I’m loving the political tough talk and newfound social solidarity in response to Donald Trump’s attack on our economy and sovereignty. The collective impulse that has propelled the public to “buy Canadian” and cancel travel to the US lifts my spirits. I’m inspired by the “elbows up” zeitgeist and by leaders across the political spectrum resolving that Canada will “never be the 51st state.”

And yet, is it just me, or does our concrete policy response to Trump’s attack feel incongruous with the threat we face? Removing US alcohol from liquor stores, some initial counter-tariffs, speeding up permits for new projects, easing applications for Employment Insurance, removing inter-provincial trade barriers, some targeted funds for Canadian auto manufacturing — all good, but the impact is minimal, and in the case of inter-provincial trade barriers the benefits are greatly overstated.

Too often in a crisis moment, there is a panicky impulse on the part of leaders to grasp for well-worn default options. Governments gravitate to budget austerity; a tightening up of spending given “economic uncertainty.” 

As the federal election campaign gears up, the parties are all-in on tax cuts, a response that is extremely costly to the public treasury, but so widely dispersed (including to the wealthy, who don’t need it) that its economic benefit to both households and the overall economy is largely inconsequential. Even worse, too many politicians reflexively turn to expediting approvals for new fossil fuel projects, a rejoinder that sees us deepening one crisis as we wrestle with another.

The response feels plagued by a failure of imagination and vision. Moments of crisis should not see us doubling-down on the stale “solutions” of the past (particularly those that worsen inequality and the climate crisis). Rather, times of emergency should be viewed as a portal — a rare opportunity to leap into the new. We should be seizing on this moment to delink our economy from the US and from the fossil fuels that are harming the people and places we love. For progressive leaders, crises are exceptional moments — an invitation — to rapidly transition our economy and society in ways we’ve known are needed for some time.

Listening to Liberal leader Mark Carney, the message feels........

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