Allan Levine

Allan Levine is a historian and author whose coverage for the Winnipeg Free Press is defined by using the past to explain the present, including in health and medicine. He writes long-form and analytical pieces that place contemporary issues, such as public health threats, social conflict and discrimination, in a clear historical frame rather than treating them as isolated events. His work is suited to stories that need archival detail, historical statistics and narrative storytelling to show how today’s debates grow out of decades of policy and practice.

History behind public health crises

Levine’s health coverage is distinguished by its emphasis on the historical trajectory of disease, treatment and health systems rather than on day-to-day medical news.

In his piece on polio, he reconstructs Manitoba’s epidemics from the late 1920s through the early 1950s, detailing how outbreaks recurred every few years and how they overwhelmed hospitals and respirator capacity. He explains transmission routes, the age profile of patients, mortality rates and the long-term disabilities experienced by survivors, using specific case counts and death figures from multiple epidemic years.

The article follows the evolution of clinical practice, such as the use of hot packs and iron lungs, and connects that to the eventual introduction of the Salk and Sabin vaccines and the near-eradication of polio locally. The reporting format in this area is historical analysis anchored in archival data and medical history, with health ministers, pediatric leaders and hospital operations described to show how policy and practice adapted under pressure.

Now & Then: context for today’s debates

Levine writes a long-running column for the Winnipeg Free Press that explicitly aims to put current events into historical context. The Now & Then column is framed as a historian’s lens on major news issues, using past episodes to clarify the roots and consequences of present-day controversies. In a column on hate, for example, he positions contemporary expressions of hatred within longer patterns and consequences, treating the subject as part of an ongoing historical story rather than a single incident. His pieces typically blend explanatory narrative with analysis; they are less about breaking developments and more about helping readers understand why an issue looks the way it does after decades of political, legal or cultural change. This approach means he engages with health, politics and social conflict when they intersect with history, making him a fit for stories that benefit from a backward look rather than a quick update.

Political and social history, from strikes to antisemitism

Beyond health, Levine regularly writes on broader political and social history, showing a consistent interest in labour conflict and the experience of Jewish communities.

His work on the Winnipeg General Strike revisits the events of 1919, reconstructing the atmosphere after the strike’s official end and tracking how unresolved demands over collective bargaining, union recognition and wages continued to shape the city. In opinion pieces adapted from his book-length work on the Canadian Jewish experience, he explores how policy responses and public attitudes over time have affected Jewish communities, including in moments when governments acted too slowly or inadequately.

These articles are built around carefully chosen historical episodes, dates and policy decisions, and they connect past discrimination and political struggle to ongoing debates about rights and security. His recurring subjects in this area include strikes, wars, antisemitism and the evolution of Canadian public life, all treated through a historian’s method rather than a purely opinion-driven lens.

Books and long-form historical storytelling

Levine’s journalism is reinforced by a substantial body of historical books and long-form writing, which often supply material for excerpts and adapted pieces. He has written multiple works on Canada’s wartime economy and business leadership, including a study of “dollar-a-year” executives whose volunteer service helped transform the country into a major industrial power during the Second World War. Excerpts in the Winnipeg Free Press recount the development of Canada’s wartime aircraft industry, describing in detail how senior figures were appointed, how production structures were built almost from scratch, and how those decisions shaped the wider economy.

Other books focus on Canadian political leaders and Jewish communities, and award recognition for these projects is documented in coverage of regional book prizes. Professional biographies and catalogues note that his articles and reviews have appeared in national newspapers and magazines as well as the Winnipeg Free Press, underscoring that he approaches journalism as one arm of a broader historical writing career.

Across formats, his distinguishing feature is a commitment to accessible, narrative history that connects specific individuals, institutions and decisions to the larger stories that still shape current events.