Categories: News & Politics

2011 in covers

It’s been a year of political uprisings, economic upheaval, royal weddings and more–we ‘covered’ it all

by macleans.ca on Friday, December 30, 2011 12:25pm - 0 Comments

The biggest story in the universe

Scientists made giant leaps forward this year in the search for extraterrestrial life, using the Kepler space telescope to discover more than 1,200 planets outside of our solar system that could sustain life.
How Egypt Changed the World

By forcing the intractable Hosni Mubarak from power, Egyptian protesters demonstrated that the fervour for democracy that started in Tunisia could take root elsewhere in the Middle East. Maclean’s dedicated several covers and feature stories to what happened next: the downfall of Libya’s Col. Moammar Gadhafi, the escalating violence in Syria and the simmering democracy movement in Yemen.
Japan

The March 11 earthquake, magnitude 9.0, triggered a massive tsunami that cascaded over Japan’s east coast, ripping apart whole communities and sweeping them out to sea. More than 16,000 died. The earthquake also spurred the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Maclean’s reporters were there, filing from Tokyo and the tsunami-ravaged region of Tohoku, telling the story of this triple-headed disaster.
How did we pull this one off?

It may have been the biggest news week Canada will ever see. Prince William married his long-time sweetheart Kate Middleton in the wedding of the millennium, and the May 2 federal election saw the entire Canadian political landscape upturned. Stephen Harper’s Conservatives claimed a majority government, the Bloc was all but wiped out and the NDP replaced the Liberals as the Official Opposition for the first time ever…. AND…
How did we pull this one off? (continued)

…Oh yes, and the day before that, on May 1, U.S. Navy Seals shot and killed Osama bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, at his fortified compound in Pakistan. We captured it all in a double-cover magazine that was our largest news issue ever and this year's most popular.
You don’t know Jack

In many ways, 2011 was Jack Layton’s year. The leader of the NDP led the social democratic party to its best ever showing in a federal election, while vanquishing the Bloc Québecois and helping to deliver a fell blow to the Liberal Party. Maclean’s featured Layton on several covers this year, including for a special tribute issue after the NDP leader succumbed to cancer in August.
Will and Kate

Canadians were enamoured with the fairy tale wedding and subsequent Canadian tour of Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their paired image—which Maclean’s featured on the cover of regular and special issues—rekindled many Canadians’ love for the British monarchy.
Rob Ford

Personifying one side of the culture clash between small government anti-intellectuals and left-leaning welfare-lovers, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford—elected to the drumbeat of his “stop the gravy train” mantra—was a lightning rod of commentary and controversy this year.
Occupy Movement

An upsurge of antipathy for the economic elite started with a Vancouver-based magazine, took root in New York City’s Zucotti Park and spread around the globe, inspiring hundreds to set up tents—and yurts—in Canadian cities from coast to coast.
Rebuilding Sidney Crosby’s brain

Sidney Crosby’s debilitating concussion sent shockwaves through the hockey world, and Maclean’s was at the forefront of the discussion. Several feature stories looked at Crosby’s recovery process, the science behind head injuries and their effects—both psychological and physical—on the players.
On top of the world

In a year of seismic political tumult and economic malaise, things went fairly smoothly for Canada. And Maclean’s took notice, featuring stories that delved into the country’s much-admired banking system, resource wealth, swelling per-capita confidence and—yes—swagger on the international music scene (think Arcade Fire and Drake).

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