As Canada and the U.S. celebrate, gap between them grows
When the United States Supreme Court abolished the long-standing constitutional right to abortion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the decision as if it applied to Toronto as much as Tallahassee.
“No government, politician or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body,” he tweeted. “I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your right to choose.”
For this, Trudeau was pilloried. The Wall Street Journal suggested he run for Congress. Columnist William Watson sniffed that “his ability to fight for the rights of ... Americans is limited.”
Still, Trudeau's intervention reflects the chasm in social values between the U.S. and Canada. As both countries celebrate their birthdays, the differences in culture are greater than ever.
Begin with abortion, to which about half of American women will no longer have access. In Canada, abortion is legal everywhere (though it is harder to get in some parts of the country).
It's true Trudeau drew the distinction, knowing that making it plays well at home. But his is less an opportunistic disdain for the U.S. — the familiar, old-fashioned anti-americanism our politicians have exploited before — than a real skepticism and growing fear that the republic is unravelling.
Critics think it's a kind of muscular moral superiority. But tiresome as his vow to “stand strong” with U.S. women are, Trudeau wasn't alone in lamenting the decision. He was joined by the leaders of Britain, New Zealand and France. Much as the ruling revealed the differences between our countries, it showed the gap between the U.S. and the world.
Recently, critics argued Canada's proposed gun-control legislation was a response to mass shootings south of the border, an attempt by Trudeau to exploit events in the U.S. But that's silly. The bill before Parliament was long in preparation and reflects a broad consensus in Canada. As U.S. courts expand the rights of gun owners, we restrict them.
Voting? It is easier than ever in Canada, while in the U.S. it gets harder. COVID? The U.S. death rate was far higher than ours, allowing for differences in population. Immigration?
Our border is among the most open in the world, while Americans have restricted theirs. Environment? We imposed a carbon tax to fight climate change and are phasing out coal, while they dig coal and limit the scope of regulatory agencies.
About a decade ago, it looked like our values were converging. The Americans adopted Obamacare and legalized gay marriage. But today in the U.S., where nothing is settled, the Republicans have tried to kill Obamacare, and gay rights and contraception may be challenged, like abortion.
Other apparent similarities? We have adopted fixed election dates and parliamentary hearings (albeit largely symbolic) for high-court justices. On capital punishment, many states have abolished the death penalty, as Canada did in 1976.
Philosophically, we seem alike: Canadians and Americans share a commitment to the free market, human rights, free trade, collective security and multilateralism (at least under Joe Biden). And it's true we have diverged before — in the 1960s, over Vietnam, racial unrest and their wave of assassinations, and in 2003, when we refused to join the U.S. in Iraq.
But for the first time, we wonder if the Americans share our belief in democracy. It was heartening, in contrast, to hear all party leaders praise the process after the Ontario election.
As Republicans embrace the big lie and nominate stop-the-steal-deniers, the congressional select committee documents the horrors of
Jan. 6, 2021. In Canada, no one wonders if our elections are stolen.
Let us say it: for all its hopes and boasts, the U.S. is a failing democracy, consumed with anger, mistrust and division as it approaches this
July 4. Canada, for all the failures Canadians earnestly enumerate, for all the unhappy Trumpist truckers and copycat Conservatives, remains the more moderate country on this July 1.
Yes, Canada is less rich, less inventive, less assertive and less ambitious than its swaggering neighbour. It is also less confident but more contented, and still a dominion of civility after 155 years.