Canada’s major papers, the Globe and Mail, The National Post and Post Media’s papers across Canada filled their front pages Monday with American politics. As national papers and regional provincial papers it was natural that the changes in US politics would be front and center. Both of our economies are intertwined to such a degree that should the elephant catch a cold, we Canadians are impacted by the sneeze.
It has been an eventful week in politics south of the border. Over the span of four days, the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump as their candidate for president and he announced on Sunday his candidate for the vice presidency JD Vance. Vance – a first term Ohio senator – made it perfectly clear in his run for the senate that he wanted nothing to do with Trump. How times change. For four days, the convention was a sea of white faces; hardly the melting pot of the United States. The convention theme was to unite Americans. On the final night, exhibiting strong man actors like Hulk Hogan, Trump gave the performance of his life recounting his attempted assassination and then proceeded for almost 60 minutes to list all of his grievances of the current president. Bringing Americans together disappeared as long as Republicans came together.
Trumps campaign coffers filled, and Republicans left jubilant for the weekend.
On Sunday all seemed reversed. Joe Biden, the current president, withdrew from the campaign and threw his support to 59-year-old Kamala Harris, his current vice president. A surge of Democrat senators, governors and house members have thrown their support behind her. Over $100 million was raised by small donors in less than a day.
Tables were reversed. Donald Trump became the old, tired candidate. Joe Biden was hailed as a great statesman relinquishing his position and choosing to retire at the conclusion of his term.
Canadian politics have fallen from the pages and television screens. The prime minister has taken his family on a vacation to parts unknown in British Columbia. A story was found again that let Canadians know that Kamala Harris had graduated from West Mount high School in Montreal while her mother worked on Cancer Research at the Lady Davis Institute in that city.
The only drama floating around Ottawa concerns Chrystia Freeland’s future as Canada’s Finance Minister. She has held the job since 2020. Justin Trudeau has been courting Mark Carney, Canada’s former Governor of the Bank of Canada and former Governor of the Bank of England to come into the Liberal cabinet. He would probably take over the finance portfolio displacing the current minister, who has come under scrutiny for not being optimistic about Canada’s economy. We will wait until the Prime Minister’s holiday is over.
