[UtakataNoAnnex]

It's weird how people think this is going pick things up in the polls for Trump, even here...as most of us in this country are probably now wondering when we're going to be next. /bleh

 

[afransen]

Is this a recent interview? If so, I'm surprised to see Ferguson heaping mound after mound of praise on Donald Trump as if Trump is the greatest president to ever live. Ferguson is married to a very famous Somalian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. For months now Trump has been scapegoating Somalians using the most disgusting language that would not be tolerated if directed at any other people. Trump has equated Somalians with garbage and has said many times "I don't want them in my country". None of this seems to matter to Ferguson. I wonder how his wife feels when she hears her husband's hero describe her in and her people in terms that portray Somalians as less than human.

The arrogant Brit couldn't resist taking a jab at Canada saying that Canada means nothing to America. I'm sure in Trump's mind that Canada is nothing but as the biggest buyer of American made goods and services, the biggest supplier of cheap oil and finally the most important security partner for the US (name a more important country) it is not true to say Canada means nothing to the United States. Ferguson is one of the most overrated "intellectuals". I don't know why anyone would pay to listen to him or care what he has to say.

Not sure Hirsi Ali is the biggest fan of Somali culture, either.

 

[old boy]

There's going to be a swath of Canadians who are generally supportive of a potential US takeover here, I imagine quite a few blue ridings would vote for it if given the opportunity, particularly the ones who don't seem to realize that the US' capture of Venezuela's oil industry effectively kills their provincial industry.

There's also going to be a big wakeup call for most Canadians who don't understand that we're mostly an appendage of the US and only very rarely diverge on international policy. You mentioned Haiti but we still support Israel and only really balked with the US on Iraq. If the EU fails to support us, which I believe they failed to when the 51st state discussion was ongoing, we'll need to find international support elsewhere. I doubt we do much to stand up for Cuba or Greenland, but i'm open to being surprised.

Not such a 'big wakeup' as you might think. We've had a long history with our cousin to the south. Like the cousin who always keeps her mouth shut beside the glamorous one, we liked the proximity. Most of us were aware at some level of serious jeopardy in this most one-sided relationship. I can only speak for myself, but I sense some liberation in all of this. Small mercies indeed.

 

[kEiThZ]

There's also going to be a big wakeup call for most Canadians who don't understand that we're mostly an appendage of the US and only very rarely diverge on international policy.

It's a bit more than not diverging on international policy.

Canada functionally acts like an American colony. Canadians even brag about it. Then suddenly act shocked when Trump openly says we should be the 51st state.

We have underspent on defence for decades. We couldn't shoot the balloon down over the Yukon without the Americans. One of the longest coastlines in the world and most days they navy can't put a submarine and more than 2-3 frigates to sea. We literally can't patrol our airspace without American AWACS and refuelling tankers. When we have major events like the Olympics and G7 in Canada, who do you think provides that capability? During 9/11 you know who put jets over Southern Ontario? The New York Air National Guard. But the average Canadian will proudly brag about how we're not militaristic like the US. Even though we're at the point where we rely on them for our security very much.

Next, is the economy. Our entire quality of life relies on being tied to the American market. If Ontario didn't have Michigan next door, our auto sector would have ended up like Australia, where auto manufacturing quit. Our finance sector is outsized. In no small part, because of proximity to Chicago and New York. Our tech sectors benefit from privileged access to the US, often including US Government grants. Our resource sector literally ships several hundred million a day south. On and on. How do Canadians react to this? Gratefulness? Almost never. Canadians take all that trade for granted until threatened. And then stop buying Florida oranges in anger (and heck I am guilty of this too).

But if you're American looking at this, would you respect Canada as a sovereign state? Does the average American care about any of this? No. But I am sure at some point every high ranking American who gets any regular North American security or economic briefing starts to wonder about all this at some point.

Canada rose to be a G7 nation by functionally being an American protectorate and colony. If we wanted to actually be a sovereign G7 country, we would have to do things that other G7 countries. Fun fact. Canada is only the G7 country high speed rail and one of two without an aircraft carrier. No coincidence that Canada hasn't built either.....cause we're a pretender.

 

[afransen]

It's a bit more than not diverging on international policy.

Canada functionally acts like an American colony. Canadians even brag about it. Then suddenly act shocked when Trump openly says we should be the 51st state.

We have underspent on defence for decades. We couldn't shoot the balloon down over the Yukon without the Americans. One of the longest coastlines in the world and most days they navy can't put a submarine and more than 2-3 frigates to sea. We literally can't patrol our airspace without American AWACS and refuelling tankers. When we have major events like the Olympics and G7 in Canada, who do you think provides that capability? During 9/11 you know who put jets over Southern Ontario? The New York Air National Guard. But the average Canadian will proudly brag about how we're not militaristic like the US. Even though we're at the point where we rely on them for our security very much.

Next, is the economy. Our entire quality of life relies on being tied to the American market. If Ontario didn't have Michigan next door, our auto sector would have ended up like Australia, where auto manufacturing quit. Our finance sector is outsized. In no small part, because of proximity to Chicago and New York. Our tech sectors benefit from privileged access to the US, often including US Government grants. Our resource sector literally ships several hundred million a day south. On and on. How do Canadians react to this? Gratefulness? Almost never. Canadians take all that trade for granted until threatened. And then stop buying Florida oranges in anger (and heck I am guilty of this too).

But if you're American looking at this, would you respect Canada as a sovereign state? Does the average American care about any of this? No. But I am sure at some point every high ranking American who gets any regular North American security or economic briefing starts to wonder about all this at some point.

