[scotian]

With all of the recent political threads concerning Canada popping up, I think that it is useful for RVF to have one master thread where we can all post news articles and discuss the issues that are concerning the country. With Canada recently taking a left turn politically and being lead by arguably the most leftist Prime Minister in our history, I foresee a lot of discussions coming up that relate to many of the popular themes that are regularly posted about on here. After reading the posts on the many recent threads, its obvious that the Canadian members of RVF span the political spectrum from left to right and we come from all regions of the vast country, hopefully we will have informative discussions for both Canadian and non Canadian members.

Recent threads about PM Trudeau:
Justin Trudeau's most diverse cabinet ever.: thread-51533.html
Justin Trudeau is a cuck clown: thread-52321.html

So far since he was elected three months ago, Justin Trudeau appears to be focused on following in the foot steps of his late father Pierre which will likely include:
-Increasing debt and public spending
-Running the economy into the ground
-Alienation the western provinces
-A resurgence of Quebec nationalism and weakening of national unity
-An antagonistic relationship with our neighbour to the south
-Increasing Islamic immigration when the majority of Canadians don't want it
-Non-commitment to our NATO obligations

My prediction so far is that Trudeau will push too far for leftist causes and won't properly manage the economy and as a result, will be a one-term PM. Trudeau does seem to fit the stereotypical image, especially the one that right wing Americans like to portray, of the socialist, soft Canadian. However, Canada hasn't always been so left leaning, in fact we just booted out PM Harper who was a right-of-centre, pro-oil, Christian evangelical. Harper was arguably one the best conservative leaders of the Anglo-sphere in recent decades but after ten years in power, Canadians tired of his politics and divisive style of ruling. I'm confident that after a few years of Trudeau, people will look back fondly on Harper's tenure.

Here are some of my thoughts on a few of the topics that I listed above:
Alienation of the western provinces:
This issue goes way back to the days of confederation where western Canada feels that it doesn't get a fair shake from the Eastern dominated federal government (Canadian Wheat Board, National Energy Program, etc)
This photo is from 1915


Now we're seeing the federal and provincial politicians playing politics with the Energy East Pipeline, which is reminiscent of the senior Trudeau's terrible National Energy Program which brought western oil producers to its knees back in the early 1980s during a global depression of oil prices, just like today.


An antagonistic relationship with our neighbour to the south:
We all know that Canada is the US's little bitch but a trend among Liberal governments is to cater to Canadian's inferiority complex vis-a-vis our neighbour and smugly portray Canada as a better country, mostly due to our generous social benefits. Justin's father Pierre didn't have the best relationship with the US at the time as he traveled around the world rubbing shoulders with the likes of Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro at the height of the Cold War. Here's a quote on Pierre's relationship with Nixon: "Although they spoke by phone in friendly terms, commiserating with each other’s troubles, Pierre Trudeau and U.S. President Richard Nixon did not really like each other. In speaking to his senior officials, Mr. Nixon once referred to Mr. Trudeau as a “clever son of a bitch” and “an asshole,” comments that were caught on the famous White House recording system."

When the Liberals get booted out and the Tories (Conservatives) are elected, things usually go quite well, as was the case of former PM Brian Mulroney's relationship with Ronald Regean and Harper with Bush Jr, Obama wasn't such a big fan of Harper, apparently. Now it seems that Trudeau Jr is on his way to pissing off the US as the Liberals are prone to due, he's taking in a large amount of Syrian refugees and a US congressional panel is having a hearing regarding the impact of the resettlement, to which Canada is telling them to stuff it! http://news.yahoo.com/canada-rejects-us-...36379.html

Increasing Islamic immigration when the majority of Canadians don't want it:
Recent polls have shown that the majority of Canadians don't agree with the amount or how fast the Syrian refugees are being resettled. They've already increased pressure on public services, especially clinics and hospitals, where many of them have fallen ill with the flu and some have even entered with other more serious viruses and diseases. I do believe that Canada can successfully settle these people as we've done with large groups of refugees before but I think that its a bad idea to take in 50,000 (double what Trudeau pledged during his campaign!), especially as our economy isn't doing so well and especially in light of security concerns regarding the US. I don't think that we'll see the same amount of rapes and sexual assaults as is happening in Europe, my main concern is that even one of the refugees attempts to cross the border and fuck with the US, our entire border (the largest in the world) will be shut down and this could have catastrophic repercussions for Canada.

Anyway, there's a lot more to discuss about Canada and I"m sure that as our resource based economy continues to be booted in the nut sack, we'll see more divisive issues popping up all over the country, I"m sure the refugees will provide lots of news stories and if nothing else, we can always bitch and complain about the brutal Canadian weather!

