James, I think you are on the right track. Our politicians and journalists react to what Trump says literally, and always in the most negative light. In fact, we are small fish in Trump’s planning. We don’t know exactly what that plan is, but if we react calmly and negotiate quietly and effectively we will do fine. China, Russia and Iran are the big fish. We are bit players. Danielle Smith is the only premier who has this right. Diplomacy, not booing hockey teams and letting conniving politicians to get us to act like fools
Well written, and most of your points are dead on the mark. We have become an insufferable and weak country led by weak people who don't have an appreciation for history and how brutal man can be.
A couple of quibbles. I don't think Trump wants us to be great. I honestly think he sees us as a vassal who is best off joining the US empire. Trump is a real estate magnate. He builds things and builds his portfolio. Canada is nothing more to him than a property to be acquired. I can appreciate this. I don't think we should sell ourselves to him, but there's something to admire regarding this raw deal-making.
My other quibble. Max Bernier. I understand folks' interest in his views. They're appealing, but he and this movement will never gain traction in Canada. We're just too soft, socialist and vanilla. The very best we can hope for is for Pierre to secure a strong majority and to do the following: 1) purge the wokenss; 2) achieve 2% defence spending; 3) re-build Canadians belief in a good Canada; 4) reduce regulations and let the economy (particular nat. resources) cook. If he can do these things well, Canadians will tolerate him for a second term, and it is only with a second term will we get this country back on track.
Right-leaning Canadians are doing the country a disservice by putting any kind of energy behind the PPC. Let's give Pierre and the team a chance and if they screw it up, then we should take a hard look at the PPC, but for now, we need to give Pierre the support he needs to get this country back on track.
I don't disagree. Perhaps Canada would be better off if Bernier was in the position of official opposition to CPC -- that I think, would be a great political configuration for Canada.
Sad, that some of the best minds suggest that our only option is to stay trapped in a fictitious corporate government structure, when every province was set free as sovereign nations in 1931 and by now, we could have had a Constitution in every province that entrenched solid rights, freedoms and extreme limits on government power and authority, starting with prohibiting the incorporation of governments and the election of foreigners.
Wishful thinking. Poilievre is bound to govern in Liberal-lite mode just like all his feckless Conservative Party predecessors, thereby guaranteeing himself a chaotic one-term government.
Only Bernier could positively transform Canada, as Trump is now doing in America.
It is often difficult to speak truth to power. And in today's environment, shooting the messenger is considered 'being on the right side of history'. You have raised exactly those points that require hard review and - even harder - realignment. And I don't see it happening. Like you, I do not see Trump as an enemy or existential threat but rather as someone in a position of great power who is reflecting hard truths about Canada as it is. Like you, I understand just how far Canadians generally have fallen away and willingly rejected what constitutes pride of nationhood and how much has been squandered over generations in the name of everything else so that when it comes time to wrap ourselves in the flag, we are protecting through common defence what was once cherished and foolishly rejected. But those necessary shared values have already been discarded in public policy and common practice so now such calls are an empty gesture full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Good God! Maxime Bernier, the guy who dated a biker gang gal and who lost confidential documents while he 'entertained' her. How quickly that story died. The rabbit in my back yard has more judgement that that fool.
Good read James. I tweeted Max last month asking him if there was anyway in h-ll he and Poilievre could work out a merger. The Conservatives need his voice on their bus. He’d be a great asset on Canada’s negotiating team with the Americans.
Totally agree James. I despair at the level of discourse about all of this. Carney's recent comments about Trump are pathetic - typical leftist/liberal arrogance. And I find the sudden patriotism and talk about sovereignty deeply hypocritical - no doubt they'll go back to bashing Canada when it suits them.
I didn't read you piece from last week, but this one here makes total sense to me.
Yes, we need only to look in the mirror to find who is responsible for the mess we are in.
Yes, we need a leader/party like Max and the PPC to clean it up and put us in the right track.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with @hymierubenstein that PP will reign as a Liberal-lite. He's already lifting ideas from the PPC platform while not a vision of his own.
