Besides being a triumph for the collective lizard brain of the republic and a bitter defeat for reason and empathy, U.S. president-elect Donald J. Trump’s recent victory is a message. For Conservative contender Kellie Leitch, Trump’s protectionist message is an overdue letter “we need delivered” in Canada.
As we keep an eye on the race to find the Conservative Party’s next leader, Leitch’s plan to screen immigrants for Canadian values becomes exponentially more disquieting.
For the record, exploiting xenophobia to further your political ambitions doesn’t demonstrate any Canadian values we’re familiar with.
Canada’s Conservative Party will eventually return to power. Let’s hope the new leader doesn’t feel the need to marry fiscal conservatism with contempt for women’s rights and minorities.
But while we don’t expect Trump to be good, we don’t discount the possibility he might be right – occasionally.
International trade agreements have been a boon for billionaires while providing scant benefits for anyone who works with their hands. The prospect of revising NAFTA is intriguing – even while promised tariffs could cut deep into every piece of softwood lumber we’re able to wrestle from the pine beetles.
Trump’s championing of the Keystone XL Pipeline could also make the Trans Mountain project redundant, effectively plugging Kinder Morgan’s pipe and helping preserve our coastal beauty.
It’s always tempting to vote for a leader who refuses to look beyond his borders, but as the global temperature continues to rise, we desperately need leaders capable of a global view.
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