Listen Up! Fasten your seatbelt | Commentary

Well, thank goodness THAT election is over.

I had no idea who was going to win the presidential race in the United States, but I believed there would be a bit of a groundswell one way or another, and it would not be the horse race that pollsters predicted. That turned out to be the case.

Liz Cheney, a strong Conservative and prominent critic of Trump, issued a statement the day after the election that, in part, said this: “Our nation’s democratic system functioned last night, and we have a new President-elect. All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections.”

There can be no doubt about that. Donald Trump is in the catbird seat for the next four years in the United States, and nations around the world, including Canada, need to both accept that and prepare for it. Much of it will require some tough decisions.

There are pundits all over the news networks pointing fingers and braying about what went wrong – Biden should have quit earlier, Harris was a weak candidate, the Democrats ran a weak campaign, you can’t elect a woman, and on and on. I don’t agree with any of that.

To me, the ballot question for most Americans was, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Whether or not it was the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the answer for many was “no.”

As a result, I believe there has been an innate anger in the United States that needed to be excised. I also believe this is not just an American problem but one that exists in many parts of the world. 

Shermichael Singleton, a Republican strategist and a commentator on CNN, put it much more succinctly than I when he said following the election, “Throw the bastards out is a global phenomenon.”

We have now seen that in the United States, and we have seen it in recent months in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain and yes, we are seeing it in Canada.  The political landscape is changing and, in my view, fuelled more by raw anger than most partisan policies. 

Toronto Star columnist Rosie Dimanno wrote an article on Saturday with the headline, “U.S. made its bed, now we all lie in it.” She has a point. Canadians need to recognize that a Trump presidency in the United States will affect us here, and we need to be ready to meet some serious challenges. Let’s talk about a few of them.

First and foremost, there is an immediate threat that our borders, linked to the United States, will be flooded with undocumented individuals, of whom there are millions, who would much prefer to live in Canada than be deported to the countries from which they originally came.

Government officials say they have a plan to deal with this. We need to know what it is. Unbridled, uncontrolled, unregulated immigration, indeed illegal immigration of any kind in Canada, is a genuine challenge that must be met. If the Trudeau government wants to ramp up an already high degree of anger in this country, it just needs to drop the ball on this issue. 

Another issue, although possibly not top of mind for many Canadians, is our national security.  Right after the American election, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that “a completely new world order is being formed.” He is right. 

Donald Trump has shown empathy and respect for China, Russia, North Korea, and other countries that he believes have strong leaders who are not afraid to exercise their power. Canada is not one of those. 

Trump, in my view, will not effectively oppose Russia’s advance in Ukraine or China’s determination to invade Taiwan. As well, he has, over the years, shown little affection for Canada, with the exception of coveting our natural resources, including oil and water. Some people close to Trump have already cast eyes on Canada, including one of them who quipped that the United States should “liberate” Canada and then go to Alberta to make his case. 

Canads’s greatest protection and security comes not as much from the United States as it does from its membership in NATO, where if one member is attacked, all members will come to their aid. Trump has already said that he will call for the expulsion from NATO any member who has not met their commitment to dedicate 2% of their Gross Domestic Product ((GDP) to defense spending. Canada is one of those countries, and in my view, Trump would not be unhappy if Canada lost its membership in NATO. He even urged Putin to invade countries that were not part of NATO.

Canada stands at significant risk if it is not a member of NATO. With Trump in office, it cannot fool around with timelines to meet its NATO commitment. It cannot wait for the mid-2030s. A way must be found now to increase Canada’s defense spending to 2% of its GDP. It will be difficult, of course, but otherwise, Canada will be playing into the hands of the United States government.  

I will deal briefly with two other serious challenges we face. 

Canada’s economy is seriously at risk if some of the Trump campaign’s policies, especially those related to tariffs, are carried out. Strong and respected leadership is needed to effectively deal with the United States on core issues that will affect our economy. 

The Trudeau government, while they remain in office, should send an ambassador to the United States who can effectively deal with Donald Trump, someone like Stephen Harper or Lisa Rait. Of course, that will not happen, but it may be what Canada needs. Other governments have crossed party lines when it is in the best interest of Canadians, and this government should, too. 

Finally, there is the matter of censorship. It is a genuine threat. The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is also an extremely close ally of Donald Trump. Some say they are almost co-presidents. They both cry loudly about freedom of speech, but they don’t mean it.

Trump vows revenge on those that speak against him. Musk, in my view, wants to control the media, even boasting that X (formally Twitter) “is the world’s Town Square.” The more power individuals achieve, the more they want to control the narrative. Trump has made no secret of that, and Musk won’t be able to help himself, given a green light from Trump to do whatever he wants.

Canada must be careful to ensure this does not leak over here. We have seen some of it already, but a free press and free speech are a cornerstone of democracy, and we must not allow it to slip away. Canada must be a haven for that.

Other countries are dealing with this as well. Robert Habeck is the Vice Chancellor of Germany. He has recently said, “We cannot place democratic discourse in the hands of Elon Musk or Chinese software.” He is right. Vigorous discourse exposing both sides of important issues cannot simply be shut down or interfered with.

These are just some of the challenges facing Canada as a result of Donald Trump again becoming President of the United States. They are formidable, but they are not without solutions that can benefit both Canada and the United States.  

But here’s the kicker.

That can only be achieved with strong and empathetic leadership.

Given the current circumstances, Justin Trudeau is not the right person to deal effectively with Donald Trump. There is no respect there, and that has been made quite clear from both sides. For Trump, playing with Trudeau is a cat-and-mouse game, with him (Trump) being the large ginger cat.

To be clear, however, I am not saying that the only alternative is the current Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. What I am saying is that the Liberal Party cannot deal effectively with Donald Trump, in the best interest of Canadians, with Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister. 

There are some interesting times ahead for Canadians. We can, I believe, be optimistic, but I also believe that we must be realistic about what it will take to get us there. 

It’s a bit of a roller coaster, so fasten your seatbelts.  

Hugh Mackenzie

Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.

Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.

In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.

Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.

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