Make no mistake: the situation in Canada is bleak, especially if you hold hope for a policy reinvigoration from Ottawa. A determined and experienced leader on the Conservative Party (CPC) side has failed to oust a corrupt Liberal Party with a dismal record and an appointed, uncharismatic prime minister. Not only did Pierre Poilievre fail to bring a CPC government, he spread himself too thin and lost his seat in Parliament.
More than a few people have expressed their chagrin at this seemingly unconscionable outcome. However, cooler heads foresaw this from a mile away. Like Western Standard columnist and show host Cory Morgan, my expectation was that the Conservatives would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
This predicament reminds me of the tail-end of the 2022 Trucker Convoy. The Ottawa political class did not bend an inch, and many participants became disillusioned with Canada when they saw their admirable movement persecuted. That scenario was the key impetus for my book, Financial Sovereignty for Canadians, which came out two years later.
Financial analyst Ian Madsen notes that Canada “has been a net divestor of capital for 10 years.” He foresees, after this electoral result, that the country “will continue to be a less desired place to invest,” and that seems baked in now.
That being said, I cannot help but notice many positive takeaways that give me optimism for the people who populate the Great White North.
- Trust in regime media continues to dwindle.
The contrast between independent media, including citizen journalism, and the taxpayer-funded outlets has been enormous. Canadians were already weary of this problem, and those journalists feeding at the trough of Ottawa’s subsidies showed their true colors at the debates and with their apologist coverage. They demonstrated contempt for alternative media and the many Canadians who seek out independent perspectives. While past generations might still watch the out-of-touch CBC, their numbers are thinning by the day.
- Alberta, Saskatchewan separatism has legs.
The momentum behind Alberta independence, with Saskatchewan of a similar mind, is like never before. Premier Danielle Smith has just initiated a streamlined process for a citizen-led referendum—the likely first step towards separation from Canada. There are many thoughtful individuals backing this, and they have sufficient know-how, patience, and support to bring it to the finish line.
- Milquetoast conservatism cannot continue: the CPC, PPC must make amends.
The third time has not been a charm for the CPC pushing a Liberal-lite platform. Nor has it been a charm for Maxime Bernier and the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). I have a soft spot for the PPC platform and its home for independent thinkers. However, the party has gone backwards badly, and I do not see Bernier being able to continue. Correspondingly, the CPC need a compelling message. They would be foolish not to accommodate the PPC base—akin to how US President Donald Trump welcomed libertarians.
The next CPC leader “might win if he boldly supported conservatism,” notes Journalism Professor David Haskell of Wilfrid Laurier University. Of the PPC, the Frontier Centre’s Marco Navarro-Génie concludes: “A movement once thought to be insurgent has now largely withered.”
- The Liberals have lost the moral high ground.
The political patronage at play in the Liberal victory has been naked. The party buys off seniors, for example, at the expense of young people and resembles not a hint of classical liberalism. Various political lobbies—public-sector unions, welfare and pension recipients, cartelized industries, and have-not (but largess-receiving) jurisdictions—have coalesced into a dependent constituency fighting ruthlessly for their share of handouts. There is an additional CAN$130 billion in deficit spending up for grabs, albeit skillfully camouflaged.
While actual support for the Liberal Party remains below a majority, even if we ignore nonvoters, claims of tolerance and inclusiveness have faded into the background. They were hollow. Incumbent authoritarians have even targeted a minor candidate for bank-account freezing. “The Liberals survive, but their legitimacy is tattered,” explains Navarro-Génie.
- Canada’s national identity faces scrutiny.
The peculiar rise of team-Canada rhetoric, although perhaps a winner in the short run, has opened the door to a deeper examination of Canada’s vanishing national identity. Philosophy Professor Louis Groarke of St. Francis Xavier University notes that Canada—at this point in time—lacks a rational identity. Instead, there are different identities across the various regions with not much tying them together, and this reality is rising to the surface. Johnny-come-lately pleas to back team Canada rallied people around their contempt for Trump and US values, not a heartfelt affection for Canada.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney might open interprovincial trade.
Carney realizes that trade barriers are typically harmful. Given the US tariff squeeze, he has made specific campaign promises regarding removing barriers to interprovincial trade and achieving “One Canadian Economy.” In particular, he has proposed that all federal barriers be gone by July 1.
This topic is prickly, given that his coalition partners in Quebec see interprovincial barriers as beyond Ottawa’s discretion. However, this is one area where federal assertiveness might actually pay dividends and have Charter backing.
Bonus: Jagmeet Singh is no longer in Parliament.
While his parasitism will continue via Parliament’s brazen pension scheme, Singh will become a nothingburger in the broader discussion. We need not more economic illiteracy, faux righteousness, and apologism for dictators such as Fidel Castro.
