Evan Saugstad: Oh Canada! A point of view from a small town guy living in rural Canada (part 6)

Last article I outlined some of Donald’s untruths as reported in news organizations from a variety of sources.  Not very flattering for someone who demands that he be treated as a pseudo-King.

Now in his second month in office, what do you think of Donald and his relationship with Canada so far?

Like him or hate him? Or are you a bit ambivalent and recognize Donald will be Donald no matter what we think, that the U.S. will still be the U.S. and Canada needs to get on with being Canada?

What does this mean for Canada? Are we hooped or is this just a setback while Donald does his thing and Canada figures out our own way, with or without Donald’s agreement? Can we still keep the U.S. as a friendly neighbor?

There are those who only like him for what they agree with, branding the things they don’t like as inconsequential or dismissing them by turning a blind eye.

There are those who detest him and no matter what he does, oppose him on general principles.  Convicted felon, abject liar…

Has Donald lost the throne as leader of the “free” world and now must be replaced?

I am somewhere in the middle.

If I was an American, I would have voted for him last fall. Not much to pick from, first with Biden, then Harris.  Despite what has transpired in his first few days in office, I still would as I believe he can do better for our world than naught.

Then if I think the same thoughts as a Canadian, and being on the outside looking in, my perspective changes.

The reshaping of the U.S. is his business, not mine, although I do care.  I agree that government needs to be smaller, deficits and immigration need to be brought under control, life simplified, etc, etc.

I don’t agree with no support to foreign countries, but if that is what the U.S. wants and needs, so be it. It is their country to do as they choose.  

What I cannot support is Donald’s premise that he will reshape the U.S. on the backs of other countries. To accomplish that, he degrades others, threatens punishments to anyone who disagrees, makes not-so-veiled threats of annexation of other sovereign lands, and maybe worst of all, is willing use disinformation and outright fabrications to convince his citizens he is the smartest person in the world doing the best job for the best country in the world.

Donald – or should we now address him as Disinfo Don for his repeated exaggerations, obfuscations and outright lies – is a hard person to believe and take seriously, but unfortunately, we must.  Sort of like the carjacker who points his gun through the window and says “I want your car, get out”.  You have a choice, but not really, so they get your car, you get your life and then you must figure out a way to get it back or replaced. That is where Canada now sits.

What happens after we lose our car? 

While I do not like everything he does or claims to be, the same can be said about most politicians. We Canadians, especially western Canada Canadians, need to spend more time thinking about our country and our leaders – or lack thereof – and less time fussing about Donald.

Maybe most importantly for Canada is Donald’s impact on our upcoming election.

Are we going to have an election with the most important question being who is best to grovel in front of Donald? Or are we going to have an election on how we bring Canada back to the prosperous country us ‘old-timers’ grew up in, a country that can survive with a much-reduced reliance on the U.S.?

As I write this, President Zelensky was being thrown out of the White House by Donald and his chief enforcer, Vice President Vance, and for what?

Zelensky did not wear a suit, did not say thank you to Donald and the U.S. enough for what they have provided to Ukraine and had the audacity to correct Donald and JD on facts surrounding Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the amount of aid provided by the U.S.

This little spat is an important piece to remember when Canada assesses whether the Conservative and Poilievre or the Liberals and the yet to be named leader are best suited to “deal” with Donald.

I would say the only attribute which matters is the promise to stay away from the White House and Donald’s press conferences, which are designed to make him look all powerful, smart and decisive. But, if you do wish to attend and make Donald look good, have the ability to grovel and say nothing but nice things that mean nothing so Donald can puff out his chest like a rooster before his hens and smile for the cameras.  Other than that, dealing with Donald on trade is to work the back rooms with those more suited to negotiations between governments.

Interestingly, Donald may be waking up to the realization that the more he talks smack about Canada,  the more likely the Liberals are to win the upcoming election and he needs to distance himself from the Conservatives if they are to defeat the Liberals.

A National Post article reads: “He recently took aim at ex-finance minister and Liberal leadership contender Chrystia Freeland, calling her ‘a whack.’”

It says: “Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s biggest problem is that he’s “not a MAGA guy,” according to U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Trump told British news magazine The Spectator that he wasn’t pleased with Poilievre’s recent jabs in a wide-ranging interview published on Friday. 

“I don’t like what he’s saying about me. It’s just not positive about me,” Trump said to interviewer Ben Domenech.”

Donald is only fussing about Canada when asked and is certainly not obsessed with Justin, using the rest of us as some form of payback for past Justin slights of Donald. 

What is important for Canadians to assess is who is best to lead Canada on the same important issues we had three years ago, two years ago, last year and still have this year.  Growing the economy, reducing crime, better health care, more housing, increased military and NATO contributions that better secure Canada and our borders, etcetera, etcetera.

With that in mind, would we stick ourselves with another Liberal government which I believe binds our hands and ties our feet when it comes to redeveloping our economic potential and raising our standard of living just so we can have a leader that is better suited to groveling in front of Donald?

Or will we recognize the rhetoric coming from south of the border is an irritant that must be dealt with as it occurs and elect a government that will stay focused on what is wrong with Canada and bring our country back to one we all can be proud of? 

As Canada awaits U.S. President Donald to make up his mind on whether we will have one, two, three or more levels and layers of tariffs, the debate rages on whether Donald is a courageous hero in his relentless pursuit of reshaping the world and ridding us of the elite, or an orange-headed miscreant who we all could do without.  Truth be told, he is likely to reduce the impact the Davos WEF elite have on the world, but they will only be replaced with Donald’s elite from the U.S. with names like Musk, Cook, Bezos and Zuckerberg.

Those that love and admire him say keep going, no matter what the pain or repercussions. They say smaller government, lower taxes, balanced budgets, secure border, reduced crime, ending the Green New Deal, balanced trade … and that we should do the same here in Canada.

Despite the Liberal rhetoric that everything Donald is bad, much of what he does can and should be replicated in Canada, just with a whole lot more sensitivity and thought: 

• Being tough on crime and criminals to reduce their impact on society, including fentanyl, is just as important to Canada as the U.S.
• Secure our borders through sustainable immigration rates and proper vetting to ensure those coming to Canada wish to come to our country to help make it a better place to live instead of a thoroughfare to the U.S.
• Stop the focus on carbon as being the driver of our economy and move it to its rightful place as a long-term issue that must be worked on in the sense that it cannot dictate what our economy must be.
• Smaller government through evaluation and process that still values our employees and tries to minimize the effects layoffs can bring, such as early retirement, relocations and buyouts.
• A full-scale tax review to both simplify the process is long overdue.
• More pipelines to both coasts, to reduce our trade surplus and diversify our customer base, needs to be a national priority. 

The list is long, and despite some saying the Conservatives are only ‘MAGA north’ and would bring Donald’s messages north, they are wrong.  I believe much of what Donald is doing in the U.S. has long been the talking points of the Conservatives and needs to occur here. We just don’t need or want Elon or the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to do it.

As I close this rather long diatribe, has the thought crossed your mind that Donald may not be all that different than Joe in his irregular and irrational behaviors?  Interesting thought.

Evan, and with some compassion to my American friends: sorry, but one’s country is defined by one’s leaders and yours isn’t looking all that great right now.  Better luck next time.

And with that, I will move on to other topics as there is more to life than obsessing about Donald.

Evan

Part 1 – President Trump’s wish to annex Canada
Part 2 – Canada’s response, so far
Part 3 – Canada’s options
Part 4 – Canada’s reaction
Part 5 – Fact-checking Trump