As Donald Trump triples down on his economic war against Canada, one of the things that inspires the most hope is the vociferous and passionate response of Canadians.
I don’t want a tax break. I want someone who will a country united to fight the scurvy that’s upon us. We need to be united instead of the partisan bullshit. Who’s gonna lead us?
Totally agree with what you say, except that the general electorate does act like children. I'm a Permanent Resident of Canada from UK. Most of the Canadian, British and Americans I converse with regularly don't have any real idea of what's going on in politics with any of these countries. They don't take notice of something unless it's going to affect them. The apathy, especially with Americans, is astounding. But it is what it is, so if they hear they are going to be taxed a little less that might get there attention and might vote accordingly. As Michael Guy commented, the job is to get elected first then deal with the real issues - hopefully!
Mark Carney will be the one to lead us through this. He is not just promising tax breaks, he’s getting rid of barriers that promote countrywide trade, pipeline to the east (if only DS would cooperate!) war time housing initiatives and more. He’s a strategist, economist and has announced a whole host of spending that you mention is appropriate in a time like this. Military, the arctic, all of that is part of his platform. He can also deal with a narc like Trump…(if you’ve ever had to deal with one, you know that “do not engage” is a necessary tactic AKA do not kiss the ring). Yes he will have to communicate with him. But the less trump knows who he’s up against, the less ammo he has. Patience and strategy, that’s what Canada needs.
And also no. He's not levelling with Canadians as to the real scale of what will be needed. 85 years ago, Canada built the 3rd or 4th largest (depending who's counting) navy in the world in the span of 6 years, while ALSO building air fields all over the country, while ALSO training flyers from all over the world, while ALSO shipping tonnes of material to Britain to keep them from starving. We are capable of great things, but not if our leaders are too afraid to tell us that it might be just a wee bit inconvenient.
Thank you. A very good article from black cloud six. I agree with almost everything in it. it would take a big shift in the campaign landscape for Poilievre to win my vote. That’s not likely to happen.
If he makes it clear that he recognizes that Canada faces an existential threat, that defending against that threat is the number one issue for Canada right now, and that he will do whatever it takes to defend Canadian sovereignty, I will vote for him.
So far, nothing heard.
A credible response to the threat will be expensive, very expensive. Any leader will have a hard time convincing me that now is the time for a tax break.
Any leader [edited] will have a hard time convincing me that 2% of GDP for defence by 2030 is a credible response. Not even close. More, and faster.
I might be wrong about both of those things. I didn’t say I could not be convinced. But a political leader who does not place the discussion prominently in their campaign is more or less irrelevant.
I agree wholeheartedly, but I also see the need to win the election first. When one side has been drilling “axe the tax” into Canadian heads, and is still doing it, not addressing affordability issues for the lowest income groups would be tone deaf.
I am intrigued by number 3, seeing that we have already managed to get two of the most foremost scholars of authoritarianism (history and propaganda) to move from Yale to Toronto. There is also a flood of Canadians with American spouses and children returning/moving from south of the border. Let’s facilitate their entry and the transfer of their savings (including tax deferred plans) from the US to Canada.
Finally, let’s find better ways to talk to the youngest voter groups. Talks about national sacrifice will not make sense to them. We need to pull young men out of the toxic “manosphere” and give a strong voice to young women. Mostly, we need to get them involved by meeting them where they are (and yes, that’s not in townhalls)
I agree with everything you said … Except. If you are implying that it’s better not to discuss the threat to our sovereignty and what needs to be done about it, I disagree with your opening sentence.
Sovereignty is the sine qua non for actions on affordability, and all the other issues Canada must deal with.
I will vote for the person that best appreciates the threat to Canadian sovereignty and will take credible effective actions to defend it. I don’t want to have to guess who that is.
