Middle ground-ism was not a sustainable economic or security position for Canada. American expectations about supply chain security alone meant that the Trudeau government was inevitably going to have to pick sides.
We should abandon the failed experiment and reduce our supply chain dependence on China. We ought to have the goal of greater economic self-determination—specifically in areas that are critical to our national interest.
Even as Biden and Xi talked up the need for cooperation at the G-20, there are signs that the relationship between their countries has undergone a permanent rupture. Canada must make a choice, and the Trudeau government has started to signal that it’s prepared to abandon its own Sinophile instincts.
If one was betting his or her own money, the solid bet would be that program spending is only poised to grow even further in the coming years.
Technocratic economists need to learn what Hayek knew: trying to micromanage an economy often does more harm than good. Understanding the limits of human knowledge is an antidote to overconfidence and overreach.
The Truss government’s highly-imperfect and clumsily-executed tax cuts were a brief challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy. They represented a rightful recognition that the Western governments’ overfocus on demand-side redistribution has failed to deliver higher rates of economic growth.
Today’s working class is more female than male, more likely to be an immigrant or racial minority, much more likely to be in service-sector jobs than “blue-collar” jobs, and frequently has more educational experience or credentials than is typically required for its jobs.
Kenney’s inevitable, if not immediate, exit from politics after more than a quarter century is a natural moment for reflection on his accomplishments, lessons, and legacy.
Understanding the current state of inequality through the lens of job polarization should shift the focus of our policy debates from taxing the rich to creating the next generation of good, middle-class jobs.
A message focused on restoring the “Canadian promise” of increased social mobility would capitalize on Poilievre’s compelling personal story and appeal to the strivers in our society.
