September 2nd, 2022 | ryan tyler

Is Canada Worth Saving?

Building something new from its ashes might not be so bad.

Tristin Hopper from the National Post did a great job recently of summing up all the things Canada is failing at. We have the most unaffordable home prices, the worst airport in the world, the highest internet and cellular costs and we racked up COVID debt faster than any other country, which meets the equivalent of 352% of our GDP. On top of that, we have the lowest rate of acute care beds among countries with similar healthcare systems. All of these things have made Canada's ongoing decline more clear to everyone. Some have chosen to ignore it and posit that we'll get through it stronger and better than ever, but others have resorted to the usual doom and gloom about the end of Canada. However, even if we don't make it through, history gives us proof that hope and prosperity can grow out of the ashes of a failed society.

When the ancient Roman Empire collapsed, it re-emerged as the Holy Roman Empire and broke off into other competing nations and cultures over time. Before that, it was a republic that transformed into a dictatorship. Through all of it, the people survived and generations went on to build new worlds. Nothing really ended, per se, it just changed.

Parts of this land mass we call Canada might stay very Canadian, while other parts might choose a different direction. With separatism growing in Alberta and reigniting in Quebec, it might only be a matter of time before the powder keg that is federal politics finally blows. The two provinces are so vastly different, it's hard to imagine a united Canada with the two of them together. Rather than come closer, there is a wedge between the two that seems to have grown in the past decade. There's a second wedge between Alberta and Ottawa that seems to be opening a crack that has been sealed since Pierre Trudeau left office in 1984.

You know it, I know it, the media knows it and every political leader knows it: Canada is in serious trouble.

There are those who want to change Canada, those who want to save the Canada they thought they knew and those who are upset that Canada, as a nation, might be coming to an end at the hands of Justin Trudeau. What's missing are the people who are willing to let it all go and accept what may be the inevitable end of Canada as a unified federation.

The actual end of Canada as we know it may not be the worst thing to happen. In fact, it could be a solution to all the problems we are currently facing. Rather than see it through an apocalyptic lense, we could learn to see it through one of optimism, hope and new beginnings. A post-Canadian world might be exactly what we need. Furthermore, we might all be better off if we actively started working to build the foundation for what might come next.

We're probably a long way off from the actual "end", but with better planning and acceptance, we could make the transition less painful for our children, their children and our elder selves when it finally comes.

Energize Our Local Communities

Setting aside the current federal stresses and focusing on our local communities, neighbourhoods and municipalities is a good way to start building a strong foundation for a possible post-Canadian life. Focusing on teaching our children more conservative values at home is an important step to securing their futures and the future of our local communities.

Home-schooling, joining boards, running for trustee and participating in local events is an effective way to network and build a strong local foundation for yourself and your family. While federal and provincial governments clamp down, local sentiments and organizations are key to building strong resistance. Even electorally on a provincial and federal level, the more people you can influence and organize the better.

Get involved. Coach local sports teams, get to know other parents, have BBQs and organize events. Work to build strong networks of likeminded people in your neighbourhood.

Empower First Nations

Conservatives don't always like to hear this, but empowering First Nations is one of the most conservative and libertarian things you could do. Many of them live on their reservations, by their own rules, working to free themselves from the same grip of government as the rest of us. They've been lied to, cheated, mistreated and thrust into poverty by the same governments that offered to protect them and their heritage. There is no greater example of the aftermath of government destruction and oppression than Canada's indigenous population.

We should listen to them, encourage them to vote and enable them to lay their own foundations for a post-Canadian world. Just like us, they want more freedom, more prosperity and more autonomy.

Today, Liberal supported "environmental" groups exploit indigenous communities by paying and encouraging them to oppose and protest energy infrastructure that could enrich their communities. It's our job to turn the tides and give them the strength and resources they need to rid themselves of these self-serving, external influences and to liberate themselves into a state of full autonomy.

Encourage Separatists

You don't need to be a separatist to encourage them. On the extreme end of separatist movements you have their full success, which involves successful secession. On the less extreme end, you have an almost successful secession that scares the hell out of the Laurentian elites and pushes politicians in Ottawa to do more to satisfy the province in question. Either situation is a win for people looking for more autonomy and independence.

Quebec's failed referendum in 1995 was so close that it shook Ottawa to the core. Now, Quebec gets special rights, special exemptions and special treatment from Ottawa. Quebec has more autonomy and freedom from the federal bureaucracy than any other province in Canada.

It's Not All Doom And Gloom

The end of Canada isn't something we should be afraid of. Societies before this one started as something else, like modern Italy and Great Britain. Almost every country in Europe emerged from a failed society of the past.

Failed societies don't spell the end, but rather the beginning of something new. Free from the shackles of voters in Ontario, much of the West and Quebec could prosper as separate societies. Many First Nation communities could prosper on their own, while being free to make deals and agreements with the other nations around them. Each new nation could manage and trade its own resources without people like Trudeau and Ontario voters working to diminish their prospects based on some utopian, liberal fantasy.

A new, post-Canadian world could be the blessing our children and grandchildren need to build their own, successful society from the ashes of our mistakes.