Along with Canada geese, snowbirds are returning.
Friends fresh from Florida enjoyed the sun and weathered the current political climate well. In fact, some of what they had to say on their return is very welcome news.
In the early days of the trade war, boisterous voices parroted talking points about drugs, immigration and a trade deficit. A close friend there on business was feeling very uneasy as decades old relationships soured almost overnight. But those moods are changing amongst Americans.
Imagine for a moment, a lowered voice on a golf course offering up an apology for the way U.S. President Donald Trump is treating Canada. Even Trump supporters, who may like many of his policies, are having a tough time choking down the lack of respect thrown Canada’s way. These whispers will take root and hopefully improve the current maelstrom.
A day previous to those revelations, the Liberal Party of Canada met to select their new leader. As predicted, Mark Carney landed the top seat handily, although the extent of his plurality was something few could guess.
At 85.9% on the first ballot, the party is solidly united. His closest rival, Chrystia Freeland, former deputy prime minister and finance minister, came in an embarrassingly distant second.
It appears the Liberals are on the same page as the rest of the country, seeking change from policies and years of neglect. Canada needs to return to the centre and Canada needs desperately to start building again.
A most welcome sight at the convention was former Prime Minister Jean Chretien. At 91, he can still give a speech and inspire a crowd. In his folksy way he wondered aloud that if steel and aluminum were subject to tariffs and less appealing for export, why we would not take that material and start building pipelines from the west to the east. We have seen in recent weeks how precarious a spot Canada is in, should its friend and historic trading partner turn its back. We need new markets.
Echoes of his forceful op-ed letter to daily newspapers in January returned with a declaration that Trump needs to “stop the nonsense – advice from one old guy to another.”
As seems to happen when watching figures from the past, we recalled 1993 and the election that saw the Tories decimated under Kim Campbell. She too had taken up the role of a leader only to see her post-leadership bump in the polls completely collapse. That is when Chretien came to power.
Along with that memory we got thinking about a letter to the editor at the time, penned by Roland Cripps, who was a former newsman of some repute. Like most Canadians, Roland was soft spoken but when a burr got under his saddle, he said his piece forcefully yet eloquently.
The PC party aired commercials that had gone after Chretien’s appearance and the Bell’s palsy that impacted his facial expression. It was a cheap trick, authorized by John Tory and quickly rescinded by Campbell, but the damage was done.
Roland called it before the election results were known. What kind of people had we become to attack a man for his appearance? All these years later it strikes us that he had a larger unexercised point. Canadians at their core insist on fair play and decency.
There is a very good chance that within a few short days, parliament will be dissolved and arrangements made for a federal election. As opposed to the unnecessary Ontario election, we desperately need this national reckoning.
Upon its conclusion, Canadians from all corners of this great country will need to accept, unite and work together.
Our future, and the future of our grandkids, depends on it.
