Tag Archives: Canada
Canadian Democracy
There are aspects of Canadian democracy that baffle outsiders. Independence referenda probably top the list. Twice residents of Quebec have been asked whether they want the province to become an independent country. Twice the voters have chosen to stay, through in 1995 it was a pretty narrow margin. Next month voters in Alberta will go […]
Lunatic Republic
Apparently Canada is not allowed to make an agreement with the European Union to have closer ties. Donald Trump will not permit it. trump says such a deal would be “laughable. But he doesn’t appear to be laughing. Such an agreement, he said, would be a “hostile act.” If it comes to pass, Trump says […]
Joining the EU
Canada is on track to become an associate member of the European Union. Which sounds good, except for the fact that nobody knows what that means. To state the obvious, Canada is not part of Europe. Joining together with the 27 EU countries might raise a few challenges. Someone is bound to object. After all, […]
The Bribe
In a democracy it is illegal to offer cash to someone to buy their vote. That is probably also true in the pseudo democracy called the United States of America. Of course, the law doesn’t always apply when it it the government offering the bribe. Canadians are used to new government programs, including some with […]
Jet Decisions
Without intending to, Donald Trump has made Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s life easier. And delivered a multi-billion dollar hit to the American economy at the same time. Canada needs new fighter jets. Our current fleet of CF-18 combat planes should have been replaced a couple of decades ago, but defence procurement is a political […]
Redrawing The Map
Donald Trump has renamed Lake Ontario as Lake America, as he previously tried with the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the world is laughing at him. The American president doesn’t have the authority or jurisdiction to unilaterally change the name of an international waterway. Americans may have to put up with his vagaries, but the […]
Friday’s Questions
“We defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada andthey understand that.” – US President Donald Trump. It is an interesting perspective. As long as I have been alive, Canada and the United States have cooperated militarily, joining in various UN and NATO missions […]
Election Meddling
He’s done it again. Donald Trump has interfered in a foreign election. This time merely by existing. Quebec’s Parti Quebecois has announced that if they win this fall’s election they will not hold a referendum on Quebec separation as long as Donald Trump is president. Previously holding such a referendum had been the cornerstone of […]
Quote of the Week
In 2022, Stephen Marche, a keen observer of American society and politics, published the scariest book I have read in years, The Next Civil War. It was so unsettling I couldn’t write about it here. On Monday I read an essay he published in the New York Times with his thoughts on the Canada-US trade […]
What Benefits?
Donald Trump says Canada: “wants the benefits” of being a U.S. state “without being one.” But he forgot to tell us what those benefits would be. Would it be a country with no universal health care, which Canada has and the US doesn’t? Would it be an electoral system where political parties control district boundaries […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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