No, that was not my intention. This election is about Canadian survival, nothing more, nothing less. However, having watched the American election very closely, that was also the case last November when the Democrats including the Obamas and Clintons articulated the existential threat almost at the expense of everything else. Many voters heard them. Too many did not and voted against the high price of eggs. I read this as showing that some things are too abstract when you are struggling to pay the rent and feed your family. We need to reach those people, too.
We are very much in agreement then. (I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the American campaign, but I don't recall the explicit statements about existential threat in any more than a passing way that didn't make them stand out from all the inflammatory noise.)
But I will not be satisfied with any campaigner who whistles past the graveyard of American and aggression and shaken world order for the sake of political expediency. Sovereignty is Job 1!
Yes, we do need to reach those who are struggling to pay the rent and feed their families. And I think that in our current Canadian context saving our sovereignty may not be too abstract for many of them It will be hard, it will be expensive, but without it, addressing housing, affordability, poverty is moot.
As I've said elsewhere in these comments, I think Canadians are primed for such a campaign, more than they have been for nearly a century. If those who are struggling trust that they are not being abandoned, many would choose to join the battle.
Tell it like it is, would-be leaders. Be straight with us.
The problem of course is that the primary job of any politician is to get elected. If it takes promises of income tax cuts to do it then so be it. The other items can be dealt with after you secure your majority government.
Sad but true? Maybe. Sadder than true, definitely. A presumption, at least, that largely explains the sorry state of cynicism towards politics. Would that a “leader” could lead — persuade, inspire — by stating and explaining what they stand for.
The problem with “first you have to get elected” right now is that I first and foremost want to know that a candidate recognizes the primacy of Canadian sovereignty as an actual issue and what they will do about it. I don’t want to have to guess and hope for the best. Unfortunately, tax cuts are not compatible with a credible answer.
Totally agree. When I hear some of the campaign promises I feel like the politician is totally missing the mark. I don’t care about retirement age and tax breaks…I care about my country being wiped out. There is no going back if we get annexed and the monster turns our country into a hellhole of second class non voting citizens who watch our land and resources get raped. I want a leader who wakes up Canadians. Who tells us to not naively hope for the best…it’s time to prepare for the worst. A leader who demands unity from all Canadians, no matter when they became Canadians, and from all political parties and start to get war ready. If no war happens, great….we will have built up our defenses. But the threat from the monster isn’t going away anytime soon. I want a leader who says ‘hey every Canadian needs to do this, this and this’. I’d more than do my part and I’d vote for them.
They do it because it works, and that says as much about the electorate as it does about the politicians catering to them. Sure those of us who read blogs on politics can see through it, but the vast majority of the electorate is stunningly ignorant of just about every aspect of government and has no idea how badly our institutions have been allowed to rot over the past several decades, and will simply vote for whoever promises enough shiny baubles while tickling their ideological priors.
Democracy doesn't work when there isn't an informed electorate. And in this age of misinformation and ever-shortening attention spans, we absolutely do not have an informed electorate on the whole.
I couldn't agree more. We are way ahead of our politicians. We have been leading since the onset. No tax breaks, big strategic infrastructure plans like Carney outlined. Support for affected workers. Identify (spell it out) the threat and collective sacrifice required, put pettiness aside, demand Smith resign and Moe to toe the line. I hear one more fucking thing about Trudeau, I'll lose my shit. This is not the time. This is Stalingrad. Do any of you think they won't entertain an invasion? They are already poisoning the water with their people. Propaganda has started, snide remarks and complaints about us will accelerate. They, the perpetual victim. There is a template for all of this, and they will follow it. Half their population are already Zombies, very easy to shepherd. The strength and scope of our preparation and defiance are the only things they will understand. They need to understand they will have to kill us all.
Carneys press today touched on these very topics, addressing what he calls “Trumps 5” areas of industry and manufacturing. Carney has a plan, and is acting accordingly.
