Canada, we’ve fallen behind the political curve. We had a chance to lead it just four weeks ago, to elect a government that truly cared about real people, the environment and art. We could have been a real contender on the global stage, bringing new ideas and approaches on how to unite the world around a common agenda. We could have decided on change. We could have got a new puppy.
Instead, we are stuck with the old thinking of the old global regime- a regime which will disappear on 20 January in the United States; one which disappeared last year in Australia, and one which disappeared in the United Kingdom more than a decade ago.
But we didn’t really have a choice for change, did we?
By choosing Stéphane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party, and Paul Martin before him, the Liberal Party has done a disservice to Canadians, giving them little to get excited about. Don’t get me wrong – Dion and Martin are both good guys. They have a moral vision and the intelligence to make some things happen. Dion’s environmental policies are exciting and are what the world needs. Paul Martin was one of the creators and defenders of the “G20″ – an enlarged G8 which reflects the imperative for fundamental changes to international relations in the 21st century.
But neither are transformational leaders. And that’s what Canada needs right now.
As Canadians we have had trouble defining ourselves as a nation. We believe that even though we watch or copy all of their television, lead our newscasts and front pages with their news, dress a lot like them and want to have the same stuff as they have, we are not like them.
We have aspired to, and in many ways, we have achieved greater things than them in our own quiet way. We have universal health care (and please let’s keep it). We have welcomed more immigration and more refugees, per capita, than any other country. As a nation, we support gay marriage. For these reasons and many more, we are a rich, diverse and exciting nation. We just don’t know how to articulate it anymore.
And as of this week, we are behind the curve.
Globally, people are noticing. With our government’s sole foreign policy focus being Afghanistan, we are losing the humanitarian and peacebuilding moralsuasion we once had. For example, Canada currently contributes a total of 160 police and military officers to Peacekeeping operations. We rank 54th in the world. (Pakistan ranks number 1, with more than 10,500). Lester B. Pearson’s stamp on the world stage is becoming a 20th century historical footnote.
On 4 November, we saw, no, we felt, the way a transformational leader like Barack Obama can change the world. When he won, there was a global collective sigh, followed by a deafening woop. It was like each of us had suddenly been set free. And while the same difficult problems remained, people felt they were waking up to a better world on Wednesday morning.
How did Canadians feel on 15 October?
In fact, who was the last Canadian leader who made us feel truly uplifted? Who has made us want to roll up our sleeves, with the overwhelming desire to get out and DO something. Who has brought tears to our eyes? ( Watch any Tommy Douglas speech to see what I mean.)
Liberals, Canadians, please take a page from the US on this one. Find a leader who will get us excited. Find a leader who makes us feel that the power to change our country is truly in our hands. Find someone who will pack a gym, or a convention centre, or a stadium, with people pressing forward to catch every single word, no matter their traditional political affiliation. Find someone who can can define our great country in a way that resonates with Canadians and in a way that makes other countries look to ours with admiration and respect.
Please, find someone new.
