Canada Gets the Government It Deserves as Liberals Secure 4th Mandate
If spiting Trump gives Canadians a sense of purpose as their nation crumbles, so be it. Enjoy the fall, Canada.
In what can only be described as the political punt of the century, Canadian Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre failed to wrest power from their Liberal rivals and new Prime Minister Mark Carney in the recent parliamentary elections.
It’s a result that seemed impossible a few months ago when the Conservatives looked primed to have their largest majority in decades. But a gust off Hurricane Trump seemingly sank Conservative chances.
Trump should have been irrelevant to the outcome. The myriad problems plaguing the Great White North have nothing to do with him and everything to do with the Liberals’ failures.
Housing prices in Canada have skyrocketed, and a newly released Royal Canadian Mounted Police report warns that the situation may deteriorate further. “Economic forecasts for the next five years and beyond are bleak,” it states, and “many Canadians under 35 are unlikely ever to be able to buy a place to live.”
Crime is also rising. A report from last year revealed that property and overall violent crime rates in Canada now exceed those in the U.S., with homicides being the lone exception.
Canadians are struggling to find work. The unemployment rate hovers around 7%, and a quick scroll through social media shows pissed-off youths increasingly shut out of the job market.
One thread tying many of these issues together is mass immigration from India, an issue politicians across the spectrum seem hesitant to confront. According to the Canadian government’s own website: “In 2022, India was Canada’s top source country for permanent residents, accounting for 27% of admissions. It was also the top source for temporary foreign workers (22%) and international students (45%).” Some estimates suggest that half of all immigration to Canada originates from India.
The quality of life in Canada has clearly deteriorated under nearly a decade of Liberal rule. There’s no question who bears responsibility. Yet the Liberals still managed to eke out a victory in the purest, clearest form of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Consider how quick the pivot was from a Conservative rout to a Liberal victory. Over the course of a few months, the Conservatives lost nearly all of their support exclusively based on the American president.
It’s hard to imagine the Liberals holding power had Kamala Harris won in 2024, given that all of Trudeau’s unresolved crises would still be openly festering. It’s baffling that a decade of Liberal mismanagement was so easily ignored to spite the Orange Man. And yet, it encapsulates the Canadian psyche perfectly.
As much as Trump’s talk of annexing Canada sparks righteous fury, he’s not entirely wrong in suggesting the nation exists largely at America’s discretion. As the old saying goes: when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold. That’s putting it mildly.
Trade, defense, and foreign policy are all shaped with American interests top of mind. To elect an anti-American government, and one that’s failed spectacularly for a decade no less, just to spite Trump borders on insanity.
Yet that seems to be the way Canadians are attempting to salvage a single sliver of national pride. The Liberal government has allowed Canada’s youth to flounder and economy to nosedive as migrants swarm the country, yet somehow none of that instilled national rage.
But give Donald Trump a few months to tweet and all of a sudden they’ve found their spine. It’s deeply pathetic.
And it’s exactly what they deserve. If spiting Trump gives Canadians a sense of purpose as their nation crumbles, so be it. Enjoy the fall, Canada.
We’ll be here after to pick up the pieces.