How can we not be disappointed in our national leadership when the leaders of both parties are acting like its business as usual. Yesterday reality shifted for a couple of hundred thousand families who rely on the auto sector where they work to pay the mortgage and finance their lives. This is a threat that will do damage to our nation and I for one want to hear an energized effective authentic human being tell me just what he plans to do about it. Its not that they underestimate the electorate. They and the handlers that feed them are so obsessed with the polls and trying to figure out where the numbers are going and why, that many a political leader who was smart and likeable at the outset comes out of the sausage making machinery looking stilted, confused and silenced. We need a personality with the integrity, passion and determination to lead this great country. Tell us what we're going to do together. The electorate is angry, afraid and pliable. It would be easy to move us, bind us together like never before. This is a once upon a time opportunity to show us what you've got.
Thank you. I agree that our politicians are looking short term and are not accurately assessing the scope of the political threat to Canada and the international order.
Premier Smith seems to have empowered her separatist cohort with her list of "demands" and threats of a national unity crisis.
Why do all of these "leaders". for all their alleged skills, knowledge and wisdom, think that a "tax cut" of nominally $400-$950 is going to be what will make things right?
We need a vision on how Canada survives given the existential threat and we don't need to be continually treated like sheep. Canadians have, on almost every level, made it clear that as a country we want to fight to survive, not get another handout that we'll pay for down the line while we roll over for Trump!!
Who is gonna step up to the plate, be Captain "Asshole Canada", provide a vision of a new path and deal with Trump from a position of aspirational strength as a meaningful country. If one of these two (sorry Jagmeet) can step up with a plan and some Garumba they will get my vote, otherwise I will have to see if the Rhinos are running!
I think Carney’s tax cut is one of the things a maga/young person/struggling family/those who are focused on their immediate circumstances is appealing to. A campaign has to address issues that target everyone in the country, and there are a lot of issues right now! I think you’ll see proposals and plans announced as the days unfold. Yesterday’s tariffs were addressed immediately, and we have a formal announcement that our friendship with US is over. I think Carney’s calmness could also be interpreted as a “don’t bullshit me” attitude.
We don’t need a single leader. We need to step up and show leadership. We need to push our elected leaders to act.
Our economic problems are in large part because our economy had been hollowed out by foreign ownership rules that allowed US corporations buy controlling interests and then close them if they threatened their US operation profits. Think back to 2008.
Bringing the government’s spending power to apply on rearming Canada’s beggared military is the only way to rebuild our manufacturing base quickly. And the window is very narrow. We need to make this a primary focus of this election.
We will need to demand our elected MPs kick the government bureaucracy in butt and get it moving. If the procurement of equipment for example is taking longer than 30-90 days, they need to find the blockage and fix it. Needing a decade to buy new sidearms for the CAF is not acceptable. We need everything.
We will need to do allot of work too, following up on the MP’s actions too. The Loyal Opposition is supposed to help the government by providing feedback and support to the Government. Acting like petulant toddlers during Question Period is not acceptable. Their job is to study the same information as the government and offer better solutions. Our job is to follow their efforts and keep after them if they slack off.
We have been pushed into a war. We need to understand that, and prepare for it. We need to demand our elected leaders understand that, and act like they understand. We are stuck between two hostile powers, Russia and the US. We need to stand to.
I don’t want a tax break. I want someone who will a country united to fight the scurvy that’s upon us. We need to be united instead of the partisan bullshit. Who’s gonna lead us?
Totally agree with what you say, except that the general electorate does act like children. I'm a Permanent Resident of Canada from UK. Most of the Canadian, British and Americans I converse with regularly don't have any real idea of what's going on in politics with any of these countries. They don't take notice of something unless it's going to affect them. The apathy, especially with Americans, is astounding. But it is what it is, so if they hear they are going to be taxed a little less that might get there attention and might vote accordingly. As Michael Guy commented, the job is to get elected first then deal with the real issues - hopefully!
