As an annoyingly stubborn optimist, I try to find the good in even the worst situations. And so, as new U.S. President Donald Trump threatens Canada’s sovereignty and promises our imminent economic ruin, I’ve been racking my brain for the silver lining in all of the dark clouds forming over our country. I think I’ve found it: he’s going to Make Canada Great Again.
No, not like that. Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives may well try to establish a northern branch plant for the MAGA movement, although the narrowing of their lead in recent polls suggest that would be a very dangerous decision. But even if Poilievre’s Conservatives form the next government, they’ll face the same sort of threat from the south — and just like the Liberals, be forced to respond in many of the same ways.
In their repeated musing about turning Canada into America’s 51st state, Trump and his quisling enablers like Kevin O’Leary are reminding Canadians of the importance of their own country and the need to more fully defend it. We have coasted on our geographic privilege for decades, underfunding things like national defence and economic infrastructure because of America’s willingness to build it for us. That must end, whether we like it or not.
That trend long predates the current government. Under Stephen Harper, Canada’s defence spending was even further from the 2 per cent target laid out by NATO than it’s been under Justin Trudeau. “Since Harper took office in 2006, GDP spending on defence has never exceeded 1.4 per cent, which is actually lower than even the alleged “all-time low” under [Pierre] Trudeau,” Esprit de Corps magazine wrote in 2017. “Based on data provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, GDP spending on Canada’s military in 2012 stood at around 1.14 per cent of the country’s GDP.”
Trump’s return is also a reminder of the need to chart our own economic course, one that’s far more independent from the United States than it’s ever been. Yes, that probably includes new energy infrastructure that reduces our dependence on America and increases our access to world markets. It also means finding ways to displace American energy imports with Canadian-made options — in other words, a National Energy Program for the 21st century.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, who was at the forefront of efforts to oppose the Northern Gateway pipeline, recently suggested a surprising openness to revisiting that idea in light of Trump’s election. He quickly walked those comments back in a statement Wednesday, saying he doesn’t support “resuscitating dead projects such as the failed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have been an absolute disaster for our lands and waters.” Fair enough.
Even so, you can see some daylight there. Northern Gateway is dead, but what about a different project — built by Ottawa and owned entirely by impacted Indigenous communities — that helped ship Canada’s oil to global markets? What about a similar project heading east to feed refineries in Quebec and the Maritimes? And what if one of the conditions attached to those projects was Alberta’s acceptance of an emissions cap to ensure the sort of climate leadership the oil and gas industry keeps promising it will deliver one day?
Canada’s response to Trumpism can’t just be more drawing of water and hewing of wood, though. We have to embrace the fact that economic strength in the 21st century revolves around ideas and technology and start implementing policies that better cultivate both. Right now, thanks to the Trump administration’s attack on diversity and immigration, Canada has an opportunity — probably the best one it will ever have — to attract and retain some of the brightest minds in the world. If approached correctly, it could amount to the biggest infusion of human capital in our country’s history, one that would seed the ground for decades of economic growth and prosperity.
More than anything, though, the next four years will remind Canadians about how and why we’re different from Americans. As they embrace cruelty, we can cultivate kindness. As they implement policies that divide and distract, we can be working to unite and align. We already have an amazing foundation to build from, whether it’s the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and our system of democracy or our long and proud history of helping the rest of the world. Now, it’s time to make Canada the greatest it’s ever been — a country that proudly defends its people, its ideas, and its values. If we do, we might just have Donald Trump to thank for the assist.
Comments
Thank you, Max. I've been seething with anger over Trump's bullying. My anger doesn't accomplish anything. Overnight, I tried to coach myself into a constructive frame of mind.
It's good to wake up to your article.
I so love positive visioning. i feel an energy growing that I haven t seen since Trudeau pere s days. Well, the 60s and 70s. It s wonderful. Thank you, Max, for this today.
Just to reiterate: railroads and highway investment east could bring Canadian stuff right up to the ocean where I marvel at the massive container ships scuttling back and forth every day. Maybe those high speed European and Asian style railways would serve us well here too. I always knew it was wrong to destroy them and it seems they would benefit us greatly now.
Move over hiking trails. We need those lands back.
I totally agree on rail.
Yes. Thank you. Hoping that the next PM, not Poilievre, can articulate such a clear vision for Canada's future. I am not ready to be a serf to the neo-feudal American empire.
Yes. Thank you. Hoping that the next PM, not Poilievre, can articulate such a clear vision for Canada's future. I am not ready to be a serf to the neo-feudal American empire.
Max Fawcett...right on!
Nothing but the truth here.
Thanks for a welcome 'sunny' day today. Have tried to stay away from the negativity but the main stream media just has nothing else to offer these days. You forgot to mention Gretsky, Donald's pick for PM. Unbelievable. Meanwhile our 'Tax the Axe' man slipping in the (you can be sure Con owned polls) is more welcome news. Remember Tax the Axe is his new motto because looks like his meme is redundant.
