Do we like the direction Canada is going? And if not, what do we do about it?
The Trudeau years, and especially the pandemic, prompted an increasing number of people to answer “No” to the first question. The second question naturally follows but is not easy to answer.
While the pandemic restrictions have gone away, assaults on freedom and prosperity for dubious reasons show no signs of abatement. Leaders of the trucker convoy still face potential jail sentences of seven years. Three provinces in Atlantic Canada are issuing remarkably heavy fines for citizens who walk into the forest. And the federal government still seems ready to sacrifice the Canadian economy on the altar of net zero carbon pursuits.
Despite these continuing challenges, many community freedom groups have fizzled out in their attendance and activity. By contrast, a group named We Unify that emerged in Victoria, B.C. has not only continued but grown in its reach. We Unify is holding its fourth and biggest ever annual conference Sept. 19 to 21 in Calgary.
The event draws together a wide range of citizens and experts to explore answers to Canada’s lingering problems. At Calgary’s BMO Centre, the largest convention centre in Western Canada, informed voices with experience in activism, law, journalism, politics, medicine, commerce, think tanks, and academia, will explore issues of justice, health, sovereignty, resilience, faith and freedom, and the future.
Such efforts are altogether necessary. Thomas Jefferson once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of democracy.” Democratic rights and freedoms are by no means assured. It is a predictable and ever-present risk that some people will try to usurp and consolidate power. Those who want to preserve democracy not just in form, but also substance, must always be ready to identify and respond to such threats. In our times, it’s not hard to see encroaching troubles.
Unfortunately, Canadians have been given more reason to believe than ever that its institutions aren’t functioning for the public good, but for other interests. These could be foreign nations, visionaries at the World Economic Forum, or other idealogues whose agendas undermine family, freedom, prosperity, and equality before the law. Canadians’ freedom and prosperity has been withering for years.
All this seemed poised for a turnaround after former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his departure in January, but twin storms bore down on the country: U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Trump’s trade threats and Carney’s promises to deal with them suddenly made everyone forget about Canadian failures under almost 10 years of Liberal rule.
Amidst this, the Pierre Poilievre Conservatives presented a clear vision of economic development, sensible social policy, and cutting the red tape that had held Canada back for years. While it’s true that Liberal fearmongering and an NDP collapse robbed Poilievre of victory, it remains that he convinced more Canadians than ever of an uncompromised conservative vision.
The April 28 general election was a large disappointment for those who hoped for Canada’s renewal, but the setback was far from permanent. Poilievre lost his seat (its boundary lines radically redrawn due to redistribution), but his departure from Parliament was only temporary. He returns to the House of Commons with his party solidly behind him.
Meanwhile, the idea that Carney would reform his party, the government, and the country, and lead a successful charge against American protectionism–that mirage has vanished. Carney went from elbows up to thumbs up faster than Superman changing back to Clark Kent in a phone booth. Then Canadians found out Carney dropped the countervailing tariffs against the U.S. before the election.
Surprise! Carney’s strategy has failed. Canada, which had very little leverage against a national U.S. economy 10 times its size, isn’t hitting Trump hard enough to inflict much pain and all. Now Canada faces 50 per cent tariffs on its steel and aluminum, 35 per cent on its softwood lumber, and just got slapped with new tariffs on a wide range of items.
The NDP will find a new leader soon enough, one not saddled with the association of propping up Trudeau. The first priority for that leader will be regaining party status as soon as possible. The new leader won’t prop up Carney in Parliament, nor will traditional NDP voters be so eager to lend their votes to Liberals.
Canada is still ripe for change and Canadians who want that change need to keep pushing. It’s time to develop and promote the ideas and people that will transform Canada. Another window of opportunity is about to open, and change-makers must be ready to walk through it.