Canada rose to be a G7 nation by functionally being an American protectorate and colony. If we wanted to actually be a sovereign G7 country, we would have to do things that other G7 countries. Fun fact. Canada is only the G7 country high speed rail and one of two without an aircraft carrier. No coincidence that Canada hasn't built either.....cause we're a pretender.

All this is why I don't disagree with the idea that Canada could use more demographic weight. The approach that Trudeau followed/allowed to happen over the past few years was disastrous, as it was unintentional, unplanned, uncoordinated with infrastructure growth to support it and targeting the largely low skill migrants. But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run.

 

[adma]

But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run.

It'll probably wind up happening, anyway, once the MAGA US deports and liquidates everyone who isn't MAGA, and civil war leads citizens to butcher and dismember one another as if it were some sh*thole country in Africa.

 

[EBT]

All this is why I don't disagree with the idea that Canada could use more demographic weight. The approach that Trudeau followed/allowed to happen over the past few years was disastrous, as it was unintentional, unplanned, uncoordinated with infrastructure growth to support it and targeting the largely low skill migrants. But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run.

"But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run"

Huh? I don't know if you are just bad at math or you don't know anything about the relative populations of Canada and the US. I don't know what is worse.

Canada has a population of 41,288,599 vs. the United States which has a population of 340,110,988. The U.S. population is about 8.17 times larger than Canada’s. Not 3 times larger over 8 times larger and what is worse is our economy is less than 1/10th the size of the United States.

 

[picard102]

"But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run"

Huh? I don't know if you are just bad at math or you don't know anything about the relative populations of Canada and the US. I don't know what is worse.

Canada has a population of 41,288,599 vs. the United States which has a population of 340,110,988. The U.S. population is about 8.17 times larger than Canada’s. Not 3 times larger over 8 times larger and what is worse is our economy is less than 1/10th the size of the United States.

Okay, and? What do you think afransen claimed?

 

[EBT]

Oky, and? What do you think afransen claimed?

He claimed Canada is just 1/3 the size of the United States in terms of population when we are actually about 1/8 the size in terms of population and 1/10th in terms of GDP. Are you also bad at basic math?

 

[zang]

He claimed Canada is just 1/3 the size of the United States in terms of population when we are actually about 1/8 the size in terms of population and 1/10th in terms of GDP. Are you also bad at basic math?

Um, pretty sure they're talking about the push to grow the country to 100 million by 2100.

 

[picard102]

He claimed Canada is just 1/3 the size of the United States in terms of population when we are actually about 1/8 the size in terms of population and 1/10th in terms of GDP. Are you also bad at basic math?

Wrong. He's saying we should grow to be 1/3 the size of the US in terms of population.

I am bad at basic math, but I can comprehend basic english writing. Maybe find a better english to russian translation tool.

 

[kEiThZ]

All this is why I don't disagree with the idea that Canada could use more demographic weight. The approach that Trudeau followed/allowed to happen over the past few years was disastrous, as it was unintentional, unplanned, uncoordinated with infrastructure growth to support it and targeting the largely low skill migrants. But Canada having closer to 1/3 the population of the US might not be a bad thing in the long run.

I 100% agree with the goals of the Century Initiative. It's unfortunate that Trudeau et al were so exceptionally incompetent at immigration that they managed to destroy a multidecade consensus on this. A lot of the hatred on the Century Initiative always misses the point. They advocated for building the housing, social services and economy to get to 100M by 2100. Not for unfettered low quality immigration.

 

[Northern Light]

I 100% agree with the goals of the Century Initiative. It's unfortunate that Trudeau et al were so exceptionally incompetent at immigration that they managed to destroy a multidecade consensus on this. A lot of the hatred on the Century Initiative always misses the point. They advocated for building the housing, social services and economy to get to 100M by 2100. Not for unfettered low quality immigration.

Annualized population growth of ~1.2% would have seen us reach over 100M by 2100, yet we grew by 3.2% a couple of years back in just one year.

Our base immigration number had been 0.7% ( layer foreign students, TFWs and refugees on top) for two decades.

That was fairly well accepted, but we had been falling behind in housing and transit even at that more modest level. Probably over-growing our infrastructure by about ~10% over that period.

Then we got this massive bump, that over 4 or so years saw us average double that; and with deteriorating quality to boot.

I'm not convinced the Century initiative was correct; set aside the absolute growth targets, I just don't see the evidence that we are capable as a country, right now, in both maintaining a 1.2% annual growth in key infrastructure, but also
addressing the backlog of same, possibly equal to 20%, (2% per year if we caught up over 20 years).

I'm not going to suggest its not possible; it certainly is; but we somehow have to straighten out what we build, how, and how quickly before taking on growth we can't sustain.

 

[kEiThZ]

I'm not convinced the Century initiative was correct; set aside the absolute growth targets, I just don't see the evidence that we are capable as a country, right now, in both maintaining a 1.2% annual growth in key infrastructure, but also
addressing the backlog of same, possibly equal to 20%, (2% per year if we caught up over 20 years).

I'm not going to suggest its not possible; it certainly is; but we somehow have to straighten out what we build, how, and how quickly before taking on growth we can't sustain.

I've read the Century Initiative documents. Most people who criticize them have not. CI was just a think tank writing policy papers that advocated what was necessary to grow. They never once said just let in the people. They specifically advocated for governments to invest in housing, infrastructure and social services, to enable higher growth. Governments didn't do any of that. They just ramped up growth. And then CI got scapegoated.

Unfortunately, we may now never have that growth because governments are still not investing. And now the public is convinced that growth is bad and just a con job.

 

[Towered]

So...do we need to start putting air defense in all of our cities?