Time for unity, not party politics

Like many of you, I watched the Olympics with a focus on both our women’s and men’s hockey teams, both of whom fell just short of gold medals, in losses to the U.S.

In the normal course of sports and national pride, this would always be a bit of a disappointment. I think it was heightened this year, given the insults and economic pain which the U.S. has inflicted upon us, their largest trading partner, over the past year.

To put it bluntly, we are a long way from the words of former president John F. Kennedy, who spoke of our relationship in a 1961 address to the Canada’s Parliament, saying, “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies.”

While we will remain neighbours to the U.S. and will always have a large trading relationship with them, the depth of our relations, as either a friend or an ally, will never be what it was.

The events of the past 12 months have seen a significant reduction in Canadian visits to the U.S. These events have also fueled Canadian pride, and commitment to our country, not just when we cheer for our Olympic athletes, but also where we shop, and what we buy. This heightened Canadian pride exists alongside diminishing national unity.

Quebec faces a provincial election this fall in which the Parti Quebecois is widely expected to return to power, and they are promising a third referendum on sovereignty within their first term.

This will be the third such referendum since 1980. It is widely believed that Quebecers will opt to stay in Canada, but it will be a divisive debate, the last thing our country needs.

Alberta, under Premier Danielle Smith, is a couple of years away from its next election, but Smith seems to be in full campaign mode with the promise of nine, and perhaps 10 referendum questions this fall.

A number of questions relate to immigration, with Alberta seeking devolution of power from Ottawa. They also want to deny Medicare, education and other social services to immigrants or begin to charge for same. Citizens will indicate if they want changes to how judges are appointed, and whether the Canadian Senate should be abolished, or not.

Alberta, of course, does not control the above issues on its own, but the questions serve Smith’s domestic political agenda, to fight Ottawa, and blame immigrants for Alberta’s budget problems.

This smorgasbord of so-called direct democracy is being offered up in the midst of a possible big referendum question, asking whether Albertan’s want to remain in Canada or opt to form their own independent country.

Later this spring, results of a petition requirement will be known, and Smith has said she will place this question before Albertans if the petition threshold is met.

On this question, Smith says she, “supports a sovereign Alberta within a United Canada,” whatever that means.

What is clear is that Smith, who has made a career of fighting Ottawa, is pandering to the far right-wing of her conservative base and here too, like Quebec, a divisive debate is predictable.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was right to offer up the “hard-truths” he spoke in Davos, Switzerland, at the recent World Economic Forum, where he said the “rules-based order is fading.” He went on to say that “The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”

At the federal level, divisions and weaknesses are evident across the spectrum. Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre cannot stop the bleeding within his own caucus, having lost three MPs to the Liberals. He panders to the Canadian MAGA crowd, while attempting to offer himself up as a prime minister in waiting. The polls indicate that Canadians aren’t buying what he is trying to sell.

On the left, the NDP is in the midst of what can only be termed a low-key leadership race. National support for the party remains in the single digits, and the prospect of their sole MP from Quebec, opting to run in this fall’s Quebec election, raises the prospect of a six-person federal caucus with no seats east of the Manitoba-Ontario border. In the near term at least, the social democratic voice in national debates is at best a diminished force.

In the midst of all of the above politics, the Canadian economy is bleeding. The percentage of manufacturing jobs in the country was 19.9 per cent in 1985, today it sits at 8.8 per cent and falling. In 1995, Canada was the tenth largest country in terms of manufacturing; today we sit in 18th place.

Canadians have shown through recent polls that affordability and economic insecurity are their top-of-mind issues.

This is understandable and ought to be a signal to politicians at all levels to move beyond lip service when it comes to unity, and to put country before party in these uncertain times.

Paul Moist is a retired labour leader. He is president of the Maniotba Federation of Union Retirees.