Canada’s Election – Final Thoughts

Thank you Donald Trump for making Canada’s election an easy choice. Many Canadians typically vote based one party’s platform over another. Many Canadians (including me) historically have changed from voting for one party to voting for another based on the economy, the world situation, and other factors. This time, however, the only question is: Which leader will be the best to deal with the unpredictable actions of the current President of the United States?

CBC’s At Issue Panel last night, claiming the parties’ platforms seemingly agree on most major issues, agreed that the current Prime Minister, Liberal Mark Carney, will likely win the election…maybe with a majority. He’s got my vote. He’s got the best background for the job of steering Canada through a possible recession, and I like him. And, I will defend him.

Newly positioned as the Prime Minister after Justin Trudeau stepped down, Carney was criticized for traveling abroad to meet with European and Asian leaders before/without meeting with the U.S. President. Rumour has it (it’s been suggested by some reporters, but not verified) that Carney orchestrated the E.U. and Japan to sell off U.S. Treasury Bonds which ultimately led Trump to put a hold on tariffs. Personally, if true, I think that was a brilliant move and proof that Mark Carney is clearly the man to help not only Canada, but also the world to deal with Trump specifically with regards to the world market.

Before connecting with Trump on the phone, Mark Carney had said “I look forward to having, at the appropriate time, a discussion between two sovereign nations that is comprehensive and not targeted at one issue.” He made it clear that the conversation should be respectful. Immediately after the call, both leaders described it as productive. Considering all of Trump’s quips regarding speaking with other world leaders, I consider that a ‘win’.

Yesterday, Trump decided to bring up the whole 51st State concept; which led to Canadian reporters re-questioning Carney about their March telephone conversation. Really? Carney retorted that he chose to summarize the call by indicating that it had ended positively rather than giving blow-by-blow details. Did we really want Carney to get into a “he said/she said” type of report? Yesterday, Carney did say, “the President says a lot of things” implying that a lot of what Trump says is bravado. Exactly!

Literally and figuratively Carney has Trump’s number. Carney keeps his cards close to his chest to play them when needed. I want a Canadian leader that doesn’t need to blab every detail of his playbook, one who focuses on results. I don’t want a leader who has to put others down to feel self important. I don’t want a leader who changes his mind every day on strategy. And, that, my friends, is Mark Carney.

Canada’s Future Depends on the Election

For any other election, in any other time, with anyone else as President of the United States, I wouldn’t be writing this; but this is different.

Under other circumstances I would review party policy, look at the candidates’ voting history, and perhaps even vote for the party rather than the leader; but this is different.

I’m not a political writer. I typically write about people and relationships; but this is different.

Canadians go to the polls on April 28th, 2025. This might be the most important election in Canadian history.

In Canada’s federal elections we vote for our local Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Party with the most votes become the Prime Minister. In theory, and under normal circumstances, the concept is that one should vote for the person who can best represent you and the issues that are most important to you in Parliament. This time, however, we must vote for the party leader who is the best to lead us through the next four years. Why? Because our next Prime Minister must have the intelligence, experience, and fortitude to confront Donald Trump’s wacky ideas and unpredictable actions.

Although we have sixteen registered parties, I will only comment on the top four: The Liberal Party of Canada lead by Mark Carney, the Conservative Party of Canada lead by Pierre Poilievre, the New Democratic Party of Canada lead by Jazmeet Singh, and the Bloc Quebecois lead by Yves-Francois Blanchet. In fifth place is the Green Party of Canada with co-leaders Jonathan Pednault and Elizabeth May. I actually like Blanchet. He’s a strong leader, but the problem is he’d look out for Quebec first and maybe even Quebec only. I don’t mind Singh. He and Trudeau made a good team, but as I said these are different times and I don’t see him as Prime Minister. So, that leaves us with Carney versus Poilievre.

Mark Carney is not a politician. Many are referring to him as a businessman. I wouldn’t for two reasons: First, after reading his book Value(s), I’d say he’s a cross between an economist and a finance expert. Parts of his book read like a textbook from a university macroeconomics course, but in other sections his explanations, rationales and ability to mesh dissimilar concepts into one forward-moving idea are nothing short of brilliant. Second, Donald Trump is a businessman…not my kind of businessman, but nevertheless a businessman. I would never, ever, place these two men in the same classification. Mark Carney’s background includes a plethora of experiences that match perfectly with the challenge of steering a country through a possible recession and transforming it into a leadership position world wide.

