March 14: The Liberal party has recently elected Mark Carney as their new leader; he will become the next Prime Minister of our country. I’m hopeful that he will bring a new perspective to the office, and reorient our thinking about the way in which our country behaves. It can’t come a moment too soon.
U.S. President Trump is continuing to attack Canada (and others) through tariffs and other tactics (notably simply opening his mouth) designed to demean and belittle us. He has stated his desire to annex Canada as a 51st state. There is a constant stream of idiocy and threats, and, although I do my best to avoid paying much attention, it is a constant buzz in the background of our days. Trump’s threats and his disruption of the world order (such as it was) elevates his lunatic ranting beyond the point of things we can easily ignore. There are real threats and real outcomes that will be unpleasant if we don’t deal with them appropriately.
It is fascinating and encouraging to me that Canadians have responded to the challenge quickly and with creativity. There seems to be a resurgence in national pride (an emotion few “real” Canadians would acknowledge) and a desire to seize this opportunity to make things better for our country. Will our leaders – and our new Prime Minister in particular – be up to the challenge we face ?
As Canadians we have lived with mediocrity for far too long. At the Federal level, both major parties have platforms that are remarkably similar. Instead of looking for ne
w and creative ways to improve the country, they focus on identity politics and scoring meaningless points at the expense of actually “doing something”. Action, when it comes, is more often than not, to protect or give advantage to privileged members of the business elite or society, rather than making meaningful changes for the benefit of the majority of Canadians. ( How long have we been dealing with “the housing crisis” without apparent affect ? ) Our disillusionment is apparent in voter turn out which has declined from almost 80% of electors in the late 70’s, to 62% in the 2021 election. We can’t be bothered anymore ….
My hope is that Mark Carney can break this cycle and make meaningful changes: Let’s get rid of internal trade barriers; let’s get started on national programs to support new infrastructure and housing opportunities; let’s re-write the tax code so that everyone pays a fair share toward the common good; let’s spend meaningful money on our own military and on reaching out to support other nations that need our help; and let’s change the electoral process from “first past the post” to proportional representation so that we get a government that actually represents voters’ wishes.
There was a time in our collective memory when Canada “punched above its’ weight” and made important contributions around the world. Through neglect and atrophy, those skills have been diminished or lost entirely and we are impoverished as a result. Many nations have taken to simply ignoring us. These things can change and it appears to me that Canadians are ready, willing and able to make those changes. My fear is that the current political culture (at all levels) is such that the old, white guys currently in charge will continue to spend time worrying about covering their asses and drop the ball on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-write Canadian history. Sadly, it may be that Mark Carney is one of those guys. I hope that I am proven wrong.