1. January 6th, 2021: Trump Supporters storm the Capitol in protest of U.S. election results.
Only a few days into 2021, Donald Trump greeted an erratic group of protesters, falsely preaching that the election earlier in the year was rigged and urging the crowd to protest. The infamous Capitol building in Washington D.C. was then stormed, resulting in Trump becoming impeached (again) and the unnecessary death of five American citizens.
2. January 20th, 2021: President Joe Biden was officially inaugurated into office.
The U.S. immediately rejoined the Paris Agreement, The World Health Organization, and irradicated the ‘Muslim Ban’ immigration law, upon President Joe Biden’s inauguration into office. Not only did this momentous event create history by creating timeless memes that took the internet by storm, but will also forever be remembered by Kamala Harris becoming the first female, Black, and South-Asian vice president.
3. January 30th, 2021: Farmers Protests in India.
Up to 250 million individuals take the streets across the country in protest of three new farming and deregulation laws set in motion by the Indian Government. Many small-scale subsistence farmers were extremely concerned that these new laws would leave them vulnerable to corporations, induce decreased wages, create unemployment and generate debt.
4. February 2nd, 2021: Alexia Navalny, prominent lawyer, blogger, politician, and corruption specialist in Russia was sentenced to almost three years in prison.
Alexia Navalny has made it his goal to expose and oppose Vladimir Putin (President of Russia) and his cronies. Upon returning to Moscow, after being previously treated from extensive poisoning from a Novichok nerve agent, Navalny was arrested at the airport on the grounds of money laundering. The event sparked some of the biggest protests ever in Russian history and the activist has since stated that the foundation of his arrest is illegitimate.
5. February 19th, 2021: Clothing and fragrance line guru, Kim Kardashian and rapper, Kanye West file for divorce after seven full years of marriage.
Kim Kardashian, broke the internet by filing for divorce from husband and rapper, Kanye West, after seven full years of marriage. Followers expect a full recap of the event in the upcoming final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
6. February 20th, 2021: Texas was granted State of Emergency status after being hit with an extreme winter storm named ‘Uri.’
Amid Texas’s freezing 2021 winter, President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency declaration due to record low temperatures, and rolling power cuts. As the temperature dipped to -14°, these deadly storms have been linked to the death of 702 US citizens. However, amid the catastrophe the Texas senator, Ted Cruz, and his family fled to Cancun, leaving behind millions of civilians exposed to the extreme temperatures.
7. March 7th, 2021: Oprah releases an internet-breaking interview with ex Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle.
In her tell-all interview, previous Duchess of Sussex, Megan Markle exposed Buckingham Palace by openly addressing her mental health struggles, and shared a sense of abandonment in terms of emotional and financial support. Since the royal family has not addressed the situation and Megan is now living in California with her two kids.
8. March 23rd, 2021: Suez Canal blocked by cargo ship, interrupting international trade, halting global supply changes, and generating thousands of memes.
One of the largest container ship vessels in the world, ‘Ever Given’ gets lodged in the Suez Canal for six entry days. However, government officials spared no expense to clear the blockage, placing the infamous and meme-worthy excavator to do the job. Meanwhile, the blockade on the Egyptian border cost the world’s economy 7 billion dollars a day.
9. March 29th, 2021: Reddit Investors manage to stop Wall Street through Gamestop.
Throughout the beginning of 2021, Wall Street traders began to ‘short’ GameStop stocks (essentially an investor borrows a stock thinking the value will decrease, sells the stock on the market, and then buys the stock back to return it to the lender.) Upon noticing such activity, the Reddit group, WallStreetBets, acted on this by holding their stocks to drive the price higher. Hence, the Wall Street traders are forced to buy the stock back at a higher price. As expected, this drove a harsh series of losses in Wall Street, in fact, short traders faced a total of $11 billion in year-to-date losses.
10. April 9th, 2021: 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip dies.
As well as fulfilling his role as the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip was also a previous war hero and veteran of the Royal Navy. People described him as one of the keystones of the royal family.
11. May-June 2021: 215 Indigenous bodies were found at a previous residential school in Kamloops, B.C.
The discovery of 215 Indigenous bodies in late May prompted national outrage and sparked conversations about the future of Canada’s reconciliation programs. The magnitude of these unmarked graves, which are legacy of Canadian residential schools, totals more than 1,100 so far. These findings not only brought to light the intergenerational trauma that Indigenous people face but also provoked international lawsuits against the Catholic Church and the Federal Government.