Pierre Poilievre, on the other hand, is a life politician. He’s never held a regular job outside of politics. I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough for me. He’s not strong enough for these times. He keeps denying he’s like Trump, but the similarities keep creeping in. An example, he’s not letting any reporters travel with him on the campaign. What’s that all about? He wants control over what they see and hear. Sound familiar? I’m finding it difficult to think of good descriptive words…hmm…smarmy?

One last thought. I believe Trump respects Mark Carney. Notice that since Carney took over the leadership of Canada, we’ve not heard many references to Canada becoming the 51st State or comments about Carney being “Governor”? Trump seemingly respects strong leaders, or at least leaders who’ve had impressive backgrounds. (As an aside, I wonder if that’s one of the reasons he rode roughshod over President Zelenskyy – because he had been a comedian.) I would have loved to have been listening in on the one conversation between Carney and Trump had, whereafter tariffs on Canada have seemed to be halted.

There is no question in my mind. Prime Minister Mark Carney is and will be Canada’s saviour.

Family Stories – Truth or Fiction?

I knew from a young age that Maritimers were tellers of tall tales by sitting around the kitchen table in my grandparents’ Lunenburg waterfront home listening to my mother and her siblings tell detailed, interesting stories. I understood some of these were yarns as a result of my father’s occasional debunking remarks. I also caught on to my father’s disapproval. While I now appreciate these tales were for entertainment purposes, my reaction has been and is to call “Bullshit”. I am my father’s daughter, honest to a fault.

My mother loved to capture an audience. I remember one story, which remained consistent for many years, of her having danced with Philip Mountbatten at a military New Year’s Eve party in Halifax toward the end of World War II. You see she had been an admiral’s secretary during the war. Being a young pretty blonde and since her sea captain father knew the admiral, she was often invited to Royal Canadian Navy social events. Even though he was royalty (Greek and Danish) at the time, this was before he was Prince Philip or married to Princess Elizabeth. Over the years, the narrative grew, as tall tales do, to include a midnight kiss. That’s when I started to doubt the reality of the event.

Another story of my mother’s involved two paintings that hung in our house, that now hang in mine. One is a seascape watercolour created by painter Jack Humphrey of Saint John, New Brunswick. The story is that my father commissioned Jack to paint it for my mother as a gift on their first anniversary. This I know is true because my father told me. The second painting is signed “Tela” and is of Lunenburg harbour. My mother told me she was Jack’s wife. I always believed that. She would admire the Humphrey painting, and then point to the Tela painting and say, “And that one was painted by his wife.” After my mother’s passing I researched and learned that the painting was actually by Tela Purcell, wife of artist Joseph Purcell.

I understand that tall tales are part of many people’s family history, that they are considered by many to be folklore, but I just cannot fathom why one would fabricate nonsense. To get attention? To be admired? Personality type? In my mother’s case, I believe all of those to be true. She was the social butterfly, the belle of the ball, and would do just about anything to get attention. Unfortunately this behaviour was passed along to my brother. He was wasn’t as skillful in his storytelling as most of his tales were downright unbelievable. Over the years, this made it difficult for me to bond with him because I just didn’t know who he was. It robbed me (and others) of developing a close relationship with him.

To me, it’s sad that anyone would feel the need to make up stories, that they think their own life isn’t interesting enough, that they’re not good enough. My parents and brother have all passed now. I would have much rather heard the true stories.

Canadians Fight Back!

United States’ Leadership has underestimated Canadian Leadership and the Canadian people. “Elbows Up” means Canadians are protecting ourselves and prepared for the fight. We will continue to do so until there are neither tariffs nor threat of tariffs.

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, directed to Felon Trump, “Even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dump thing to do”. Why? Because as Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller had said last week, “We have a higher pain threshold than our partners to the south.” We do! Americans have no idea that we will brave the storm and deflect any ‘punishment’ Trump wants to throw this way.

For the past several weeks, Canadians have been

  • Reading labels to ensure our purchases are ‘Made in Canada’ or at least not ‘Made in the USA’. Stores have been labeling shelves with red Maple Leafs to make it easier to shop.
  • Forfeiting deposits to cancel trips to the USA and booking to Mexico and the Caribbean instead.
  • Plastering social media with Canadian Flags, stories of how proud we are, and how although we might be polite, we’re not vulnerable.