[DannyAlberta]

Nice write-up Scotian. I do think this will be a good addition to this part of the Forum.

One thing I don't agree with you about is Trudeau Jr. being a one-term PM. I think he has at least 8 and maybe 12 years. He gives all the low-info Canadian voters all the mindless pablum they could ever want in terms of:

1. Fiscally irresponsible spend, spend, spend BS policies, the consequences of which could take decades to be felt (although maybe not if another downturn is triggered);

2. Class warfare: tax the hell out of those evil "rich" (which apparently is anyone making more than a couple hundred grand) - Canada has become a true culture of envy where meritocracy from hard work and success are seen as impossible, thus the average Canadian sees someone more successful than them and they immediately want the state to knock that someone down a peg;

3. Politically correct drivel, including pandering to natives, pandering to feminism, pandering to gays and trans people, and Islamophilia - Canadians are nearly European in their "progressive" attitudes and have yet to become as skeptical as Americans with respect to this nonsense- expect to see more quotas from Cabinet ministers to Senators to Judges (although this may speed along Canada's eventual nationalist movement which I suspect will one day follow);

4. Environmentalist nonsense - Canadians love to think they are green and therefore we endorse ridiculous environmental policies and haven't had to come face to face yet with energy prices that are so high it will actually one day come to a choice between buying food and buying heat and electricity for our houses;

5. Hatred of the West - Most of Central and Atlantic Canada are positively disdainful of the success the West has had in the last 40 years because they haven't had the same success, they will bite off their nose to spite their face in that regard and enjoy the destruction of the West's commodity based economy even though it hurts them too;

6. Celebrity factor - Canadians are just as bad as anyone in the Western World when confronted with it. The media in particular are in love with this guy and would let him piss in their mouths while claiming it is fine wine.

There is no conservative politician in Canada that can compete with any of that, particularly since the majority of Canadians have no desire to go back to living within our means or facing up to the looming demographic and fiscal disasters that are our future. The NDP have no ability to compete with Trudeau Jr. on the pandering and celebrity side (particularly now that Justin has control of the purse-strings in Canada).

Long story short, he's here to stay until it all starts collapsing around us. Then we might get rid of him, although that will likely be cold comfort.

[DjembaDjemba]

[DjembaDjemba]

Quote:

Men in Alberta bearing brunt of economic downturn

The rout in commodities has hit men harder than women.

Since oil started tumbling in 2014, thousands of men in Alberta have lost their jobs while thousands of women have found work.

Nearly 16,000 men in the western province have been laid off from September of 2014 through the end of last year. Meanwhile, 22,800 women have found new positions over the same period, according to Statistics Canada.

“You consistently see that men are more affected than women by the downturn in Alberta,” said Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “This is common in the early part of a recession. Later, the pain spreads from goods-producing industries, typically male-dominated, to ancillary support industries in the service sector, more female dominated,” she said.

Over the past year, Albertan men lost jobs in mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, professional scientific and technical services. Women also lost positions in natural resources but secured occupations in wholesale, retail trade, health care and education, according to Statscan. Job gains for women were in lower-paid positions relative to the natural-resources spots.

The disparity between men and women follows the same pattern in other economic downturns.

During the Great Recession, 330,000 men were laid off across Canada compared with 100,000 women. During the recessions of the early 1990s and 1980s, job declines among men dwarfed those among women.

“Job losses during economic downturns are typically more acute for men than for women,” said Stephen Tapp, research director with Institute for Research on Public Policy.

“This is largely because layoffs are concentrated in certain sectors of the economy that are more sensitive to the business cycle … and these tend to be male-dominated occupations,” he said.

Alberta’s job losses last year exceeded those shed during the depths of the 2009 financial crisis. The province’s jobless rate is expected to soon surpass the national average and government data show a deep decline among men in the core working age group of 25-54.

More than 25,000 Albertan men of prime working age lost full-time employment last year. In comparison, nearly 12,000 women of prime working age gained full time jobs. More part-time employment was created for men and part-time jobs fell for women in the province.

Employment agencies in the province have reported a sharp uptick in applicants while job opportunities are limited.

“If they stay in Alberta, they can look for other work. It won’t be as well paid and it will be pretty precarious,” said Jim Stanford, special adviser to Canadian labour union Unifor. “There will be no automatic transition to new work, and even less well-paid new work.”