Well said James, and this essay mirrors much of my own thoughts on the matter. Man I see many leftists melting down with Trump Derangement Syndrome attacking him versus his teams 'policies', including a prominent leftist Kelowna lawyer who keeps removing my respectful posts to his request on Facebook for open debate on subjects contained in your essay. So many of these folks resort to ad hominem attacks, despise facts, name call, and cannot debate. His name is Paul Hergott. 6 months ago this lawyer defamed me on FB posts, I privately messaged him, and requested he remove the defamatory posts and post a written public apology, and to his credit he saw the error of his ways and did do as I requested. Now he is back at it again....Keep up the great work James !
Statists gnashing their teeth and crawling at flesh. These are the same mother fuckers who cussed out the Convoy in Ottawa, supported throwing people in camps who wouldnt take the death jabs, and believed flying the canadian flag was somehow associated with white supremacy and antimenitism. Now these fucks are all in for Canada? Sheep.
Trump appears to be starting a war with the Global Socialists in Geneva. He won't put up with a Woke, Marxist country to his North. I don't think Canada is ready to let go of Socialism. We love Govt holding our hands, taking our guns, indoctrinating our kids, blowing our taxes, etc.
Unfortunately Trump has given a reason for the Progressives to rally around the new Golden Calf Carney.
So very sad that a great writer like yourself can't do basic research.
There never was a Canada the nation and that was exposed in Parliament in 1945 by MP Kuhl, who also advised Rene Levesque during the Quebec 'separation' crisis, that Quebec need not 'separate' since there was no 'marriage' of the provinces. There never was a Canada (except a corrupt corporaiton called CANADA masquerading as government), It was all a charade starting with Sir John A.
There never was a Constitution that applied to anything but inland and coastal waters, since that is the legal and international definition of CANADA. There never was a BNA, or a Charter, It was all a charade to keep the parasites eating at the public through while the theatre sold tickets.
And if you did a bit of research you would learn that the Statute of Westminster, 1931, set every province free of incorporation and colonization to establish their own soverign republic with a real Constitution of the people for the people, instead of a commerical agreement between corporations.
As long as well-respected writers like yourself keep feeding the illusion that Canada is a nation, we can never recover. Quebec tells us it is a sovereign nation and you should ask yourself why that is.
People like yourself could help those of us less fortunate in the skill of spinning stories, so that we can really become free FAST simply by Claiming our Right to our Constitutional Republic (in every province that wants to) and the People can thereafter rule over the government, just as every state in the US does. Legally, we are not even 'provinces' since 1931. We just have to claim our Statehood!
You have told the truth about the elite Aboriginal fraud industry, so why not listen to what Canada isn't and start telling the truth about that, instead of continuing to drink the Kool-Aid about Canada being a 'nation'. It has not even been governed by anything Canadian since 1985 when corporate CANADA, Inc sold its business to the foreign corporation United Nations. It's all there in the legislation! Even the Supreme Court of Canada was secretly changed over during the lockdowns and its coat of arms completely changed.
Therefore Poilievre has to tread very carefully amidst the patriotic hysteria, which he has the skill to do. It might help Canada if we got a talking to similar to the one Vance gave the Europeans. The enemy is your own governments and elites.
Poilievre is in a difficult situation. He does not have a political base dedicated to freedom as Trump and his allies Musk and Kennedy had before November.
Your writings have good insight in them. Your points about trying to understand the needs of the counterparty are important (i.e. having genuine empathy, not the fake progressive kind) as are your comments about not panicking in the face of potential danger. We need to do better at both.
James, I think you are on the right track. Our politicians and journalists react to what Trump says literally, and always in the most negative light. In fact, we are small fish in Trump’s planning. We don’t know exactly what that plan is, but if we react calmly and negotiate quietly and effectively we will do fine. China, Russia and Iran are the big fish. We are bit players. Danielle Smith is the only premier who has this right. Diplomacy, not booing hockey teams and letting conniving politicians to get us to act like fools
Well written, and most of your points are dead on the mark. We have become an insufferable and weak country led by weak people who don't have an appreciation for history and how brutal man can be.