Just want to say that since the salute by Musk I believe every politician and 'real' Canadians should get off Twitter/X and turn to Blue Sky to see yourselves reflected there. Let the seething angry have Twitter/X and your man's salute. It's all theres.
sunny day? its supposed to be winter. you deny delay depose the reality people in the south are experience snow and winter where there is supposed to be sun, where in canada there is NO winter for the most part.
I can't stand people who "avoid the negatives" bc then the rest of us are left to deal with the problems and negatives, planting your head in the sand doesn't help anyone.
we need to pull together as canadians and do the right thing. but PP won't.. he's another donald duck trump, deny depose delay climate destruction.
sure , "Ax the tax" but then lets hear what PP's stance is on climate destruction at the hands of man..you'll find he deny depose delay any action. it'll be open for business. not only that , but opening the flood gates for AI data centers and pyrmid scham bitcoin farming centers that use enough energy to power a small city, powered all by lng, which has contaminate a large portion of Albertas water table, and is set to be unleashed in norther BC that holds most of western canada's precious water, clean and abundant.. most of norther canada is floating on water.. time will tell the crimes, but by then it will be to late.. but its okay. all of us will be dead by then, leaving the problem to future generations. who will probably ahve to live in under ground cities eating fake meat ;)
you're an idiot Max, completely delusional, self serving, insensitive.
here's why.. umm you have heard of fossil fuels destroying the natural world, or have do you deny delay depose reality??
military spendinng???for what, to bankrupt canada like is has the USA?
canada has demonstrated time and time again when there is a call, Canada rises, wwii saw canada go from no military what's so ever, to the second largest navy in the world in 4 years. ?
that was promised to be the war to end all war, millions volunteered, they were not conscripted like usa does for pointless wars like Vietnam, there is even talk of bringing conscription back again as usa pokes its nose into other people's business. more wars and weapons of mass destruction ever today.
the only thing Canada needs a military for is to fight fires and floods in an emergency situation.. military is more than just bombing poor people in the Middle East destroying countries like Syria and Yemen, and others, its to protect and serve, protect against dangers, right now that is climate destruction at the hands of the military-industrial complex.
history doesn't teach the fact that Zionists first partnered with Germany to transport Jewish people to Palestine in exchange for buying german goods, then in 1933 the Zionist betrayed Germany by declaring WAR on germany.. economic war that bankrupted Germany far more than any nation that suffered that weird time when just bc the markets crashed, society collapsed, .. hmm .. sounds familiar today.. Trump was a partner. now he's declaring economic war, which will effect millions of working poor.. but not the rich people like you Max.. no on. you'll find a way to profit for the chaos.
and to make matters worse you spread misinformation and half truths to keep people confused and arguing.
its a sad sad world Max, not for you, but for millions of Canadians who are homeless and hungry. have you ever been homeless, or had to chose between food or lights? have you EVER missed a meal in your life>? no, you have not.. not yet.
but as the natural world is destroyed by people like Pierre Polieve and Donald Duck Trump, millions more will starve and be homeless.
I was shocked to hear of scurvy affecting Canadians.. wow.. how can people ignore the herd of elephants in the room?
"...you're an idiot, completely delusional, self serving, insensitive..."
Pot, meet kettle.
As for the military, the Arctic is still undefended even after years of promises by several federal governments. Canada served honourably with the UN in Rwanda but was shafted when Canadian troops were denied more help to repel a massacre. 900,000 people were slaughtered, an event that could have been prevented by the Canadian military if its calls were heeded.
Before that, Canada's role with the UN in Cypress and Suez and elsewhere were all part of legitimate peacekeeping. Canada rightly refused to serve in Iraq to assuage George W. Bush's stupidity, but did serve in Afghanistan after the Al Qaeda-sponsored 911 attacks. Canada is currently serving in Latvia to hold back today's No. One tyrant -- Putin -- from re-invading the Baltics and destroying democracy again, and gives (but not nearly enough) military and financial support for Ukraine which is a struggling democracy that is, if you haven't noticed, currently suffering mass murder by Russia merely for expansionism. Ukraine has strong intentions to join the European Union in order to foster a better life for its citizens.
These are all perfectly legitimate international efforts that largely assist our allies.
Great article except on one point, the expansion of the oil and gas sector.
I part company with Max Fawcett on his implication we can have it both ways, fighting climate AND building more pipelines, reducing emissions in oil and gas production AND ignoring Scope Three emissions upon combustion, acknowledging the extensive analyses of the IEA, Bloomberg Energy and others indicating the rise of renewables and the oncoming peak in world oil demand AND promoting Energy East instead of much easier and quicker to build and cheaper clean electricity.
Contradiction should not be couched as sound journalism, especially when citing oil industry narratives smothered in the Canadian flag.
Much as I agree that oil and gas are not the best future, what s on the table right now dwarfs everything else we might try. We re looking at ramping up war machines, international risk peaking, obliteration of protections in the massive USA, other countries following their example, and that means pretty much life as we knew it is over.
