Life can just be one big emotional rollercoaster at times.
As a nation, we have been experiencing the whole gamut of sentiments lately.
Do you still get thrilled when you watch, for the 57th time, Connor McDavid scoring in overtime to give Canada the Four Nations Faceoff championship? It is strange that even the most fervent Canadiens’ fans could cheer on a Leaf, Mitch Marner, and a Bruin, Brad Marchand, at least for a few games.
Many people have been feeling a rare sense of pride in our leaders.
Even those who hate Justin Trudeau have grudgingly conceded that the Prime Minister had a good line after the hockey victory: “You can’t take our country; you can’t take our game.”
And the PM has looked pretty good on the world stage when he joined 12 other foreign leaders in Kyiv recently to pledge our support for Ukraine as the United States carried out negotiations with Russia.
Just the thought of Donald Trump, and his band of sycophants, stirs a broad range of responses. The wild, crazy, false and jaw-dropping utterances just keep on coming. Do you laugh, cry, cringe, fume, or do all of the above?
After taking several verbal cross-checks to the head, Canadians are justifiably testy whenever the felon in the White House is referenced.
A case in point was the uproar before the February 23 installment of Cross-Country Check-Up on our beloved CBC hit the air. The special edition was also simulcasted on NPR stations and C-SPAN in the States.
Suspecting they were being figuratively slew-footed, listeners protested about the title, “51st State: A Cross-Border Conversation” and the original question, “What does Canada as the 51st state mean to you?” It was later altered to: “What do you think of Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state?”
People were mad because they felt CBC was somehow giving legitimacy to the idea of the Mocker In Chief annexing Canada.
Say what? We are being just a tad sensitive here, don’t you think?
The show itself fulfilled the producers’ goal of giving Canadians a chance to vent about Trump’s threats and get perspective from Americans.
Host Ian Hanomansing said on the CBC web page, “We are very careful about how we do a program like this. We are not in any way endorsing what Trump has been saying. The point of our show … is to hear what those of you who are listening and watching have to [say]. This is a place where people can speak out on issues where politicians up until now have been doing most of the talking.”
Understandably, people are very touchy about issues such as sovereignty and potentially catastrophic trade skirmishes.
But we must be able to listen to opposing views, without getting angry. We don’t want to become like many Americans who seem to have never settled that civil war.
Canadians must keep employing every means possible to push back against the bully in the Oval Office.
Apart from waving flags, we have to continue to cancel trips south of the border, boycott American-controlled streaming services and spend hours in grocery stores trying to find Canadian products.
This Buy Canadian movement requires commitment, compromise and coordination. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We must make permanent changes to our buying habits, even though certain sacrifices may be difficult to accept.
But do you really, really need Florida orange juice? A lot of countries grow oranges. Kentucky bourbon is not all that great. We can live without it. Opt for Canadian hooch instead.
As we face down an unprovoked attack from the south, we got to be prepared to take one for the team, give 110 per cent.
If we cannot find a Canadian-made product, we must do without, or, in a pinch go for items that were made in Mexico and Europe.
Our pro-Canada shopping shift is facilitated by Made In Canda apps, and somewhat by the area stores that have been affixing Canadian flags to their shelves to promote products made here. However, that sticker trend has not become a common practice among the many large corporations that dominate our market.
We cannot take a shift off; we got to fight until the final whistle.
We must become more self-reliant.
Victory gardens will be making a comeback in preparation for a long trade war.
Reminiscent of the COVID-19 days, gardeners are already increasing their seed purchases, planning larger than usual vegetable plots, bracing for the fallout from the tariff tussle.
Hopefully, the united front forged in the face of Trump will not falter as it did during the COVID pandemic.
Some angry Canucks have opted for the “good defence is a good offence” strategy, warning Trump supporters to keep their heads up.
The Great One has been assailed. A petition is afoot in Edmonton to change the name of Wayne Gretzky Drive because No. 99 is a Trump fan, which indeed warrants a gross misconduct penalty. Bobby Orr, another Trump buddy, has felt obliged to defend Gretzky, who although he was honorary captain of Team Canada gave the US bench the thumbs-up before the Americans lost, in overtime, again.
On several fronts, these are uncertain times. We have no idea how the tariffs will affect us. We are awaiting the selection of a new Liberal leader, and Prime Minister, and the imminent call for a federal election. We have gone through an Ontario election which was dominated by the fear of a reckless American administration, which is often infuriating and incoherent. (The President has threatened to ”semi-fire” scores of US government employees.)
Anyway, we are all in this together, right? And if at anytime we need a morale boost, we can always look at that beautiful McDavid winner for the 58th time.
