Canada: A Nation In Search of A Leader

Canada is a nation in crisis.

There is a housing shortage. More and more Canadians have nowhere to live. A distressing number live in homes not worthy of the name, in conditions that range from the overcrowded to the unsanitary to the unsafe. Or the street.

There is a health care crisis. In too many communities, hospitals are crumbling, underequipped and understaffed. How many are not overwhelmed, especially in winter months, by the number of patients who require medical attention. Too few Canadians have a family physician. In a country with an aging population, this is a ticking time bomb.

There are simply not enough doctors. And we are, apparently, one of the most prosperous of nations.

There is a unity crisis. Canada was born with a strong central government. Provinces were clearly meant, constitutionally, to be subservient powers. Since then, there has been a change. Over the course of the last 150 years, federal power has declined and provincial power has risen. Provinces have acquired the power to collect their own taxes. And have learned how to flex their natural resource muscles. Instead of one uncontested power that unites us, we now have eleven competing ones that push us apart.

Language has faded as an issue in nine provinces, only to become an unextinguishable fire, sometimes raging and sometimes not, in one. A linguistic pact with the devil in the seventies was made in this country: the winners were Francophone Quebecers, whose rights were inflated beyond expectation, or precedent. The losers: Francophones in every other province, whose rights have been allowed to languish by Parliament, the Supreme Court and the provincial legislatures.

There is a foreign crisis. Our neighbour, our best friend, the country upon whom we have foolishly come to depend for just about everything one needs from one’s closest allies – namely, trade and defense, is now doing its best to turn North America into the Middle East. We are the turtle ferrying the scorpion, on our back, across the river. And now the scorpion is going to bite. Why? Because it can. We got ourselves into this mess, in the sense that we allowed this dependency to grow far out of proportion. Self-reliance, nationally, was abandoned a long, long time ago. And now the United States threatens to hit us with monster tariffs.

We are unprotected.

There is a defense crisis. Our miniscule army, navy and air force are simply not in a position to protect us. Personnel in uniform has dropped below critical levels. Equipment is obsolete. What we have is in a bad state of maintenance. And in short supply. We have neither enough ships nor airplanes. (We have exactly no battleships or bombers). China’s immense and modern fleet has shrunk the Pacific. Global warming is shrinking the Arctic, bringing the Russians closer. The United States, the schoolyard saviour we always thought would defend us against the knuckle-dragging bully, has become the bully. We are chillingly on our own.

We need to bear these realities in mind as we embark on the search for the next Prime Minister. We need someone who is aware of the challenges we face and has solutions. A leader with initiative.

This is important because left to their own devices, provincial and urban governments will do very little, if anything, of substance. To solve the housing crisis, they will build a few shelters for the homeless and then declare victory. But we know this problem will not go away easily.

Those who remain, especially the aged, the broke and the mentally unstable, will freeze. A generation of Canadian children will grow up on the street. Let us ask ourselves: is this what we really want? Social programs are, of course, a provincial responsibility. Yet, in this vacuum of indifference, the federal government must act. We need a Prime Minister who is outraged at the sight of our fellow Canadians sleeping out in the cold, and who will not rest until everyone, but everyone, has a roof over their head.

We need a leader whose patience is not infinite.

The citizens of this country have grown tired of provincial excuses for health care failures. We are weary of explanations that bring not one patient closer to being treated. Of people dying in ER or, just as bad, at home.

It is time to say “enough is enough”. Very simply, we need more hospitals and doctors. Period. Make it happen. And if the provinces are not up to the task, well then, fine. They are simply admitting a truth they have long tried to keep hidden: alone, they cannot do it. They need the federal government.

We need a leader who will set the tone. An adult. Someone who stands above the provincial premiers even when they are at their most adolescent. Especially then. When they stamp their feet, bang the table with their fists, and demand more and more money. When they refuse accountability, or indeed any oversight at all.

We need a leader who is not afraid, and has the moral authority, to talk about the elephant in the room. Language. Someone who is not afraid to call out the intransigence of nine provinces, and the arrogance of one. Who can, credibly, address all Canadians in both official languages. In a way that makes members of both communities feel respected. And valued.

We need a leader who is committed to defending our country. One who understands that having a modern military is not a luxury but, rather, a very basic necessity. This is the world we live in: China watches us from across a shrinking Pacific. Russia, separated from us by a barrier getting thinner all the time, wonders: do I dare ford the melting Arctic. The global neighbourhood is increasingly hostile, our adversaries, closer, and our allies, less and less reliable.

We need a leader who understands that the world is a dangerous place. No, not all belligerents can be reasoned with. And clearly, not all allies can be counted on. No self-respecting nation can afford to ignore its own defense needs. In our case, this means an army, a navy and an air force large enough, modern enough and powerful enough to protect the second-largest land mass on earth. We need a leader who is prepared to invest their political capital in recruitment and armament. For whom readiness on all three coasts is a baseline. A Prime Minister who makes clear, through our international military presence, that our real allies can count on us: just as we count on them.

We should no longer depend on the Americans. We never should have.

We need a leader with a strong grasp of economics. Someone smart enough to understand that only the free market can create wealth, and only government can ensure its distribution. We must stop and help those left behind.

Ultimately, we need a leader who is ready to pick up the torch and carry forth the vision of Charlottetown. Yes, that Charlottetown. That vision. Over 150 years later, it remains unfulfilled.

This was the dream of the Fathers of Confederation: a vast, internal market stretching from coast to coast. One where Canadians sell to Canadians. Where trade sculpts the commercial independence that should characterize every sovereign nation. Where provinces have few, if any, trade barriers between them. Where the relationship with foreign suppliers is a partnership, not a dependence. Where foreign customers are a welcome addition, not an addiction.

We need a leader who understands that taxes are a sacred trust. They know whose money it is, and do not spend it lightly. They understand that its purpose is to enhance the lives of Canadians and not the political career of those who spend it. They do not pretend to be generous with money that is, of course, not theirs.

We need a leader who can ensure Canada’s presence on the world stage. In politics, a person of vision. In diplomacy, principle. In trade, business sense. In human rights, moral authority. Someone who can look into our history with clear eyes, value what we have, and remind us of what we have yet to accomplish.

We need someone who can bring Canadians together, by infusing all their words and actions with this sentiment: The true north, strong and free.