Wages in the province are dropping amid the downturn. The average weekly pay fell 2.4 per cent to $1,130 in the year ended in November, according to Statscan. The earnings decline has also spread to other parts of Alberta’s economy, such as real estate, construction, accommodation and food services.

People are starting to flee Alberta in search of work. The western province was the destination for job seekers when oil was climbing to $100 (U.S.) per barrel. Now. the hot spots are becoming British Columbia and Ontario, economies that are less reliant on natural resources and expected to grow more than 2 per cent this year.

But it is unclear whether these two provinces will prove to be fertile grounds for employment.

“One of the uncertainties is, is there the demand for labour in the provinces that they are returning to,” said David Watt, chief economist with HSBC Bank Canada. “That is one of the key uncertainties for the next year or two years,” he said.



Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...e28474273/

[H1N1]

You just want a subforum named after you, Scotian

[scotian]

About that article concerning Alberta men bearing the brunt of the economic turn down, a few months ago a study was published ranking the best to worst cities for Canadian women to work. Of course the best ones were government cities with Victoria, BC coming out on top and the last ranking cities were Edmonton and Calgary because of the wage gap disparity, obviously rig hands and welders make more than secretaries and HR ladies. link And unsurprisingly no one in Canada gives a shit about men losing their jobs, even our dickhead PM as you can see in this recent interview he did with an unemployed oil worker where he doesn't give direct answers to the guy's questions although he makes a few good points about Harper's lack of success in getting tide water pipelines built, hard question at the 6:25 mark:

Dannyalberta, you're more pessimistic than I am but I believe that your points are certainly valid. The Liberals do have a track record of sound fiscal management especially under Chretien and Martin, what scares me the most is that I think that Trueau is aligning himself less with the old school "blue Liberals" and going more with the Kathyleen Wynn, lefto freaks. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Canadians had a decade of good fiscal management under Harper's conservatives and if things go side ways for Trudeau, I think that Canadians will have a good memory of the Tory government, they just really need to pick a good leader with better appeal to younger voters.

If Trudeau does nothing about building new pipelines or helping out the oil patch then we could very well see a resurgence of provincial successionism as we did in the 80s and 90s but it won't be from Quebec (who will be well fed from the government trough), it will come from Alberta, as this guy presents a very good case for Alberta joining the United States:

[DannyAlberta]

(02-01-2016 01:50 PM)scotian Wrote:  

Dannyalberta, you're more pessimistic than I am but I believe that your points are certainly valid. The Liberals do have a track record of sound fiscal management especially under Chretien and Martin, what scares me the most is that I think that Trueau is aligning himself less with the old school "blue Liberals" and going more with the Kathyleen Wynn, lefto freaks. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I agree the Chretien/Martin years, at least the first half of them, were an example of sound fiscal management (the back half they started opening the undue spending gates a bit again). In fact, the mid-90s was the only time in my life when the Canadian Federal Government actually shrank. However, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that it done entirely out of necessity more than anything else. Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio had gotten out of control. Early in the Lib's first majority term, our international creditors sent a huge message to Canada. We were rolling over some of our bonds and came within minutes of having no bids (which would have left us short of debt-serving money for that fiscal year). This would have likely triggered default unless the Government could successfully marshal debt servicing over other non-elective spending, which would have been very difficult.

It was just our creditors sending a message, because at the last minute we did receive new bids. But it really yanked on the then Government to do something about the spiralling debt to avoid being put into that position in the future.

Fast forward to today and there is no similar lever acting on the current Lib government. Harper just paid off much of our credit card debt (after re-incurring most of it during the downturn). The invitation is open to Trudeau Jr. to rack it all up again.

With a projected deficit of at least $15 to $20 billion this year (and for the record I think it will be more), I don't think you will have to wait long at all to see what school Trudeau Jr. is from. Unfortunately, unless a new fiscal crisis emerges, Trudeau will be insulated from his bad policy for some years to come.

[Laner]

Can anyone give some insight into what Notley is up to?

It looks as if Alberta has become an experiment in SJW politics. She has taken a conservative province and spun it into a paradise for all the fringes of society. She just appointed 6 new ministers, one gay man, and two pregnant women- one of whom is due on Sunday!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/a...-1.3430316

These people make $200,000 a year. Listen to this gem:

Quote:

"I envision perhaps being in the hospital shortly after giving birth on a conference call," she said with a laugh. "It really depends on the situation and circumstances. Having never had a child before, and never having been a cabinet minister before, these are things that we'll just sort of sort out as we go."

Good luck Alberta, this is going to get much uglier.

[kosko]

Harper runied the books, don't let bias cloud judgement. In Canadian history the Cons. have always had the worst track record of fiscal management.

