Common Cause

It has been said that were aliens to declare war on us, we would put aside all of our petty differences and unite. Not sure about the rest of the world, but that certainly appears to be the case in Canada.

Those who read this blog on a regular basis will know that I am no Pollyanna. We should all be very worried about the tariff war that Trump is now waging against our country. Yet despite my deeply cynical outlook about most things, I am feeling heartened in these early days by our initial responses to the grave threat the tyrant poses. And I am seeing and feeling something that has been largely absent for a long time: real Canadian pride.

Part of that pride is being reflected in the purchases we make. There is a growing appetite for buying Canadian over American goods. Consider this report from Vancouver Island:

Although I am not able to reproduce it, check out this response from the other end of the country. Here are a few of the comments made by shoppers in Nova Scotia:

Mike MacDonald said he intended to read labels at the grocery store so he knew where everything came from.

"I think that like everybody in Canada, we're probably gonna look at buying Canadian, try to shop more local and do what you can that way," he said. 

 "I love it!," said Heidi Rast. "I think it's great. I like my local breweries. So, support your local pubs, your local breweries. I'm game for that. I think a strong response is the right response."  

"Bring it on, slap even more tariffs!" said Anne Leydon. "We got to play tough. We can't back down to somebody trying to push us around. And I'm hoping that … we all stick together as Canadians."

I am certainly prepared to make the necessary adjustments. This morning, for example, I found that my two favourite cereals are products of the U.S. When my supply runs out, I will be buying Canadian alternatives. But where do we find the alternatives? I am finding this site to be very useful. You can search both by category and location, a process that can empower all of us to do our part in the battle we are all called upon to participate in. If you live in Ontario, you might want to check out this site.

I'll close out this post with an excerpt from today's bracing Star editorial, one that reminds all of us of both the role and the responsibilities we have in this war:

[Trump's] trying to bully us — and how we and other like-minded, similarly threatened countries respond will shape the direction of the world in the years to come.

Power has always mattered. But Trump represents power unconstrained by legal or moral guardrails. He believes there is no place for a country such as ours, a middle power that has often been a leader and beneficiary of the rules-based liberal international order, wielding our soft power to change the world, or at least nudge it in a better direction. He sees no value in the peace and order our constitution guarantees. Now the question is whether our commitment to these values and to our shared citizenship eclipses the differences we have become so focused on.

In the days since Trump confirmed his tariffs, we have seen glimmers of hope, an outpouring of something like patriotism, a decidedly un-Canadian sentiment. We have seen leaders from across the political spectrum — Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper alike — call for unity. We have seen businesses support retaliatory measures and call on governments to support furloughed workers, knowing these will come at a cost. Many citizens have been quick to take matters into their own hands, signing petitions, vowing to boycott American goods and to change travel plans. Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford have both projected resolve and strength, taking strategic and targeted countermeasures, as they should.

These Canadians understand what all of us must now grasp: No one has ever won by appeasing a bully. No one has ever won by negotiating with a knife to their throat. But again and again, battles have been won by those who were counted out, who had no right to survive, never mind thrive, but did because they found strength in each other and a shared commitment to ideals and together did the hard work necessary to overcome. It has never been harder to band together despite our differences, and never more important.

Well, just one more thing to add here.