12. June 23rd, 2021: The princess of pop, Britney Spears requests a judge to review her court-ordered conservatorship.
After behaving erratically after her divorce and losing custody to her children in 2007, Britney was placed under a strict conservatorship which gave her father complete power over her personal freedom, career, and assets. However, in June, Britney states “I think this conservatorship is abusive. I don’t think I can live a full life” while requesting a judge to reevaluate the case.
13. June 25th, 2021: After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, U.S. police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty and sentenced to 22 years of prison.
In 2020, the tragic death of George Floyd shed a spotlight on the systematic racism prevalent in the United States police force and criminal justice system. However, after the tragedy gained immense publicity and sparked national public protests, the US police oppressor, Derek Chauvin was ruled guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
14. July 1st, 2021: China commemorates one century of the Chinese Communist Party’s reign and the government makes a defiant address at celebrations in Tiananmen Square.
In 1921 the world witnessed the Chinese Communist Party rise to power. Now, one hundred years later, the CCP celebrates a full century of sovereignty. For decades, the CCP made a conscious effort to actively censor and dismiss the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident in Beijing. However, in July, President Xi Jinping notably used a rare acknowledgment of this student-led rebellion and remarked how the country successfully ‘aborted’ attempted insurrection.
15. July 20th, 2021: Jeff Bezos, successfully becomes king of space tourism with his new company, Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos is a notorious king of online retail with his multi-billion dollar company, Amazon.com. However, Bezos has officially expanded his mighty empire by becoming the new ruler of space tourism. In his debut to space travel, Bezos himself made the first-ever unpiloted suborbital, all-civilian flight with his new company, Blue Origin. Bezos was accompanied by Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen, Wally Funk.
16. August 2021: B.C. suffers through the third-worst wildfire season on record and residents watch in horror as fires burn dangerously close to cities.
Throughout Summer 2021, Vancouverites were bombarded by a series of record-breaking heatwaves which generated mass panic buying of fans and kickstarted a long harsh wildfire season. The 1,600 fires that burned nearly 8,700 square kilometers of land this year, ignited havoc as fires circled closer to homes across the province. Perhaps most notable was the calamitous Lytton Creek wildfire which decimated the town, displaced thousands, and made international headlines.
17. August 2021: COVID-19 did not stop Tokyo from holding the 2021 Olympic Summer Games.
The Tokyo Summer Olympics did take place after one year of anticipation and welcomed international athletes from around the world. Most notably was Simon Biles who made headlines for focusing on her mental health, the skateboarding debut, and Collingwood alumni, Madison Mailey who became a women’s rowing Olympic gold medalist.
18. August 30th, 2021: U.S. troops flee Afghanistan and the global community watches in horror as the Taliban forces reenter the country.
After 20 years of working with local Afghani troops, America’s mission in Afghanistan has come to a chaotic and abrupt end. The U.S. military left their 20-year operation leaving the country in the Taliban’s notoriously brutal grasp. Many Afghani troops who aided the U.S. military have become primary targets of the Taliban and it is estimated that evacuation planes left behind at least 100,000 people who were eligible for expedited U.S. visas.
19. September 20th, 2021: Across Canada, citizens practice their right to vote in the federal election.
Canadians are given the chance to vote on September 20th, two years before the next expected election date. The impromptu federal election was called by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in order to secure a majority for the Liberal party and have a stronger directive to mandate COVID-19 protocols.
20. October 26th, 2021: Glasgow, UK, hosts the COP26 summit in order to address the future of climate change.
Regarded by many as the most influential climate summit since the Paris Agreement in 2015, COP26 is set to readdress goals pertaining to limiting climate change and the climate emergency. During this summit, the U.S. and China made history by declaring that they will do more to cut emissions. In addition, infamous youth activist, Greta Thunberg petitioned for the U.N. to declare a climate state of emergency.
21. November 10th, 2021: New electric truck company, Rivian, hits the stock market with the highest IPO since Facebook.
Rivian is a new electric truck company mandated to debut in late 2022. The public market expects great things, proven by its initial public offering at $78 per share. However, with current supply chain limitations and possible manufacturing errors, only time will tell if Rivian has a long-term future among car companies.