Suggestion from across the river. The Detroit River.
- Canada should import goods from China without limits or taxes. Canada’s cost of living will go down as the Americans learn how stupid tariffs are.
- If solar electric power is cheaper than other sources, buy as much cheap solar as the Chinese will send you. Try to reduce your electric costs. Export your hydro power to the US at high rates.
- There are cheap electric cars coming from China. Allow them in your market and benefit from low cost environmentally friendly transportation.
- If anyone threatens your sovereignty, put a warrant out for their arrest the minute they arrive in Canada, even if they are a government official. Its your sovereignty, gloves off.
China should be one of the countries that we explore trade opportunities with, but we do not want to rely on them. Going from one dictator to another isn’t the answer.
The biggest issues in Canada right now is the lack of local processing for raw materials, lack of efficient ways of moving said goods to the coasts (where our ports are), and a miniscule (although extremely effective) military force. Canada has a lot of raw materials and plenty of energy, we’ve just gotten complacent and are used to sending it to the US for processing.
That needs to change. We cannot rely on the US. I agree with #4 in a broad sense. Canada needs to start taking its defence and security seriously
Points 1 through 3 are fucking shit. We don’t need to be under China’s fucking thumb.
Cars are going to come from either Mexico or China.
There are other choices.
- Mass importing cheap low-quality goods may lower prices but (a) it increases dependence on an unsustainable and self-reinforcing economic model based on disposability and planned obsolescence, and (b) drives wages and local innovation way down. Canada (and arguably the US) need less of this, not more.
- Leaning hard into solar energy is a good idea, though the oil addiction Canadians suffer from is likely to be a real problem. Initially we could buy these from China, but there’s no reason why the panels couldn’t be built in Canada as well.
- Electric cars are not a solution worth pursuing. Sure they’re better than ICE cars, but they suffer from some serious deal breakers, like mineral availability. You simply can’t convert every ICE driver into an EV one. There’s literally not enough of the minerals required on the planet to do the job and they’d still kill more than a million people every year. A better option is to invest in transit infrastructure and back Canadian train manufacturing to make installing light & heavy rail across the country cheaper while simultaneously leaning into cycling.
- This seems reasonable to me, but could antagonise the Americans and give them the excuse to invade.
- (Your addendum: join the EU) Yes, please do this.
To point 2 - you are aware that Canada is like 90% rivers right? I can’t go moose spotting without tripping over one of the damn things. We got hydro for days and probably need to up our nuclear power capacity since we’ve got a huge reserve of fissile materials.
To point 4 - that’s why bibi stopped by the US and not Canada - we’ve signaled that we’ll honor the ICC ruling. If Trump or Jr did another trip to Vancouver I’m sure the secret service would be quite occupied with random drones. The relationship has soured - they’re not going to personally come up here because it’d be a security nightmare.
Only buy solar if it is cheaper or cleaner than what you have now.
Another suggestion that I forgot to add:
- Start negotiations to join the European Union. Whether it actually happens or not, just announce that you are starting negotiations.
I was recently converted away from this idea, there is so many cultural and language barriers. I understand how the EU works in Europe, do not know how that would transfer across the pond. I am more of a fan of CANZUK, we speak somewhat similar languages with a little Quebec and New Brunswick French. I am unsure of any other national languages the other countries have but we share more culture.
I would be a fan of taking the people off of our money as it is in the EU, I do not know but I am sure the crown would remain on whatever the CANZUK currency is called though.
Aiming for low prices/efficiency-at-all-costs will put us in the same situation with China, that the US has with us now. They will have us more by the balls.
Domestic needs need to be serviced domestically where possible in most cases, and where it can’t, a diverse set of partners for buying and selling goods is the best scenario.