Mark Carney will be the one to lead us through this. He is not just promising tax breaks, he’s getting rid of barriers that promote countrywide trade, pipeline to the east (if only DS would cooperate!) war time housing initiatives and more. He’s a strategist, economist and has announced a whole host of spending that you mention is appropriate in a time like this. Military, the arctic, all of that is part of his platform. He can also deal with a narc like Trump…(if you’ve ever had to deal with one, you know that “do not engage” is a necessary tactic AKA do not kiss the ring). Yes he will have to communicate with him. But the less trump knows who he’s up against, the less ammo he has. Patience and strategy, that’s what Canada needs.
Yes.
And also no. He's not levelling with Canadians as to the real scale of what will be needed. 85 years ago, Canada built the 3rd or 4th largest (depending who's counting) navy in the world in the span of 6 years, while ALSO building air fields all over the country, while ALSO training flyers from all over the world, while ALSO shipping tonnes of material to Britain to keep them from starving. We are capable of great things, but not if our leaders are too afraid to tell us that it might be just a wee bit inconvenient.
Absolutely. Is he “not leveling”, or does he not know? How can we tell?
Any candidate who wants my vote had better be very clear about how they see the threat to Canadian sovereignty, and what they’re going to do about it.
Sovereignty is Job 1!
Thank you. A very good article from black cloud six. I agree with almost everything in it. it would take a big shift in the campaign landscape for Poilievre to win my vote. That’s not likely to happen.
If he makes it clear that he recognizes that Canada faces an existential threat, that defending against that threat is the number one issue for Canada right now, and that he will do whatever it takes to defend Canadian sovereignty, I will vote for him.
So far, nothing heard.
A credible response to the threat will be expensive, very expensive. Any leader will have a hard time convincing me that now is the time for a tax break.
Any leader [edited] will have a hard time convincing me that 2% of GDP for defence by 2030 is a credible response. Not even close. More, and faster.
I might be wrong about both of those things. I didn’t say I could not be convinced. But a political leader who does not place the discussion prominently in their campaign is more or less irrelevant.
https://open.substack.com/pub/blackcloudsix/p/canada-needs-a-real-defence-policy?r=2ttzlc&utm_medium=ios
I’m hoping the actions on defence issues will be developed inCarney‘s campaign, and not obscured or downplay.
I agree wholeheartedly, but I also see the need to win the election first. When one side has been drilling “axe the tax” into Canadian heads, and is still doing it, not addressing affordability issues for the lowest income groups would be tone deaf.
I am intrigued by number 3, seeing that we have already managed to get two of the most foremost scholars of authoritarianism (history and propaganda) to move from Yale to Toronto. There is also a flood of Canadians with American spouses and children returning/moving from south of the border. Let’s facilitate their entry and the transfer of their savings (including tax deferred plans) from the US to Canada.
Finally, let’s find better ways to talk to the youngest voter groups. Talks about national sacrifice will not make sense to them. We need to pull young men out of the toxic “manosphere” and give a strong voice to young women. Mostly, we need to get them involved by meeting them where they are (and yes, that’s not in townhalls)
Re: youngest voters
Agreed on your point about sacrifice. I suggest addressing their concerns — one of the major ones being attainable housing. See my comment below.
Not a single “like” I noticed. I guess the audience here isn’t ready to meet the moment either.
I agree with everything you said … Except. If you are implying that it’s better not to discuss the threat to our sovereignty and what needs to be done about it, I disagree with your opening sentence.
Sovereignty is the sine qua non for actions on affordability, and all the other issues Canada must deal with.
I will vote for the person that best appreciates the threat to Canadian sovereignty and will take credible effective actions to defend it. I don’t want to have to guess who that is.
No, that was not my intention. This election is about Canadian survival, nothing more, nothing less. However, having watched the American election very closely, that was also the case last November when the Democrats including the Obamas and Clintons articulated the existential threat almost at the expense of everything else. Many voters heard them. Too many did not and voted against the high price of eggs. I read this as showing that some things are too abstract when you are struggling to pay the rent and feed your family. We need to reach those people, too.