A couple of quibbles. I don't think Trump wants us to be great. I honestly think he sees us as a vassal who is best off joining the US empire. Trump is a real estate magnate. He builds things and builds his portfolio. Canada is nothing more to him than a property to be acquired. I can appreciate this. I don't think we should sell ourselves to him, but there's something to admire regarding this raw deal-making.
My other quibble. Max Bernier. I understand folks' interest in his views. They're appealing, but he and this movement will never gain traction in Canada. We're just too soft, socialist and vanilla. The very best we can hope for is for Pierre to secure a strong majority and to do the following: 1) purge the wokenss; 2) achieve 2% defence spending; 3) re-build Canadians belief in a good Canada; 4) reduce regulations and let the economy (particular nat. resources) cook. If he can do these things well, Canadians will tolerate him for a second term, and it is only with a second term will we get this country back on track.
Right-leaning Canadians are doing the country a disservice by putting any kind of energy behind the PPC. Let's give Pierre and the team a chance and if they screw it up, then we should take a hard look at the PPC, but for now, we need to give Pierre the support he needs to get this country back on track.
Keep up the great work.
I don't disagree. Perhaps Canada would be better off if Bernier was in the position of official opposition to CPC -- that I think, would be a great political configuration for Canada.
Sad, that some of the best minds suggest that our only option is to stay trapped in a fictitious corporate government structure, when every province was set free as sovereign nations in 1931 and by now, we could have had a Constitution in every province that entrenched solid rights, freedoms and extreme limits on government power and authority, starting with prohibiting the incorporation of governments and the election of foreigners.
Wishful thinking. Poilievre is bound to govern in Liberal-lite mode just like all his feckless Conservative Party predecessors, thereby guaranteeing himself a chaotic one-term government.
Only Bernier could positively transform Canada, as Trump is now doing in America.
I've been learning about the saturation of organized crime and the foothold that's been gained by China and IRAN(?!) doing black market business here.
We have fentanyl superlabs (resulting in no arrests?) and general permissiveness in that anarcho-tyranny style that's so useful to the globalists.
Trump doesn't want a weak Canada because it makes us into a terrible neighbor infested with rats and snakes.
It is often difficult to speak truth to power. And in today's environment, shooting the messenger is considered 'being on the right side of history'. You have raised exactly those points that require hard review and - even harder - realignment. And I don't see it happening. Like you, I do not see Trump as an enemy or existential threat but rather as someone in a position of great power who is reflecting hard truths about Canada as it is. Like you, I understand just how far Canadians generally have fallen away and willingly rejected what constitutes pride of nationhood and how much has been squandered over generations in the name of everything else so that when it comes time to wrap ourselves in the flag, we are protecting through common defence what was once cherished and foolishly rejected. But those necessary shared values have already been discarded in public policy and common practice so now such calls are an empty gesture full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
Well said!
A terrific analysis, especially of Maxime Bernier’s mature take on dealing with Trump’s well founded concerns about Canada’s failures.
Good God! Maxime Bernier, the guy who dated a biker gang gal and who lost confidential documents while he 'entertained' her. How quickly that story died. The rabbit in my back yard has more judgement that that fool.
Good read James. I tweeted Max last month asking him if there was anyway in h-ll he and Poilievre could work out a merger. The Conservatives need his voice on their bus. He’d be a great asset on Canada’s negotiating team with the Americans.
Totally agree James. I despair at the level of discourse about all of this. Carney's recent comments about Trump are pathetic - typical leftist/liberal arrogance. And I find the sudden patriotism and talk about sovereignty deeply hypocritical - no doubt they'll go back to bashing Canada when it suits them.
Yes, yes, and yes!
I didn't read you piece from last week, but this one here makes total sense to me.
Yes, we need only to look in the mirror to find who is responsible for the mess we are in.
Yes, we need a leader/party like Max and the PPC to clean it up and put us in the right track.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with @hymierubenstein that PP will reign as a Liberal-lite. He's already lifting ideas from the PPC platform while not a vision of his own.
