Canadian dilemmas

Enter Stage Right ^ | 22 March 2004 | Mark Wegierski

[Ashamed Canadian]

Yep. I live in a pretty screwed up country.....

[Eric in the Ozarks]

But you can claim an excellent hotel, the Royal York, in Toronto.
The airport, unfortunately, is bad, bad, bad.

[vbmoneyspender]

While Canada is still, to a large extent, a more pleasant place to live than the United States (especially when one compares life in the two countries' large cities). . . .

Talk about a generalization.

[headsonpikes]

Sobering, and accurate.

[Alberta's Child]

Canada's social, economic, and cultural decline over the last 35 years can be attributed to one basic cause: urbanization.

Although Canada has relatively few people (31 million, which is just over 10% of the U.S. population and is less than that of California) living on an enormous land mass (one of the largest land areas of any country in the world), the country has an urban "personality" that is more similar to Europe than to the United States. About 65% of Canada's population lives in its 30 largest metropolitan areas. Nearly 40% of its people live in the country's five largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Calgary), and one out of every four Canadians lives in either Toronto or Montreal.

This results in a political climate that is dominated by the overwhelmingly liberal cities. The rough, independent nature that defined Canada for generations has largely been relegated to sparsely-populated areas of the western provinces as well as the large portion of Ontario that lies west of the Ottawa River and north of the Great Lakes.

[Paleo Conservative]

If the center-right fails to ever achieve a majority in the Federal Parliament, there will come increased calls for regional devolution, so that, for example, Alberta or all of Western Canada may carry out social and economic policies more congenial to itself. This regional devolution would also coincidentally address many of the problems which Quebec has had with Canada, and possibly reinforce the more traditionalist, more inward-looking aspects of Quebecois nationalism. Such scenarios of regional devolution might, ironically, perhaps be the best hope for some fragmentary survival of traditionalism and conservatism in Canada.

Alberta should secede from Canada. They could then join the US where they would be guaranteed equal representation in the US Senate. Secession would also deny the Central government tax revenue that is used to pay for subsidies to the other provinces. If enough Canadian provinces joined the US, Alaska would no longer be dis-contiguous with the rest of the US.

[Alberta's Child]

Alberta could eventually secede from Canada, but it would never apply to be admitted into the U.S. Albertans are smart enough to realize that trading in one intrusive government for another is a bad idea (and a waste of time, too). When given the choice between Ottawa and Washington, Albertans would overwhelmingly select "Calgary" instead.

Ironically, the attitudes Canadians have towards joining the U.S. is not quite what you might expect. Surveys done over the years have indicated that the more conservative areas of Canada are less receptive to the idea of joining the U.S., while the most liberal areas are most receptive. On a provincial level, people in Quebec are far more amenable to the idea of joining the United States than anyone else!

[Alberta's Child]

O Canada ping, eh?

[Paleo Conservative]

On a provincial level, people in Quebec are far more amenable to the idea of joining the United States than anyone else!

I don't think people in the red parts of the US are interested in letting Quebec join the US.

[Alberta's Child]

That's right. And when I say that Quebecers are most amenable to joining the U.S., it's not based on their perception of the Red states, either. They look at nearby parts of the U.S. like New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, etc. and see Marxism that would make any French separatists proud.

[Paleo Conservative]

Because of the near-atrophy of traditional religion in Canada, the gay rights and radical feminist agendas have certainly advanced further than is the case in the United States, especially with the recent endorsement of "gay marriage" by the federal government. The birthrate in Canada has also fallen far below replacement level, in marked contrast to the United States, where even the birthrate of "non-Hispanic white" women is comparatively high. At the same time, Canada has a very high rate of abortion. There is a general climate of social decadence, ill-discipline, and a never-ending war against the so-called "authoritarian personality."

Which means over time leftists are being out-reproduced. The long term (50 years +) outlook for leftists in Canada is not good. They have low (even negative) rates of natural increase relative to conservatives and anti-liberal immigrant groups especially muslims.

[Paleo Conservative]

That's right. And when I say that Quebecers are most amenable to joining the U.S., it's not based on their perception of the Red states, either.

Such an annexation would not pass the US Senate, because the Senate is allocated on the basis of two senators per state regardless of population. This means the red areas of the US have higher representation in the Senate relative to population.

[radioman]

Talk about a generalization.

LOL!
Let me respond to the Canyuck generalization. I buy and sell antiquities for a hobby. Ebay is my main source. I've made over four hundred Ebay purchases from all over the world. Canada is the worst country on the planet to do this type of business with. If you want to get cheated, just buy from a Canadian!!!

[Alberta's Child]

Canadian provinces are so large anyway that I suspect there would be a push from the U.S. to admit Quebec as two different states.

Regardless, it would be impossible to maintain Quebec's current boundaries under any type of secession -- the area around Hull across the Ottawa River from Canada's capital is part of the Capital District and would probably be left behind.

[Victoria Delsoul]

I think Canada would do much better socially and economically without Quebec.

[Democratshavenobrains]

What the hell is a right-wing Green? A Pro-life guy who is against drilling in Alaska?

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL!!! I have no idea. Maybe AC could explain to us.

[wny]

"...a safe, civil, prosperous life -- the permanence of which all too many Canadians today take for granted..."

Especially when it as a result of being adjacent to the US. How safe, civil and prosperous would Canadien life be today it were next to ... oh I don't know....the USSR? It would be a Soviet province.

[Alberta's Child]

A "right-wing Green" is someone who chains himself up in a tree to oppose clear-cutting by big logging companies -- because he's an avid hunter who shoots elk, black bears, and mountain lions in the forest for fun.