thoughts on canadian nationalism and the upcoming election

Canada is in the throes of a massive patriotic lovefest, pushing back against the expansionist rhetoric pouring out of the White House. I often marvel at the fearfulness and timidity of most Canadians, but in this case, the fear is warranted. (Although living in a permanent state of anxiety will not help!)

Canadians are exhorting each other to "buy Canadian" and eschew products imported from the US. Everyone is sharing lists, apps, and information (whether correct or not) on the differences between "made in Canada," "produced in Canada," and (if you look really closely) a random Maple Leaf that means absolutely nothing. It's everywhere in the media; you certainly don't need me to tell you about it. 

Naturally I'm all for resisting the US government. I've been doing that all my life. And I absolutely understand the urgency. But the rah-rah-Canada chest-thumping is disturbing. Just four years ago, the country was deeply grieving, after the revelations that hundreds of children's graves had been found at the sites of former residential "schools" [sic]. The horrific news caused many Canadians to grapple with the country's real history -- as opposed to what they were taught growing up, or what they believed when they emigrated -- for the first time.

No more of that. You can be sure that this July 1, it will be all Maple Leafs all the time. Reconciliation has been pushed aside, forgotten. We're back to the standard Canadian superiority, scorning the US, holding up Canada as a model nation. Canada is oh-so-wonderful again.

I grew up believing that nationalism, a universal danger, was separate and distinct from patriotism, love of one's country. Somewhere along the way, that formula no longer made sense to me. The distinction seems to be only one of degree. Degrees are important, but if the principle is wrong -- this group of people is more important and more worthy than that group of people -- then it's wrong.

Looking at the world as a whole, in this era, Canada is a very good place to live -- for most people. There are many positives. Canada could be a great country, but it chooses not to. In a country as wealthy as Canada, poverty, hunger, homelessness, and the fear of homelessness, should all be nonexistent. Yet these conditions are rampant. Yes, not as much, porportionately, as they are in the US. And exactly how does that help Canadians trying to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads? 

Our governments -- the ones we freely choose to elect -- are beholden to the banks and the shareholders, rather than the people who elect them. And how can Canada be a great country when The Indian Act still exists? When some humans living on "reserves" don't have clean drinking water?

"Better than the US" has always been too low a bar, but these days, how can Canadians even think that's enough?

The US electoral system prevents the US from electing anything other than Democrats, who are useless at best, and Republicans, who are monsters. (Many Democrats are monsters, too.) The campaign finance system, the electoral college, large-scale voter suppression, mass incarceration, the gargantuan military budget, elections run by paid advertisements, black-box voting -- all these factors, and more, stand between Americans and a decent government. 

The Canadian system is not perfect and a proportional electoral system is long overdue. But in the aggregate, it's a much more democratic system. Yes, it's first-past-the-post, so up to half the voters in any riding are not represented with a seat in Parliament. But compare the size of a riding -- an electoral district -- to a state! Then compare all the other factors, including that there are more than two viable parties. On both the federal and the provincial levels, Canadian governments are much more responsive to voters than their US counterparts -- exponentially so. 

Canadians can do so much better. 

One happy byproduct of the tariff and 51st-state war of words is that Trump's lunacy may have saved us from a Conservative government under Canada's own brand of would-be fascism, Pierre Poilievre. I don't relish the thought of another Liberal government, and I'm certainly voting NDP -- in our riding, it's Blue or Orange, anything else is a wasted vote -- but PP is truly hard-right by Canadian standards, and an idiot to boot. In choosing Carney as Party Leader, the Liberals have finally unmasked themselves as the Party of the Banking Industry. Carney will do little to stem the rightward tide, but I'll take that over a tidal wave.

And in case you're wondering, I absolutely would prefer an NDP government led by Jagmeet Singh over either of these alternatives. Exactly none of your arguments against this makes any sense.