Keep on soldiering James, you're doing good. ✌️
Well said James, and this essay mirrors much of my own thoughts on the matter. Man I see many leftists melting down with Trump Derangement Syndrome attacking him versus his teams 'policies', including a prominent leftist Kelowna lawyer who keeps removing my respectful posts to his request on Facebook for open debate on subjects contained in your essay. So many of these folks resort to ad hominem attacks, despise facts, name call, and cannot debate. His name is Paul Hergott. 6 months ago this lawyer defamed me on FB posts, I privately messaged him, and requested he remove the defamatory posts and post a written public apology, and to his credit he saw the error of his ways and did do as I requested. Now he is back at it again....Keep up the great work James !
Much appreciated Scott. The small handful of people like you keep me going!!!
Statists gnashing their teeth and crawling at flesh. These are the same mother fuckers who cussed out the Convoy in Ottawa, supported throwing people in camps who wouldnt take the death jabs, and believed flying the canadian flag was somehow associated with white supremacy and antimenitism. Now these fucks are all in for Canada? Sheep.
Sit back and enjoy the show. 🍿
Trump appears to be starting a war with the Global Socialists in Geneva. He won't put up with a Woke, Marxist country to his North. I don't think Canada is ready to let go of Socialism. We love Govt holding our hands, taking our guns, indoctrinating our kids, blowing our taxes, etc.
Unfortunately Trump has given a reason for the Progressives to rally around the new Golden Calf Carney.
So very sad that a great writer like yourself can't do basic research.
There never was a Canada the nation and that was exposed in Parliament in 1945 by MP Kuhl, who also advised Rene Levesque during the Quebec 'separation' crisis, that Quebec need not 'separate' since there was no 'marriage' of the provinces. There never was a Canada (except a corrupt corporaiton called CANADA masquerading as government), It was all a charade starting with Sir John A.
There never was a Constitution that applied to anything but inland and coastal waters, since that is the legal and international definition of CANADA. There never was a BNA, or a Charter, It was all a charade to keep the parasites eating at the public through while the theatre sold tickets.
And if you did a bit of research you would learn that the Statute of Westminster, 1931, set every province free of incorporation and colonization to establish their own soverign republic with a real Constitution of the people for the people, instead of a commerical agreement between corporations.
As long as well-respected writers like yourself keep feeding the illusion that Canada is a nation, we can never recover. Quebec tells us it is a sovereign nation and you should ask yourself why that is.
People like yourself could help those of us less fortunate in the skill of spinning stories, so that we can really become free FAST simply by Claiming our Right to our Constitutional Republic (in every province that wants to) and the People can thereafter rule over the government, just as every state in the US does. Legally, we are not even 'provinces' since 1931. We just have to claim our Statehood!
You have told the truth about the elite Aboriginal fraud industry, so why not listen to what Canada isn't and start telling the truth about that, instead of continuing to drink the Kool-Aid about Canada being a 'nation'. It has not even been governed by anything Canadian since 1985 when corporate CANADA, Inc sold its business to the foreign corporation United Nations. It's all there in the legislation! Even the Supreme Court of Canada was secretly changed over during the lockdowns and its coat of arms completely changed.
Therefore Poilievre has to tread very carefully amidst the patriotic hysteria, which he has the skill to do. It might help Canada if we got a talking to similar to the one Vance gave the Europeans. The enemy is your own governments and elites.
Poilievre is in a difficult situation. He does not have a political base dedicated to freedom as Trump and his allies Musk and Kennedy had before November.
Yep, obviously Trump wants Canada on board economically and socially with the US. Canadian politicians are scum, using
Trump politically to get elected and deflect criticism for their incompetence and corruption.
Best bold and courageous. Your insight is honest and brilliant. You are a gifted writer. Worthy to be in the same company as Rex Murphy.
Your writings have good insight in them. Your points about trying to understand the needs of the counterparty are important (i.e. having genuine empathy, not the fake progressive kind) as are your comments about not panicking in the face of potential danger. We need to do better at both.