It’s always been a joke to us that Americans don’t know much about Canadians. They think we’re pushovers and that we ski everywhere. What most haven’t realized is that we could be self-sufficient. We’ve chosen to sell our oil, gas, electricity, minerals, soft wood and produce to the United States because economically it was easier to transport south than east/west. Right now our politicians are working with our business leaders to break down our provincial barriers to trade internally within Canada. Right now our politicians are working with other countries to sell our goods to Mexico, Europe, Asia and South America. Right now our Southwestern Ontario greenhouses are gearing down of the produce we sell to the U.S. and gearing up to grow produce we used to buy from the U.S. Right now Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford has taken all American booze off the shelves and is talking about putting the northeastern States into a blackout by stopping electricity! Go ahead, Trump. Lay those tariffs on us. We might suffer some short-term pain, but we will have long-term gain.

Trump’s idea is that Americans will gain financially. It’s interesting that just yesterday, he put another one-month pause on the auto industry tariff. It’s being reported that Ford, GM, and Stellantis influenced him – but we know he saw the stock market tanking. Canadians know that our American friends are going to suffer greatly and we are sorry for that.

These tariffs are supposedly, as Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik keep saying, being imposed because of Fentanyl coming across the Canadian border. I have two points regarding Fentanyl entering the United States from Canada:

  1. It’s the Canadian Border Guards’ responsibility to monitor people and goods coming into Canada; it’s the American Border Guards’ responsibility to monitor people and goods going into the United States. Right? Am I missing something here? Shouldn’t it be American Border Guards who need to step up their game? And…more importantly,
  2. Less than 2% of Fentanyl entering the United States across borders in 2024 came from Canada, and since the start of 2025, we’ve reduced that amount. Donald Trump, listen up: Canada is not the problem!

Apparently in a conversation with our Prime Minister Trudeau yesterday, Trump found it odd that Justin couldn’t tell him when the next Canadian election will be. First, that shows that Trump knows nothing about our election system; and second, why on earth would that be a topic? I guess Trump doesn’t like dealing with Trudeau and is anxious about Canada having a new leader.

Just you wait, Trump. We see through you. We know what you are. You’ve picked a fight that you cannot and will not win. You have no idea what Canada can and will do. We have our Elbows Up!

Trump and Vance Bully President Zelenskyy – it was clearly a set-up

We all knew it wouldn’t go well, but did anyone expect this?

For the last week we’ve watch President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer pump up Trump’s ego. They were playing Trump’s game. But they’ve all made a drastic oversight. To President Zelenskyy, and to the Ukraine people, it’s not a game. The disastrous Oval Office exchange started with President Zelenskyy trying to set the appropriate tone by showing Trump photos of prisoners released from Russia, three of them pastors he said, demonstrating how Putin has violated the laws of war.

When President Zelenskyy tried to explain (and remember that English is not his first language) that the United States would eventually feel the effects of Putin’s war, Trump interrupted with, “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.” Then he spoke over President Zelenskyy trying to say he wasn’t to say, “You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel.” And, still speaking over Zelenskyy’s rebuttal, Trump said, “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now.” Zelenskyy, “I’m not playing cards. I am serious.” Trump, “You’re playing cards. You’re gambling with World War III.” The only one playing games is Donald J. Trump!

While I watched the exchange live the first time, upon reviewing it on video, I realized how this whole scenario was a trap. And Trump got what he wanted. Now, he can back away from the Ukraine War and blame President Zelenskyy. Trump and Vance tried to turn the table and make President Zelenskyy look bad, and they are so egotistical they actually believe the world has fallen for it. They must think people are blind and stupid.

Kudos to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who kept his cool and, in my opinion, acted like a gentleman, a leader of the Ukraine people, and a hero. World leaders are already posting their support. Even if it means all NATO countries have to step up their financial and military support, we all support Ukraine!

And, Trump? He’s already posted that President Zelenskyy isn’t ready for peace. BULLSHIT!

Detroit/Windsor Relationship in Peril? I Think Not!

Windsor is across the Detroit River which forms the most traveled border crossing between Canada and the United States. People who don’t live in the State of Michigan or the Province of Ontario may not understand how close we are. Canadian and Americans cross our border daily for work, shopping, entertainment and visiting friends. Since 1978, there’s been the annual Detroit Free Press Marathon, an international race that travels over the Ambassador Bridge and returns through the Detroit Tunnel with people cheering on both sides. Hundreds of Canadians go to the Lions’ games. It’s a joint community!

Sadly, Windsor’s Mayor Drew Dilkens used Ontario’s “strong mayor power” to veto Council’s vote to keep the Detroit Tunnel bus which runs frequently back and forth between Windsor and Detroit. Windsorites are up in arms about the autocratic move. Dilkens claims, in retaliation to Trump’s upcoming tariffs, he wants to prevent Canadians spending their money in the United States. What about the Americans who come across to spend their dollars here?