Your thoughts?
We are very much in agreement then. (I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the American campaign, but I don't recall the explicit statements about existential threat in any more than a passing way that didn't make them stand out from all the inflammatory noise.)
But I will not be satisfied with any campaigner who whistles past the graveyard of American and aggression and shaken world order for the sake of political expediency. Sovereignty is Job 1!
Yes, we do need to reach those who are struggling to pay the rent and feed their families. And I think that in our current Canadian context saving our sovereignty may not be too abstract for many of them It will be hard, it will be expensive, but without it, addressing housing, affordability, poverty is moot.
As I've said elsewhere in these comments, I think Canadians are primed for such a campaign, more than they have been for nearly a century. If those who are struggling trust that they are not being abandoned, many would choose to join the battle.
Tell it like it is, would-be leaders. Be straight with us.
I appreciate your reply, Angie.
The problem of course is that the primary job of any politician is to get elected. If it takes promises of income tax cuts to do it then so be it. The other items can be dealt with after you secure your majority government.
Sad but true? Maybe. Sadder than true, definitely. A presumption, at least, that largely explains the sorry state of cynicism towards politics. Would that a “leader” could lead — persuade, inspire — by stating and explaining what they stand for.
The problem with “first you have to get elected” right now is that I first and foremost want to know that a candidate recognizes the primacy of Canadian sovereignty as an actual issue and what they will do about it. I don’t want to have to guess and hope for the best. Unfortunately, tax cuts are not compatible with a credible answer.
Totally agree. When I hear some of the campaign promises I feel like the politician is totally missing the mark. I don’t care about retirement age and tax breaks…I care about my country being wiped out. There is no going back if we get annexed and the monster turns our country into a hellhole of second class non voting citizens who watch our land and resources get raped. I want a leader who wakes up Canadians. Who tells us to not naively hope for the best…it’s time to prepare for the worst. A leader who demands unity from all Canadians, no matter when they became Canadians, and from all political parties and start to get war ready. If no war happens, great….we will have built up our defenses. But the threat from the monster isn’t going away anytime soon. I want a leader who says ‘hey every Canadian needs to do this, this and this’. I’d more than do my part and I’d vote for them.
Alternate words Dennis…galvanizes, incites, rallies, invokes.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I’m assuming “demands” isn’t exactly what you mean. A leader who demands [anything] from all citizens is a big part of what we must avoid, right?
If we’ve got that straight, I agree with every word. Very well said.
They do it because it works, and that says as much about the electorate as it does about the politicians catering to them. Sure those of us who read blogs on politics can see through it, but the vast majority of the electorate is stunningly ignorant of just about every aspect of government and has no idea how badly our institutions have been allowed to rot over the past several decades, and will simply vote for whoever promises enough shiny baubles while tickling their ideological priors.
Democracy doesn't work when there isn't an informed electorate. And in this age of misinformation and ever-shortening attention spans, we absolutely do not have an informed electorate on the whole.
I couldn't agree more. We are way ahead of our politicians. We have been leading since the onset. No tax breaks, big strategic infrastructure plans like Carney outlined. Support for affected workers. Identify (spell it out) the threat and collective sacrifice required, put pettiness aside, demand Smith resign and Moe to toe the line. I hear one more fucking thing about Trudeau, I'll lose my shit. This is not the time. This is Stalingrad. Do any of you think they won't entertain an invasion? They are already poisoning the water with their people. Propaganda has started, snide remarks and complaints about us will accelerate. They, the perpetual victim. There is a template for all of this, and they will follow it. Half their population are already Zombies, very easy to shepherd. The strength and scope of our preparation and defiance are the only things they will understand. They need to understand they will have to kill us all.
Carneys press today touched on these very topics, addressing what he calls “Trumps 5” areas of industry and manufacturing. Carney has a plan, and is acting accordingly.