Liberals will spend their eye balls out to get another majority and then take the axe to everything with deep cuts.

As far as the Ontario Liberals control. I worry about that as well. There are a bunch of old gaurd Liberals in Cabinet that can hopefully keep Trudeau in check but I can't make judgements until tangible stuff is put forward. The budget is where to start to make assessments.

[BIGINJAPAN]

The free market is what made chretien/martin control spending. It wasnt because they were some fiscal hawks.

Canada was a debt laden country and basically on the verge of being classified a banana republic in the early 90s. I believe we were actually shut out of the debts markets for a time in the 90s. Hence why the libtards had to control spending and reduce deficits.

Who do we have to thank for the enormous increase in our national debt? None other than the elder Trudeau. He gave away credit creation from the Bank of Canada to our private banks.

We fought 2 world wars, survived the great depression and introduced universal healthcare and we were never in debt more than 20 billion dollars. As soon as he gave credit creation to the banks we were fucked.

[kosko]

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

[Laner]

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Yeah we are #11, after Russia.

Never could figure out why we played at the adult table. Other than our high regard during the Balkan wars and ability to put resources in the hands of American corporations for sweet fuck all.

[DjembaDjemba]

(02-02-2016 08:42 PM)Laner Wrote:  

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Yeah we are #11, after Russia.

Never could figure out why we played at the adult table. Other than our high regard during the Balkan wars and ability to put resources in the hands of American corporations for sweet fuck all.

We punch above our economic weight and we're a resource powerhouse. Unlike most resource heavy economies; we actually have the rule of law.

The other powers would be wise to have us at the table. Our economy and Russia's economy is comparable, yet Russia's population is 4.5 times ours.

[kosko]

Nominal GDP is misleading as it is full of fluff that inflates the rate for nations. PPP-GDP is much more honest as it takes into account costs associated with producing those wealth outputs.

This is where Canada shows it's warts and what I was speaking off earlier when stating I wasn't sure if Canada was in the top 15. Based off PPP Canada is number 16, after Saudi Arabia and is just ahead of beacons such as Italy, Aus, Iran, Thailand, and Nigeria.

Canada has tons of resource wealth but its econony is expensive, limited in scope, bogged down, and un-productive. For evrey dollar Canada puts out as a unit it likely costs us .95 to produce which is why we don't get rated highly.

In Canada's prime years it was a highly effective and efficient economy with two massive resources and science sectors that work hand in hand to make each other better. Canada was lauded as a next global giant when it was being mused for the G7.

For example, "waste management" aka turning resources outputs into both a commodity and a environmental aid measure was a system that was crafted largely in Canada 30+ years ago.

That was the Canadian tradition now lost. Now Canada's economy is mall locations of American stores, home construction, home sales, oil sands, bloated Govt positions, and poutine.

[BIGINJAPAN]

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Usually i agree with most of what you write but your timeline and reasoning is off on this issue.

Canada began borrowing from private banks in 1974 after meetings with the BIS and Milton Freidman pushing the idea that credit creation should be left up to private banks.

The first G7 meeting was thought up and called in 1975.

Also Mulroney had us in 600 billion in debt before NAFTA was ever signed. it wasn't so much his fault as it was collapsing commodity prices and of course now paying massive amounts of interest on the debt in the 1980s.

Not sticking up for him as both parties are nothing but commies and wouldnt know how to balance a budget if their life depended on it

[ed pluribus unum]

Hard to decide if this is the best thread to post this, but here it is; is it just me, or has Prime Minister Zoolander been oddly silent over the whole 'international meetup of rapists' thing? Seems like it would be the kind of low hanging fruit he'd just love to be all over, and as long as there's international momentum to slander the Roosh movement, he'd be a great figurehead (let's face it, that's all he is anyway) to direct all that Canadian liberal self-righteous outrage.

[Jones]

He's apparently been busy in Alberta the past week; talking to the Premier, the IBEW, Alberta energy producers, and the YWCA.

So, he's busy attempting to save (salvage?) Alberta. Which is, and should be more important than chastising a bunch of guys meeting up.

[Nemausus]

Yeah, I'm glad he isn't wasting time on this whole controversy. He's got far more important files to deal with than cancelled RVF/ROK meetups. Alberta and by extension, the country's plummeting economy for starters.

It's been mostly quiet at the Federal level. I haven't seen any denouncements from any ministers. Ironically, it the Conservative Party's you-go-gurl Michelle Rempel was the only one to make a stink about this.