Last Saturday, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, patrons of a local restaurant, Toast, ate for free courtesy of an American couple. When about 50 people went to pay for their breakfast they were told it had been covered by a couple from Michigan.

Bill and Sara, from Ann Arbor wanted to show their appreciation for Canadians and small family-owned businesses. They apologized for how Trump has been treating Canada, “Please know that not everyone in America likes Trump”. They also congratulated Canada on the recent hockey game win over the United States in the 4 Nations Tournament. Kudos to Bill and Sara!

It doesn’t matter what our politicians do, the people of Canada and the United States can rise above this petty schoolboy bullying. We know who our friends are. Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Doug Ford and Drew Dilkens, you can take your right-wing bravado and shove it!

A Canadian’s Viewpoint: Trump has a God Complex

I never saw myself writing about politics. My bailiwick has been women’s rights, human rights, being a stepmom, being a grandparent, taking care of an elderly parent with Alzheimer’s Disease and surviving abuse; basically my personal experiences. Right now, though, I feel the need to write about what’s going on in the world.

Trump shows respect to no one or nothing. He is despicable. Definition of despicable: deserving hatred and contempt. My emotions range from annoyance to anger every time he appears on the news, but this week took the cake. There’s so much, but right now I’m focused on the Ukraine. There is so much bullshit coming out of Trump’s mouth, it’s hard to keep track.

Although it could ultimately have some benefit, it’s horrible that he’s gone off on a tangent to meet with Putin excluding President Zelenskyy. When Trump spewed a barrage of lies from saying Ukraine started the war to calling Zelenskyy a dictator, the calm Zelenskyy retorted by turning the other cheek and merely saying that Trump is living in a “disinformation space”. Zelenskyy took the high road and even said he respected Trump and the people of America. He remains a class act.

Others have come to Ukraine President’s defense. Many world leaders, representatives of the European Union have commented that Trump is wrong.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was quick to claim Zelenskyy is a democratically elected leader.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canada and our allies are unequivocal in standing up against Vladimir Putin’s illegal, immoral, unjust violations of the international order”.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said, “If you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable.”

Here’s my take on Trump. His personality is one that needs to be the ‘big shot’, the one who calls the shots, the one who orders everyone around, the one who is in control, the one who has the ideas, the one who thinks he’s better than everyone else…to the point where he truly believes he can fool everyone, and believes others are generally stupid. These personality types generally thrive on taking risks, love to stir things up and count on their minions to take care of the details and pick up the pieces. He’s got an inflated view of his abilities. He’s got a God Complex.

With respect to Ukraine, the rest of the EU need to chime in. So, far some of them have, but there are 27 countries included in the EU and they need to stand strong. Starmer and Macron are meeting with Trump on Monday. Maybe with their joint backgrounds in the law (criminal prosecution), philosophy and public affairs, they can talk some sense in the man. However, both are far from conservative and the meetings might not go so well.

Someone has to stop the man!

Canada’s National Flag Day – More Significant Today Than Ever

Sixty years ago, Canadians decided they wanted a flag that was instantly recognizable and totally separate from the United Kingdom – something distinctively Canadian.

I have traveled the world with this image on my suitcases and found that there’s an instant recognition and welcome associated with being Canadian. Why? Well, I think it’s because the world see us as the peacekeepers and even saviors, stemming from our actions in World War II. Albeit, mostly because of our connection with the British Commonwealth; Canada entered the second World War on September 10, 1939 to fight the evils of Hitler. That was 2 years before the United States joined and only after Pearl Harbor. With a total population of less than 12 million, 1.1 million (ten percent of our population) Canadians served in World War II with the 3rd largest navy and 4th largest air force. We didn’t brag about it, but perhaps it’s time we did.

Since then Canada has taken a step back from war and typically entered only when our southern neighbors do – except for Vietnam, and that was a good call. We’ve contributed to the Korean War, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and the Red Sea Crisis. Admittedly Canada has neglected her military in the last decades. We’ve let the United States take the lead because they’ve become a military powerhouse and we’ve been the best of friends for 210 years. Canada has been there to help and support Americans through natural and unnatural disasters. Regardless of what happens politically, I’m confident that aid will continue.

Nevertheless, our neighbor’s Felon Leader and his minions have misconstrued Canadian behavior as a weakness. We are TRUE, NORTH, STRONG and FREE. He’s unknowingly awakening the Grizzly Bear.

