Evan Saugstad: 2025 – the year Canadians become Canadian, once again?

As the sun sets in 2024 and rises in 2025, how do you view your life?  Will 2025 be a sunrise or a sunset kind of year?

Fed up with 24 and looking forward to a better future in 25, or were you happy with 24 and now worried about what 25 will deliver? Or were you happy with 24 and looking forward to more of the same in 25?  Or was 24 plain awful and 25 will be worse? 

Whichever way you think, it is only a mind set.  The optimist in you will look for the best; the pessimist will focus on the worst. Is it a bit of both, or just another 365 days of life and how we remember the past 365 days or look forward to the next 365 only a reflection of our thoughts and emotions?

No year is all good, no year all bad.  Life is what we make it, and as the old saying goes “The world is run by those who show up to work.” And those who show up, shape the world as they see fit.

In 2024 Canadian life was dominated by Justin Trudeau, and to a lesser degree, Joe Biden, and in BC, David Eby.

In 2025 things are about to change.

Although we will start the year with the same old Justin and the federal Liberals in charge, that will change, maybe not as soon as the majority of Canadians hope, but it will change and will be for the better with Pierre Poilievre and the federal Conservatives taking over.

That is what most Canadians want and believe we need.

On January 20, at 10 am, Donald Trump will once again become President of the United States of America and life in Canada will change, maybe a little, maybe a lot, some for the better and some for the worse, and makes no deference to him, whether we agree or not.

Donald Trump is about to change Canada and that will be good for Canadians.

Unfortunately, BC made a choice in October and if we are looking for change in 25 to the better, all we can hope is that Daivid Eby had a New Year’s epiphany and will begin to govern BC for the benefit of us all.

Canada wants this change; Canada needs this change; 2025 will be the start and as part of Canada, BC will be forced to follow, whether Eby wants it or not.

Pierre Poilievre has been talking about the need for change and most Canadians now agree.  We may not yet know what that means, or how each of us are affected, but Pierre and the Federal Conservatives will change Canada, and most believe it cannot get any worse. 

As for Donald Trump?

He has already begun to change Canada, and he hasn’t even begun his presidency.  A few words about fentanyl and border security and suddenly, fentanyl and border security matters to Canada.  Not that it didn’t to most Canadians long before Donald said a word, it just took a foreigner to raise the issue and suddenly Canadian politicians began to pay attention as someone with power was going to hold Canadian politicians to account, or else ….  economic sanctions …. tariffs …. et al.

And that is a good thing.  Not the tariffs or sanctions, but the mere thought that a foreign politician can walk all over Canada and Canadian politicians will lead to good things happening in Canada.

Not sure Donald Trump has figured it out quite yet, but his threats, musings and jokes about Canada and Canadian sovereignty will only lead Canada in one direction, back to a country with a common purpose and all for the better.

After years of Justin’s wedge politics dividing us into little groups and clicks opposing, arguing and fighting with each other, and after nine years of trying to kill the Canadian identity, suddenly we will find that identity again and Canada will be back.  Remember as Justin took over nine years ago, him saying to the world “Canada is back”?

Well, nine years later it is about to happen and it won’t be with Justin or the socialists in charge.

Yes, a little international adversity and a few jokes mocking Canadians will make most Canadians once again view Canada as a sovereign country, full of Canadians and with the view that Canada is only as good as our pride and dedication to country allow.  

Yes, Canada will be a much better place if we don’t view fentanyl as an economic opportunity or a border so porous that anyone can walk into and out of our country and all we can do is await a 10-year deportation process to fix the problem.

Yes, eventually we will thank Doanld for bringing Canada back to Canadians.

For those of us western Canadians, we will also have another to thank – Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta.

Yes, Danielle has got it figured.  Despite the calls from Ontario and Quebec that Canada can just stop exporting oil to the US and stop Trump’s tariff threats, Danielle says no.  Instead, she says Alberta will work with Trump and come to an agreement where the oil keeps flowing south and Albertans keep working as why would Alberta take the economic hit for auto workers in in southern Ontario or Quebecers who won’t let a drop of Alberta oil flow through their province? 

And when Donald takes aim at dairy, cheese, poultry and egg supply management (Quebec and Ontario dominate production in Canada) that prohibits importation, Danille will leave them to figure it out on their own, as supply management matters less to Albertans than a day’s export of oil.  And for that, most Canadians will be thankful as the ending of supply management only means their costs come down.

Donald’s list may be long, but c’est-la-vie, as Trump will be Trump, the US of A will be the US of A and if Canada has anything to learn from our American cousins, it is Canada can still be Canada, Canadians can still be Canadians.

2025 will be another year to enjoy as we are the only one who can make our lives better.  Happiness is out there; well maybe just not on Facebook, from those who can only post about a world of despair and no hope for a future.

By years end in 2025, we will see a preponderance of Canadians singing in the street, or tipping a few and cheering, or all of the above, when PM Justin ends his rein of “sunny ways” and Canada begins the long road of returning our country back to a prosperous nation and something we all can be proud of,  at least for those of us who believe in a strong confederation where the rewards go to those who take pride in and support their entire country.

Cheers, and all the best,

Evan