I see so little hope for the planet that carefully digging a pipeline across the country might actually buy us some options and time to have an impact away from all that is trump.
I sure hope there are leaders with better ideas. We sure need them to manifest now.
Energy East will take at least eight years to build, likely 10+. Look at TMX. Trump, who will be 86+ then, will not be in power. A Republican successor might be, but chances are the Democrats will retake at least one of the houses of Congress (the GOP has only a slim lead) in two years.
Further, cheaper renewables are growing at a tremendous pace. Link provided below.
Note also that Nova Scotia plans to embark on big wind power projects, mainly offshore. It's a lot easier and way more affordable to use undersea cables and overland transmission lines to NS cities and towns from the nearshore Atlantic than to build a 3,800 km pipe from Alberta to the NS border.
Again, renewable power is cheaper than gas and oil. Every EV sold in NS will have an immediate impact on reducing emissions and will help support a local NS wind power industry instead of majority foreign-owned oil companies in Alberta. With net metering, the province's EV fleet could function as one huge grid-scale battery storage system with power instantly available after those big remnant hurricanes you've been getting more frequently. The power connection to a house or business from an EV charger doesn't rely exclusively on the storm-affected grid. Halifax and other NS cities could also build electric rail transit to further bolster clean local renewable power and greatly assist cities to increase the efficacy of their urbanism by reducing car dependency, EV or not.
Burning more gas and oil in NS will only lock in its fossil fuel dependency along with the massive debt servicing costs of building the pipe. You're probably looking north of $75B considering the $34B cost of the much shorter TMX, even accounting for the latter's route through mountainous terrain. The Canadian Shield is very wide and composed mainly of very hard granite.
Lastly, there is the question whether Quebec will allow EE to cross its territory because it prefers to use more of its own hydro power at home to electrify its economy.
Thank you this is all cool to read about and I hope you re right. Seems that cables will link us with maybe Europe, Afrika, South America? Not the rest of Canada. and of course the good old USA if it ever recovers its senses and gets rid of trump.
We are a tiny c/Conservative region badly neglected by Confederation with struggling economies and much dependent still on fossil fuels. Lots of roads to small towns.
I drive a small Mazda stick, which replaced a 10 year old mazda before it. I looked around in 2020 for an affordable ev and at the time my car was better made(Japan) and as energy efficient as the evs out there. I expect to drive it a long time to come and pretty sure I m not alone. This is truck country. Dependent on gasoline alas.
Yes there are all sorts of considerations to EE and I fought the other side hard last time around.
We are in a different world. We need to be nimble. It seems every decision is fraught with terrible risks.
As I ve said, fast rail and expropriation and building better overseas links faster than possible seems our best bet. But maybe we need to be open to other means too.
It worries me that we re not seeing trained professionals( forgive me if you re one) getting out in public with ideas; I hope they exist and it s just our depleted and twisted media that s forgetting to cover them.
As for trump? won t make 86? Remember the Ayatollah? and do you read Sarah Kendzior? He s not planning to leave. His addled parents lived long and he expects to as well. Perhaps his health will fail but Elon and friends will not let go so easily. I don t believe that Don jr has the will of his father but maybe Empress Ivanka or Barron might be in the plan. Seems ridiculous? So did trump.
We need better short term and long term planning.
First it seems we need better government. PM Carney would be so reassuring. Let Ford and Smith be deposed. Persuade Anand to stay. Get Charlie Angus back as NDP leader. Find more like them.
Get some old time PCs back too, they could be great but the Reform party members disguised as conservatives need to be weeded out forever. Clear out the hard nosed short sighted con premiers.
SO much work to do.
The Canadian Climate Institute published an op-ed today that expressed doubt that even Trump can put the energy transition permanently off course. The writer makes four salient points that back this assertion:
1. Public concern about extreme weather events.
2. Subnational action is intensifying.
3. The economics of the net zero transition are inescapable.
4. The new low-emission machines are simply better.
Here's the link, about a 10-minute read:
https://climateinstitute.ca/climate-change-trump-can-only-delay-the-ine…
Great article, thanks, needs to be read. We sure need hopeful news and direction. I d add that leadership will emerge. Is already starting. We need to pay attention, nurture and support it. Like the NO and you guys writing in. People will respond to positives given a chance.
How did I miss this in yesterday s Star? have the online edition( what else is available here) but a hard cope paper was so much better. Oh well.
Too right we need to use the moment to grow some proper Canadian hair. You don't appease bullies, or they just grab whatever else you'd prefer to keep. No sirree, you give bullies a swift, hard boot in the groin, and whilst they're gasping for air, let 'em know there's a lineup of others just waiting for them to try and stand up again.
While we're at it, let's talk about what differentiates Canadians from Americans. Here, as in other developed nations, when an erratic, demented old gaffer in nappies gets aggressive and threatening, starts hurting people, we put him in secure care.
In the U.S., they put him in the White House. Oops.