing the laptop screen. Beside the laptop is a sticky note that says
    Magazine

    Doing anti-imperialist journalism while the world marches to war

    by Alex Cosh – 14 min read

    After Russia invaded Ukraine, anything other than support for sending unlimited weapons to Ukraine was painted as pro-Russian propaganda. What does anti-war journalism look like in a climate of social media harassment and state attacks?

Sponsor

SRH Homepage Ad Feb 2023 SRH Homepage Ad Feb 2023

Current Issue

January/February 2023

Briarpatch is 50 years old! In our 50th anniversary issue, we look at the history of this fiercely independent magazine. Plus, stories about the state of the media in Canada: indie media's bad labour practices; what Big Tech funding means for journalism; and media co-ops standing up to corporate power.

Issue cover

Browse back issues »

Well-Read This Week

Briarpatch issue covers Briarpatch issue covers Briarpatch issue covers

Briarpatch delivers! Subscribe now to start receiving bi-monthly doses of feisty, critical analysis delivered right to your door.

Subscribe Now