Tag: opinion

Today (March 23) marks the start of the election campaign and I thought it might be a good time to throw down some initial thoughts.

PP says that the PM has to be “respectful and firm” with the US.

Well, PP, respect is a two-way street. In words and deeds, Trump has expressed his disrespect of our leadership and our nation (hell, our existence *as* a nation). He doesn’t want to trade with us, thinking we will bend the knee when our economy fails.

What he hasn’t mathed out, because what he is really doing is just grabbing bits of his own economy for his corporate pals, is that Canada has a whole world to trade with that we haven’t been trading with because of our proximity to large US markets. Once we have pivoted to these other markets, and this is going to take some time to be sure, there will be no need to pivot back.

The best PM is *not* going to be one that licks Trump’s boots, but rather, one that has the smarts to make this pivot as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Yes, they have nearly ten times our population and their economy dwarfs ours. But, we have the natural resources, the industry, and an outward look to the rest of the world, so we don’t need to remain married economically to the USA. The next PM will flatten the trade barriers between provinces, expand our relations with Europe and Austrasia, and build up our military because, well, we share a very long border with a hostile nation.

I am a default NDP voter, but will be backing Mark Carney this time around because in his short time on the stage he has already shown to have a vision that aligns with mine.

This is not time for Verb the Noun, PP. It’s time for Noun Adverb.

Elbows Up.