How can we not be disappointed in our national leadership when the leaders of both parties are acting like its business as usual. Yesterday reality shifted for a couple of hundred thousand families who rely on the auto sector where they work to pay the mortgage and finance their lives. This is a threat that will do damage to our nation and I for one want to hear an energized effective authentic human being tell me just what he plans to do about it. Its not that they underestimate the electorate. They and the handlers that feed them are so obsessed with the polls and trying to figure out where the numbers are going and why, that many a political leader who was smart and likeable at the outset comes out of the sausage making machinery looking stilted, confused and silenced. We need a personality with the integrity, passion and determination to lead this great country. Tell us what we're going to do together. The electorate is angry, afraid and pliable. It would be easy to move us, bind us together like never before. This is a once upon a time opportunity to show us what you've got.
A country run by scholars would beat a country run by politicians every time!
Probably, but in a democracy the scholars would also have to be politicians.
As someone who runs local all candidates debates (Kanata), the vast majority of voters (particularly Boomers) vote with their wallets in mind.
Thank you. I agree that our politicians are looking short term and are not accurately assessing the scope of the political threat to Canada and the international order.
Premier Smith seems to have empowered her separatist cohort with her list of "demands" and threats of a national unity crisis.
Once again, Emmett hits it on the head!
Why do all of these "leaders". for all their alleged skills, knowledge and wisdom, think that a "tax cut" of nominally $400-$950 is going to be what will make things right?
We need a vision on how Canada survives given the existential threat and we don't need to be continually treated like sheep. Canadians have, on almost every level, made it clear that as a country we want to fight to survive, not get another handout that we'll pay for down the line while we roll over for Trump!!
Who is gonna step up to the plate, be Captain "Asshole Canada", provide a vision of a new path and deal with Trump from a position of aspirational strength as a meaningful country. If one of these two (sorry Jagmeet) can step up with a plan and some Garumba they will get my vote, otherwise I will have to see if the Rhinos are running!
I think Carney’s tax cut is one of the things a maga/young person/struggling family/those who are focused on their immediate circumstances is appealing to. A campaign has to address issues that target everyone in the country, and there are a lot of issues right now! I think you’ll see proposals and plans announced as the days unfold. Yesterday’s tariffs were addressed immediately, and we have a formal announcement that our friendship with US is over. I think Carney’s calmness could also be interpreted as a “don’t bullshit me” attitude.
As you imply, the Canadian public (for the most part) are way ahead of our politicians!Tax breaks in a war????
ELBOWS UP!
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇯🇴🇯🇴🇨🇦🇨🇦
We don’t need a single leader. We need to step up and show leadership. We need to push our elected leaders to act.
Our economic problems are in large part because our economy had been hollowed out by foreign ownership rules that allowed US corporations buy controlling interests and then close them if they threatened their US operation profits. Think back to 2008.
Bringing the government’s spending power to apply on rearming Canada’s beggared military is the only way to rebuild our manufacturing base quickly. And the window is very narrow. We need to make this a primary focus of this election.
We will need to demand our elected MPs kick the government bureaucracy in butt and get it moving. If the procurement of equipment for example is taking longer than 30-90 days, they need to find the blockage and fix it. Needing a decade to buy new sidearms for the CAF is not acceptable. We need everything.
We will need to do allot of work too, following up on the MP’s actions too. The Loyal Opposition is supposed to help the government by providing feedback and support to the Government. Acting like petulant toddlers during Question Period is not acceptable. Their job is to study the same information as the government and offer better solutions. Our job is to follow their efforts and keep after them if they slack off.
We have been pushed into a war. We need to understand that, and prepare for it. We need to demand our elected leaders understand that, and act like they understand. We are stuck between two hostile powers, Russia and the US. We need to stand to.
Nous nous souviendrons.
We are Canadian.
Don’t know about the second paragraph. The rest of it — damn right!