Canada Must Look Elsewhere

Unfortunately, this attitude has now reached even a lot of average Americans, who take at face value anything their president tells them, and as a result they too are becoming more and more anti-Canadian. In one of the posts on my blog I mentioned right-wing blogger Fred Witzell, who is based in, can you guess it, Texas. In an online exchange with me, he called Canadians bastards in so many words and let his bigotry flow freely. When looking for answers to this new US-Canadian relationship, blaming it all on 9/11 and Canada's refusal to go to war in Iraq is less of a reason than the United States' current and future economic mess. The US debt and defict have reached astronomical proportions under Bush and are now at a point where it really does not matter anymore if those indicators are measured or not. The deficit and debt are now so high that one might just as well add a couple of more zeros, and it would not make any difference in realistic terms. Their debt is so gigantic that it has become completely impossible to ever repay. Those economic woes may therefore offer a better explanation as to why so many Americans have begun bashing Canada. If your own house is not in order, you will try to divert attention by maligning others. Canada is tops in the G7 group of industrialized giants in terms of economic performance, leaving the US behind in the dust. No doubt this is bruising some egos south of the border. The United States is destined for a very hard landing soon, with probably several years of a major recession, if not a depression. Canada will be affected by it, but not as much as it would have been in the past. It is therefore of the utmost importance that Canada start looking elsewhere for political and economic partners. The EU, for example, is the most prominent candidate on that list. Canadians are extremely European in their mentality and outlook. Besides, the population of the EU area is greater than that of the US. Imagine the potential market that could be tapped for Canadian goods and services. Over the last decades, Canada has neglected, and even discouraged, the influx of European immigrants, but recruiting Europeans should become a major priority again. Europeans tend to be much better educated, possess crucial skills and are generally at least bilingual. Once they have landed in Canada, those immigrants could play a vital role in strengthening and expanding Canada's ties with the Old World. It would not take very long before the EU area could become a much more important trading partner for Canada. No one will replace the US in the number one spot in the foreseeable future, but the EU could easily come up to second place. With a country such as Turkey trying to join the EU club, it is safe to assume that an application for EU membership by Canada would be given preferential and favourable treatment in Brussels. Canada already has observer status with the Council of Europe, so why not aim a bit higher and seek EU membership? Equipped with an EU passport, Canadians, who are resourceful and versatile, could go anywhere in the EU and work without having to go through a lengthy immigration or visa-granting process. This would be mutually beneficial to the EU and Canada. Unless it wants to risk being dragged down by the future troubles in the United States, Canada should start looking for new options. Diversification is one of those great keywords thrown about in the business world all the time. Perhaps it is time we did the same as a nation.