The man sitting next to me on a Montreal bus in the late 1950s was reading a newspaper printed on the incredibly thin paper used at the time for air mail. I was utterly fascinated and asked him about the paper. He had finished with it, gave it to me, and I have been reading the Guardian Weekly ever since.
I start with World roundup, then scan all the pages for an overview, then go back to read what first caught my attention. In-depth articles are my favourite; they get underlined and comments scribbled in the margins. Old copies of the paper end up at the cottage, to be read by visitors. My Guardian Weekly is indispensable as potent ammunition for winning debates with conservatives. I taught geography and urban planning at the University of Toronto and often used the Guardian Weekly for current affairs background to some of my lectures.
I’m now retired and live in Oakville, a Toronto-region suburb. When I read the Guardian Weekly in our coffee shops here I get some puzzled looks because the paper doesn’t look Canadian. But many people do recognise it since there is a large ex-pat British community here. I love it when I get co-conspiratorial nods of approval.
Oakville is an affluent town that typically votes Conservative. However, in the 2015 Canadian federal election the Liberals won, both nationally and in our riding. I like to think that the Guardian Weekly – available in our public libraries – had an influence.
If you would like to appear in this space, send a brief note to guardian.weekly@theguardian.com
