This is not a “Canada vs United States” issue. It’s a “Donald Trump vs Decency” battle.
It’s been a week, eh. I truly hope you’re taking the weekend to recover because the madness is far from over. In fact, it’s barely beginning.
A few days ago the New York Times reported (paywalled story but if you click on the link you’ll get it for free), for the first time, details of February calls between leaders that will send a chill down many Canadian spines. It’s worth reading in its entirety. But here’s the money quote:
On those calls, President Trump laid out a long list of grievances he had with the trade relationship between the two countries, including Canada’s protected dairy sector, the difficulty American banks face in doing business in Canada and Canadian consumption taxes that Mr. Trump deems unfair because they make American goods more expensive. He also brought up something much more fundamental. He told Mr. Trudeau that he did not believe that the treaty that demarcates the border between the two countries was valid and that he wants to revise the boundary. He offered no further explanation.
Fentanyl was always a bogus excuse. And tariffs aren’t about trade. They’re about weakening Canada economically so we are easy to gobble up. Trump said so himself.
Any student of history will tell you that crazier things have happened. It would be foolish to wave this off as a bad joke. Also it’s not funny. But am I worried? No, not especially.
For one thing I’m pretty sure there is precious little support in America for annexation since it would fundamentally change the makeup of the country in ways most Americans couldn’t handle. We may look nice on the outside, but we can be pretty gnarly when we get right down to it. And we’re way to the left politically of the Democratic Party. Imagine the mess we’d make of the Electoral College.
But seriously. It may be that a continental supra-federation is the way to go in the medium- to long-term future. Sort of like the European Union but for North America — a common area where people and stuff can move freely, but where sovereign states make their own rules. But if so, it’s to be negotiated d’égal à égal. I expect there might be a lot more support for this than even Donald Trump realizes.
Mind you, the amount of stuff this idiot fails to grasp is monumental. But let that pass for now. Because while the last few weeks have generated a huge amount of noise — what we in Quebec would call un show de boucane – there are serious insights we can glean if we are patient enough to wait for the smoke to clear and see what remains. Here are a few that I’ve noticed.
First, Canadian politics is drastically changed by the last few weeks. Justin Trudeau has never been this popular since the pandemic. The way he stands up to the bully next door is remarkably on point. He’s strong and principled without being disproportionate in his response. Also? There is a huge appetite out there for a team Canada approach and much less tolerance of petty infighting. That’s something Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre doesn’t seem to get. He chose this week of all weeks to release a long-ass video and campaign targeting Mark Carney’s financial holdings and accusing the presumptive new Liberal leader of actively working to make himself richer at the expense of regular Canadians.
You don’t have to be a Carney cheerleader to think this is going too far — and also a clear demonstration of a leader who cannot read a room that’s written in big bold block letters. Yes, Carney is well-off. And? What indication is there that he might be using the job of prime minister to make himself richer at my expense? And if Poilievre is right that disclosure rules should be modified, he could just as easily make that case without accusing Carney of vague misdeeds yet to be committed. Time to put the pitchfork away, pal, and get serious about the real threat.
This leads to a second insight that may morph into a sort of half-baked speculation by the end of the paragraph: With opinion polls now starting to show the Liberals back ahead of the Conservatives, it may not be long before the knives (which are never especially far) come out for Poilievre and his team. I’m not the only one who’s noticed Jason Kenney being especially active on the socials this week and wondering what he’s up to.
Third insight: I’m also not the only one who sees the current situation as an opportunity to make Canada stronger — economically, politically, institutionally and culturally. The folks at IRPP are certainly hard at work making that case. So is the Business Council of Canada. Remember when Stephen Harper wanted to make Canada a global energy super power?
I am not an economist and I do try not to play one on the internets, but I do know one thing: We’re never as strong as our weakest link. Now is a good time to examine where we’re most vulnerable and work to address that, pronto. There’s no shortage of smart people in this country and if we decide to work together, there’s nothing we can’t do.
On that note I like Tasha Kheiriddin’s suggestion of forming a national unity government to tackle this shit show. It would have popular support everywhere, including in Quebec. It may require a different Conservative leader, mind you, but that’s OK. I for one am prepared to make that sacrifice.
And final insight for now: This is not a “Canada vs United States” issue. It’s a “Donald Trump vs Decency” battle. And there are many more people on our side than we realize, including among American voters. They just need a chance to catch up… They’re the ones with the power to stop Trump, and I believe they will.
