O Canada

[Radagast]

For those of us depressed by eternally talking about the craziness that is US politics...

Canada is a lovely country full of lovely people (Anyone disagree? No?). I've hugely enjoyed my own visits there over the years for business and pleasure. Yet as Canada reacts to recent pressures by becoming more politically self-assertive, I find myself wishing I understood its politics just a little better. I know there are Canadians active on the forum and am wondering what you think of current trends.

I don't dislike Carney but my own views are probably well to the right of his on most issues where I can compare them. If I was Canadian, should I be rooting for Pierre Poilievre? If not, why not? If I'm going to pay any attention to Canadian politics, I want somebody to root for! (I'm joking. I think)

[promethean75]

Canada as a territory has an edge over other countries because it is so slow to evolve due to being three-quarters frozen woods. This means it'll be precious territory at some point in the globally warmed future. Bilderberg and Trilateral guys'er tryna get this trans-atlantic supercountry thing going where the U.S. annexes Canada and then eventually mehico and bruhzeel so we can set up the allied atlantic wall against the Russian-Chinese-Arabic axis of evil that runs everything east of the Atlantic and west of California. Britain is fucked eventually and all the other European states are gonna be absolved by Russia and China. The only way to stop the imperial force of this duo is an ocean.

So you see how important Canada is to the U.S. It has to hold the north atlantic wall.

[Radagast]

Great news that European states are going to be absolved by Russia and China. Absolved of what, exactly?

[Radagast]

And yes, that's true enough - when I was in Toronto I could tell that 3/4 of it was frozen woods.

[Impenitent]

Canada...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jm4LoOaAWI

Bob and Doug McKenzie with Geddy Lee

beauty eh?

-Imp

[MikeNovack]

And yes, that's true enough - when I was in Toronto I could tell that 3/4 of it was frozen woods.

Uh, try instead driving the highway between Lonlgac and Hearst. In 200 kms. the only building you'll see is a highway 'rest stop" (privy, no running water). That will give you a better idea of what the bulk of Canada's land area is like. You won't see any roads leading North but there is a heck of a lot of land between that highway and the tree line (tundra instead of taiga)

[Immanuel Can]

And yes, that's true enough - when I was in Toronto I could tell that 3/4 of it was frozen woods.

Uh, try instead driving the highway between Lonlgac and Hearst. In 200 kms. the only building you'll see is a highway 'rest stop" (privy, no running water). That will give you a better idea of what the bulk of Canada's land area is like. You won't see any roads leading North but there is a heck of a lot of land between that highway and the tree line (tundra instead of taiga)

The distance between one side of Canada and the other is greater than the distance between Canada and England. And almost the entire population lives close to the American border, because the land north of there is all forest, lakes and then tundra...and very harsh in climate, with two seasons, for the most part: those seasons are frostbite and biting bugs.

[phyllo]

If I was Canadian, should I be rooting for Pierre Poilievre? If not, why not?

Poilievre is a mini Trump.

He uses the same issues, the same slogans, that got Trump elected.

Does that work in Canada? Not so far.

But if you like Trump, then you should "root" for PP.

[Radagast]

Uh, try instead driving the highway between Lonlgac and Hearst. In 200 kms. the only building you'll see is a highway 'rest stop" (privy, no running water). That will give you a better idea of what the bulk of Canada's land area is like. You won't see any roads leading North but there is a heck of a lot of land between that highway and the tree line (tundra instead of taiga)

The distance between one side of Canada and the other is greater than the distance between Canada and England. And almost the entire population lives close to the American border, because the land north of there is all forest, lakes and then tundra...and very harsh in climate, with two seasons, for the most part: those seasons are frostbite and biting bugs.

Lonlgac to Hearst sounds like my kind of gig. I just went onto Google Streetview and "drove" the first few miles east from Lonlgac and then took increasingly long jumps towards Hearst. The road is lovely but yes, it is really striking how very similar that road looks when you jump 20 or 40 miles further along the road. Currently I'm just beside a highway lodge called Lydia Lake Lodge. Is that the one you mean, Mike? Two wooden buildings like long, low log cabins.

Immanuel, I am aware of the notion that Canada is a bit like a road plus railway line running parallel to the US border and just above it. Google though tells me that Edmonton (for instance) is about 400 miles north of that border. That's almost exactly the same as the distance between Brighton on England's south coast and Berwick-on-Tweed right up on the border with Scotland. In other words, to a Brit that seems like quite a long way. So now I'm thinking - is it not the case that "inhabited" Canada stretches quite far north - a few hundred miles anyway - and merely seems not to do so because of the inevitable comparison of that distance with what you point out is Canada's quite extraordinary width?

[Radagast]

Just beside Klotz Lake now. Overtaking a guy towing a U-Haul trailer.

[Gary Childress]

Uh, try instead driving the highway between Lonlgac and Hearst. In 200 kms. the only building you'll see is a highway 'rest stop" (privy, no running water). That will give you a better idea of what the bulk of Canada's land area is like. You won't see any roads leading North but there is a heck of a lot of land between that highway and the tree line (tundra instead of taiga)

The distance between one side of Canada and the other is greater than the distance between Canada and England. And almost the entire population lives close to the American border, because the land north of there is all forest, lakes and then tundra...and very harsh in climate, with two seasons, for the most part: those seasons are frostbite and biting bugs.