Canadians might be quiet, polite, demure, and complacent when left alone. We even hibernate. Do not mistake these behaviors for weakness. When riled, we are massive, focused, intelligent, protective, and formidable. Don’t fool with the Canadian Grizzly Bear!

We’ve always been proud, but never so proud as we are today. We don’t want a trade war. We don’t want a war of any type. We want to be friends. We want peace. And, we will proudly come together as a nation to support our sovereignty, secure our borders, offer a hand in friendship and never, never become the 51st State.

Don’t fool with the Canadian Grizzly Bear!

Black History Month: We Need to Keep it Alive!

I am disgusted by many of the actions of our southern neighbor’s Felon Leader over the last month, but today I’m focusing on the possibility that he might put an end to Black History Month in the United States. Rest assured that February will continue to educate and celebrate Black History Month in Canada.

I watch many documentaries about our deplorable past about how white people treated people of color, particularly those descended from the enslaved and I learn something with every one I watch. Today I watched the story of the Freedom Summer Murders where three young men, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were voluntarily attempting to register African Americans in Mississippi to vote, were murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan. What shocked me was: a. that this happened in 1964, and b. that I had never heard the story before.

My partner and I are both in our early 70s and he asked, “You don’t remember this?” Maybe it’s because I grew up in Montreal and he grew up in Windsor, right across from Detroit, that he remembered. Maybe I just led a very sheltered youth. I digress.

My point is – I believe these stories are so very important. I speak to younger people I know, and they have absolutely no knowledge of the historical prejudice that exists. They don’t know the stories of the horrors Black people had to face. They’ve never watch any of Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s epic productions. They know the names of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, and they might know what they did; but they’re less likely to know John Lewis, Roy Wilkins, John Ware, Jean Augustine, Maya Angelou, Frederick Douglass – who they were and what they achievements. Of course, the list goes on. But how will people in the present and future know about these people if we don’t consciously single them out, teach their accomplishments, and celebrate how they rose to success against all odds?

I remember the hope when Barrack Obama was elected that maybe the United States has finally turned a corner in race relations. Sadly, apparently that is not so. We need to keep telling the stories of all the wonderful Black People (scientists, doctors, inventors, activists, writers, poets, politicians, etc.) of whom we can all be proud. Even if it is no longer officially Black History Month in the United States, our youth must be encouraged to watch every documentary that celebrates the accomplishments of Black People.

Former Canadian Prime Minister gives U.S. President Elect a Piece of His Mind…

The Honorable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada from 1993-2003 turned 91 today. In honour of his birthday, he wrote an opinion article in Canada’s newspaper, The Globe and Mail. This man has gained my utmost respect by hopefully kicking a few asses. Here is what he wrote:

“Today is my 91st birthday.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. To look back on the life I’ve had the privilege to lead. And to reflect on how much this country we all love so much has grown and changed over the course of the nine decades I’ve been on this Earth.

This year, I’ve also decided to give myself a birthday present. I’m going to do something in this article that I don’t do very often anymore, and sound off on a big issue affecting the state of the nation and profoundly bothering me and so many other Canadians: The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

I have two very clear and simple messages.

To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world – and make no mistake, that is what we are – to join the United States?

I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world – when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.

We’ve also built a strong social safety net – especially with public health care – that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.

This may not be the “American Way” or “the Trump Way.” But it is the reality I have witnessed and lived my whole long life.

If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don’t know a thing about us. You don’t know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up – both times – years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.

We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.

We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds.

We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness.

And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow.

I know the spirit is there. Ever since Mr. Trump’s attacks, every political party is speaking out in favour of Canada. In fact, it is to my great satisfaction that even the Bloc Québécois is defending Canada.

But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence. We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail.

We need another approach – one that will break this cycle.

Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.

When I came into office as prime minister, Canada faced a national unity crisis. The threat of Quebec separation was very real. We took action to deal with this existential threat in a manner that made Canadians, including Quebeckers, stronger, more united and even prouder of Canadian values.

Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.

And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.

Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good. So is lobbying hard in Washington and the state capitals, pointing out that tariffs will hurt the American economy too. So are retaliatory tariffs – when you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.

But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.

We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.

We also need to reduce Canada’s vulnerability in the first place. We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as real national energy grid.

We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.

Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.

The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.

Canadians know me. They know I am an optimist. That I am practical. And that I always speak my mind. I made my share of mistakes over a long career, but I never for a moment doubted the decency of my fellow Canadians – or of my political opponents.

The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.

That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.

I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.

Vive le Canada!”

Mr. Chretien, thank you. Let’s hope people listen and take appropriate action. May we remain the true north, strong and free.