Canada and Third Parties… A Lesson for the United States?

Canada and Third Parties…  A Lesson for the United States? 

 

"These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only — only to kill the largest amount of people in the shortest amount of time," he said in a press conference on Friday.

 

"You don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer."

 

-       Trudeau announces ban on 1,500 kinds of assault weapons, BBC

 

 

By JM Hamilton (5-29-21)

 

I had the privilege of moving from the United States to Canada in January of 2020.  My reasons for doing so were numerous, but primarily it was to soak up Canada’s beauty and to gain a step, or two, on climate change (that is, to remove myself from hotter temperatures as well as the States’ increasingly dark trajectory). 

 

As an economics & political observer my timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as the pandemic hit North America one to two months after my move.  Here, in real time, I was able to analyze and observe two countries, Canada and the United States, and the respective governments’ responses to that pandemic. 

 

As I’ve written on more than one occasion, COVID has revealed a great many things about the state of democracy, economics, and the health of respective governments… and, as better days appear to be on the horizon, COVID will, likely, continue to reveal much more. 

 

And while I’m no expert – not even close – on Canadian politics and institutions…. I feel like I’ve learned enough on a macro basis to comment or offer some comparisons vis a vis the United States. 

 

First, unlike the United States, Canadian democracy is thriving and running very well. Canada has a vibrant and very healthy political system, with parties that run the gamut from Greens all the way to Conservatives. In the middle, we have several national parties, not the least among them: Liberals, The New Democratic Party (NDP), and Bloc Québécois.  I say, ‘middle’ but the Liberals and the New Democratic Party are progressive, and put America’s Democratic party to shame (both as functioning political parties and their ability execute, act rapidly, and get things done). Presently, Liberals and the NDP form a coalition (or minority) government, under Canada’s parliamentary democracy. 

 

Canada’s pandemic response was nothing short of spectacular.  Perhaps, second best after New Zealand and PM Jacinda Ardern’s response.  Canada didn’t hesitate, it acted. Unlike the Unite States with its endless haggling and failed two-party system, the Liberal government’s response was a work of art.  Among other programs, Liberals and the NDP offering a UBI for Canadians put out of work by the pandemic, along with aid to small businesses and large businesses alike.  In fact, Canada spent the most, comparatively, among its G7 peers, and it certainly could afford to do so because it had the lowest debt to GDP ratio… and holds an identical debt to GDP standing today.  In fact, S&P just confirmed Canada’s AAA credit rating. 

 

In its most recent budget, the Trudeau government is not standing down, it’s ramping up state spending: with green initiatives (green hydrogen captures my attention); national childcare programs that will unburden women and put them back to work (should they so desire); and Liberals are looking to increase the federal minimum wage to $15, and peg annual increases to inflation (essentially, taking future minimum wage hikes out of parliament’s hands).  Again, Canada’s government can afford to act aggressively, because unlike our southern neighbor, Canada doesn’t have a rabid – Wild West – banking system requiring continuous bailouts.  And unlike the United States, Canada doesn’t do endless wars… Wall St bailouts and Endless Wars have caused the US’ national debt to spiral out of control. (To such an extent, that a 4.4 trillion dollar bailout for Wall St, under the CARES Act, wasn’t added to America’s national debt, but rather, was called a ‘loan’…  the FED’s bloated balance sheet notwithstanding.)

 

I’m partial to Trudeau and the Liberals … they stand for women’s rights, gay rights, and are pushing the country in the correct direction on first nations and minority rights. The Liberal government legalized cannabis, which has been a godsend for jobs and provincial tax revenue.  After a sluggish start, the Liberal government is blowing away the majority of other G20 members in placing vaccine jabs into Canadian arms.  

On trade agreements, the Liberal government has entered into revised agreements, with a more nuanced perspective in favor of Canadian labor, and it favors a global minimum tax for tax dodging multinationals.  And in terms of making Canada safer, after a mass shooting in Nova Scotia, Trudeau outlawed automatic weapons.  

 

Zero drama, outlawed, done, finito: Mic drop. 

 

You can’t make this stuff up.  And as for my beloved United States… unmitigated chaos, a government in serious dysfunction & entirely corrupt, a billionaire welfare state, systemic looting by the oligarchy, a population riven in two, and racial problems on an unprecedented scale.  Congress shrugs and plays its Washington games.  And a newly elected POTUS, who talks a great game, but is chronically handicapping himself by reaching out to a political party – the GOP – that is hellbent upon Biden’s destruction.  

 

Trust me, on any number of fronts, I want to see the United States turn it around; not the least of which, I don’t want to see hell come spilling over the Canadian border from the South. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day, the Liberal party is no Democratic party.  PM Trudeau is his own man, and the Liberals, again, are genuinely progressive, indisputably successful.  Their instincts, generally, are to do the right thing.  But where Canadian democracy triumphs, and where the United States is clearly failing, is in the introduction of strong viable third parties. 

 

Here, the NDP should take a bow.  It’s one hell of a wingman.  And as a progressive wingman, Jagmeet Singh, not unlike an angel, sits on Mr. Trudeau’s shoulder encouraging the PM to adopt a more progressive path (it’s already in Trudeau’s DNA to do the right thing for Canadians). 

 

Personally, as a progressive, and when we see the United States without a national progressive party, and the Democratic party constantly failing the United States (constantly bailing out billionaires, while one in four American children live in poverty) … the importance of third parties cannot be underestimated. 

 

And the NDP, with nearly 18% national support (based upon current polling), is a credible threat… if say, some future Liberal PM was to start to lean too far right, too centrist, too corporate, too bellicose.  

 

The NDP is such a positive influence, I believe it impacts Canada’s Conservative party… imagine an American conservative leader asking his party to acknowledge climate change.  Not happening. 

And that’s perhaps my biggest takeaways:  Democracy is alive and well in Canada; the government is genuinely concerned about Canadians; the government executes & functions; and – crucially – Canada’s multi-party-political system is an insurance policy against the corruption, the heinous actions, the abject irresponsibility, and callous disregard for citizens (we see exhibited everyday by the FAILED TWO-PARTY SYSTEM within the Unites States).  

 

Third parties are desperately needed competition against an American political duopoly.  A duopoly that serves – exclusively - itself, billionaire ownership, and multinational ownership (and to the exclusion & complete detriment of the nation’s long term & citizens’ interests). 

 

Selah.

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2021