Lonlgac to Hearst sounds like my kind of gig. I just went onto Google Streetview and "drove" the first few miles east from Lonlgac and then took increasingly long jumps towards Hearst. The road is lovely but yes, it is really striking how very similar that road looks when you jump 20 or 40 miles further along the road. Currently I'm just beside a highway lodge called Lydia Lake Lodge. Is that the one you mean, Mike? Two wooden buildings like long, low log cabins.

Immanuel, I am aware of the notion that Canada is a bit like a road plus railway line running parallel to the US border and just above it. Google though tells me that Edmonton (for instance) is about 400 miles north of that border. That's almost exactly the same as the distance between Brighton on England's south coast and Berwick-on-Tweed right up on the border with Scotland. In other words, to a Brit that seems like quite a long way. So now I'm thinking - is it not the case that "inhabited" Canada stretches quite far north - a few hundred miles anyway - and merely seems not to do so because of the inevitable comparison of that distance with what you point out is Canada's quite extraordinary width?

So, are you Canadian? Is Poilievre a Trump clone? If he is, then do you think you ought to root for him? Is Trump your kind of guy, or were you being facetious when you asked if you should be rooting for Poilievre? Or is Poilievre not a Trump clone?

[Radagast]

So, are you Canadian? Is Poilievre a Trump clone? If he is, then do you think you ought to root for him? Is Trump your kind of guy, or were you being facetious when you asked if you should be rooting for Poilievre? Or is Poilievre not a Trump clone?

I am not Canadian - I am British. Trump is not my kind of guy. I started a thread about Canadian politics because I thought it might be more interesting than yet another thread about the disaster that is contemporary US politics. Carney spoke recently about the need for the "middle powers" to cooperate more in an increasingly hostile world and there at least I wholeheartedly agree with him. We should rely more on each other and less on the leadership of a USA which seems inward looking, divided and unreliable. Donald Lame-Duck will be essentially gone in two years, but it would be very rash indeed to assume that things will necessarily go back to business as usual, either in trade terms or any other way. Given this, I now think Canadian politics may matter more to Britain than US politics. Sorry if that sounds brutal.

I was absolutely not being facetious when I asked if I should be rooting for Poilievre. I do not know whether and to what extent he might be a "Trump clone". I genuinely do not know enough about him to have an opinion, and therefore would like to know what people here think about him. It was a sincere question, not a rhetorical one.

[Gary Childress]

So, are you Canadian? Is Poilievre a Trump clone? If he is, then do you think you ought to root for him? Is Trump your kind of guy, or were you being facetious when you asked if you should be rooting for Poilievre? Or is Poilievre not a Trump clone?

I am not Canadian - I am British. Trump is not my kind of guy. I started a thread about Canadian politics because I thought it might be more interesting than yet another thread about the disaster that is contemporary US politics. Carney spoke recently about the need for the "middle powers" to cooperate more in an increasingly hostile world and there at least I wholeheartedly agree with him. We should rely more on each other and less on the leadership of a USA which seems inward looking, divided and unreliable. Donald Lame-Duck will be essentially gone in two years, but it would be very rash indeed to assume that things will necessarily go back to business as usual, either in trade terms or any other way. Given this, I now think Canadian politics may matter more to Britain than US politics. Sorry if that sounds brutal.

I was absolutely not being facetious when I asked if I should be rooting for Poilievre. I do not know whether and to what extent he might be a "Trump clone". I genuinely do not know enough about him to have an opinion, and therefore would like to know what people here think about him. It was a sincere question, not a rhetorical one.

The US has been a corrupt world leader the whole time. In some cases, we overthrew third-world democracies in order to preserve the interests of our robber barons (the uber wealthy), whose mission is to perpetuate neo-colonialism. So "brutal" or not, I see no reason to disagree with you about putting US politics aside. It sounds like a wise choice to me, given our record of militarism (which Europe did benefit from to whatever degree BTW).

[phyllo]

Pierre Poilievre finally has a platform... it's Donald Trump's! | This Hour Has 22 Minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrH3XZvWM3E

[Immanuel Can]

Immanuel, I am aware of the notion that Canada is a bit like a road plus railway line running parallel to the US border and just above it. Google though tells me that Edmonton (for instance) is about 400 miles north of that border. That's almost exactly the same as the distance between Brighton on England's south coast and Berwick-on-Tweed right up on the border with Scotland. In other words, to a Brit that seems like quite a long way. So now I'm thinking - is it not the case that "inhabited" Canada stretches quite far north - a few hundred miles anyway - and merely seems not to do so because of the inevitable comparison of that distance with what you point out is Canada's quite extraordinary width?

Edmonton is not typical. It's also bloody cold much of the year. But look at where the major cities are, on a map...Montreal, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Halifax...and you'll see that they're all crowded down toward the border. And the closer one gets to the border, the more habitations there are. South Ontario, for example, reaches down to parallel with the top of California, and is also the most populous region of the entire country.

So it depends on what you call "inhabited." Statistically, 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of that US border. There are people further north, but their habitations are almost (for a European) unbelievably small and sparse. Canada has real influence from the jet stream, you see...and the climate is much colder than in the UK, which is geographically farther north than much of Canada.