[Nemausus]

Also in the news today, it sounds like some of the refugees aren't making it easy for those trying to get them settled here:

Some refugees turning down housing options in Ottawa

Quote:

A lack of affordable housing and desires to be settled close to other refugees and mosques are complicating the search for permanent homes for incoming families, according to Carl Nicholson, executive director of the Catholic Centre for Immigrants.
Carl Nicholson

Carl Nicholson, executive director of Catholic Centre for Immigrants, says that while it's natural for people to want the best home for their families, it can hold up the arrival of other refugees. (CBC)

Only half of the more than 600 government sponsored refugees who have arrived in Ottawa since Dec. 31 have found homes.

Nicholson said it's a slow process because in some cases, families are turning down the housing that's being offered.

Refugees are often given two choices when it comes to their new housing arrangements, but families also have their own expectations about where they want to live.

"One of the big things they want is, 'Please, please, please, I want to live next door to this family we've been travelling with for a month. Can you arrange that?' That's a big consideration for them," said Nicholson.

"They're in a strange place, it's new, they'd like to stick together."

Sometimes families hear about gang activity in certain neighbourhoods, and other times they request housing near a mosque, he said. But while it's human nature to want the best home for your family, he said it has led to some tough conversations.

"I think the biggest argument we make with them is, look ... someone else in Amman, Jordan, is stuck there because you're holding up the show," Nicholson said.

She understands why some may lack sympathy for those who turn down housing, but she said many newcomers "cling" to one another.

"They feel empowered by being beside each other. They are very vulnerable and they don't really know much about the city," said Bailouni. "They feel kind of lost these days when I meet them, kind of like it's too soon for them to absorb all what is going on around them. "

She knows it won't be possible for all of the incoming Syrian refugees to live near each other, or their mosques, so she's working to teach them about the public transportation that's available to them, Bailouni said.

Meanwhile, Nicholson said settlement agencies expect 500 more refugees by the end of the month, and more affordable housing isn't coming on the market, so he expects more tough conversations ahead.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/ottaw...-1.3434746

[Ghost Tiger]

[Ghost Tiger]

OK, Canada needs to seriously UNCUCK itself. This Alberta hate preacher Shaban Sherif Mady just openly mocked our functionally retarded male model Prime Minister Trooooooolander for being a contemptible traitor.

http://www.infowars.com/muslim-refugees-...-of-islam/

Paul Joseph Watson Wrote:

In another video, Mady likens Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Ashama ibn-Abjar, a king who betrayed his own people before converting to Islam. Mady thanks Trudeau for “removing the suspicion that terrorism is related to Islam” (while simultaneously calling for terrorists to “hit their targets”).

Fellow Canadians... please share my outrage.

[da_zeb]

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world just behind Italy, India, and Russia. I think the main reason Canada is in the G7 is that the US wanted to reduce European influcence within the Group.

[da_zeb]

(02-05-2016 04:38 PM)Nemausus Wrote:  

It's been mostly quiet at the Federal level. I haven't seen any denouncements from any ministers. Ironically, it the Conservative Party's you-go-gurl Michelle Rempel was the only one to make a stink about this.

Michelle Rempel annoys me.

[kosko]

(02-19-2016 06:44 PM)da_zeb Wrote:  

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world just behind Italy, India, and Russia. I think the main reason Canada is in the G7 is that the US wanted to reduce European influcence within the Group.

#11 in nominal GDP yes, but with more accurate PPP GDP rankings Canada is #16.

[rudebwoy]

(02-19-2016 06:44 PM)da_zeb Wrote:  

(02-02-2016 07:37 PM)kosko Wrote:  

Canada's entry into the G7 was dependent on that move. Canada was forced to give up credit controls of the BoC or be denied entry,l. You could argue if it was worth it (it wasn't) but Canada got a seat at the big kids table which has inflated it's global importance ever since. I don't even think Canada is in the top 15 economies let alone top 7/8, it has no business being in the G-7/8 but it is and gets to massage influence on the group when possible.

Mulroony is the guy who runied things. NAFTA was the biggest economic mistake in our nations history. It literally bankrupted us and we still haven't recoverd from it in full.

Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world just behind Italy, India, and Russia. I think the main reason Canada is in the G7 is that the US wanted to reduce European influcence within the Group.

I wish people would stop thinking along these lines, Canada/USA are very much in alignment with their European brothers.

Look at the Bilderberg meetings and you will see people from all these countries represented, dictating the future of the world.

Say what you want about Trudeau Jr, Mulroney was a straight out criminal and arguably the worst PM we ever had. The NAFTA deal is a complete joke, USA has all the power in the agreement.