He was not just an inspiration to me; he was—and is—a lodestar for all of us
Just over a month ago, I caught up with my classmate Rebecca while we were both in Geneva, Switzerland, for summer internships. From what I recall of the conversation—we had just spent several hours in an English pub dutifully cheering on our Commonwealth kin in the Women’s EURO Final…so I may have been in a somewhat refreshed state. We were gabbing about life, politics, and what will become of this crazed, depraved world of ours. I asked her if she had any political heroes, and she quipped that that is a contradiction in terms. Well played, I suppose.
But I cannot share that view, because Ken Dryden will always be a hero to me.
As I write this, it has been about a day since we learned that Ken Dryden died of cancer on September 5, 2025, at age 78. His is not the kind of biography that can be reduced to a single X post, whatever the hell the character limit is these days. But for what it’s worth, I thought our Prime Minister’s formulation was equal parts beautiful and economical: “Ken Dryden was Big Canada. And he was Best Canada.”
There will never be another Ken Dryden, but I suspect there will always be a great many Canadians striving, in ways big and small, to be like Ken Dryden. Mark Carney wanted to be a goalie because that’s what Ken Dryden was. I wanted to be a law student in large part because that’s what Ken Dryden was. And I wonder how many other kids have had—or will have—some version of the experience that I had: picking up a copy of The Game, being entranced by that gorgeous, penetrating Dryden prose, and knowing that we needed to keep reading him, keep listening to him, keep trying to think about all things—life, sports, politics, the future of Canada—a little more like he did.
Dryden had not revealed publicly that he was battling cancer, and had reportedly known for months that it was not curable. Assuming that is true, it is quite stirring to go back and watch his final appearance on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, which took place on June 26, 2025—the day before the last ever episode of The Agenda. In the lead-in to the segment, Paikin notes that it was Dryden who phoned him in the final weeks of his show to pitch one more topic: What will cause people to look back at us in 50 years and think, “how could they have been so stupid?” (That phrase will ring a bell to anyone who read Game Change, Dryden’s 2017 tour de force on the need for hockey—and the NHL specifically—to address the risk of long-term brain injuries).
Of all the things he could’ve talked about at the end, he wanted to focus on empowering others—especially those in our generation—to “make decision-makers make decisions that they would otherwise resist making” (A little taste of Dryden phraseology, for the uninitiated).He advised that those seeking change must pursue it not by being nice, but by being “really, really tough about it.” It reminded me of a quote from another of my political heroes, Chrystia Freeland (sorry, Rebecca), who I think could also be appropriately called the inheritor of Dryden’s efforts to create a national childcare system. What I admire most about Ms. Freeland is the work she did in securing approximately US$50 billion in financial support for Ukraine, backed by the profits generated by Russia’s immobilized sovereign assets. Back in 2024, when I was making noise about this proposal in these pages, I learned via an excellent Politico profile that she was doing the same on the world stage. She fought hard to push that over the line, and when I tracked her down for a few minutes at her Canada Day party this summer, she assured me that Ukraine will get all the money it was promised. But as she said in the article, “A part of me sort of thinks, wow, if the Ukrainian finance minister or the prime minister were listening to me, would they be saying, ‘Chrystia! Come on! Don’t be so nice and Canadian. We have to get this done. Our people are dying.’”
Don’t be so nice and Canadian. I imagine Ken Dryden would smile if he read that, perhaps now more than ever, because he believed in a Canada that could be both good and important, that could do what was needed if American leadership was not up to the task. On Ukraine, and so many other things, we will face critical choices in the near future, and it is up to us to do all that is in our power to make sure our country makes the right ones. Three years ago, when Dryden launched a course at McGill designed to inspire climate action, he gave a lecture which included the following exhortation:
But at this moment you might also say, “Let’s get realistic. I’m a student. Really, what can I do?” Here’s what I’d say to you: When I was a Member of Parliament I would tell others that young people are important in politics because they are still young enough to be excited by the exciting, and to be outraged by the outrageous. And to solve big, hard problems you need both, excitement and outrage.
Don’t underestimate your power. Your excited, outraged, deeply personal voice makes us squirm. We know you’re right. We, the older generation, have a responsibility to pass on to you every life possibility. You’re the boss, not us. My generation reports to you. If things aren’t as they need to be, you call us to account. So push us, get on us. You have every right. Don’t ever forget that. And remember, 30 years from now your kids will hold you to account.
We were a greater country for Ken Dryden’s many gifts. And we will be greater yet if we take those gifts he has left us, and carry on his eternal quest toward the Best Canada.