Don’t let partisanship impact national unity or loyalty

It’s disheartening and annoying to see the vitriol coming from Americans right now. While there has been solidarity and compassion, a lot of the rhetoric online remains—and is even becoming more—aggressively pro-American.

While I’m not surprised by that, there is A LOT of misinformation being spread about our trade deficit, drugs, the border and the economic relationship between Canada and the US. Maple MAGA is out in full force.

Forget Americans falling prey to Trump’s lies about the border, security, and economy—it’s unbelievable how many Canadians are falling for it, or don’t know better.

I’ve found myself defending both Trudeau and Ford more than I ever expected over the past few days. Many Americans are exploiting their unpopularity in Canada to push their own agenda and deepen division.

You don’t have to agree with your elected officials or the other side, but undermining them on the global arena, and in critical moments only weakens Canada and Ontario’s position.

That all being said, as a longstanding Tory, I also urge you (and myself) to reflect, and think carefully about which local representatives and parties you vote for in the upcoming provincial and federal elections.

Being on the F*ck Trudeau bandwagon or backing Ford/PP doesn’t always equal supporting Canada or Canadian interests. Many of the candidates, officials and people on both political leanings are opportunists, and aligned with far-right American politics, corporate interests, or anti-consumer policies that work against the vast majority of Canadians.

Some don’t even try to hide these positions. At the very least, be aware of who you’re actually supporting when you go to the polls. Most of us know this about the leaders and faces of parties, but your local officials are also culpable. A quick Google search can pull up a lot about your MP, MPP and MLA candidates and views they have made public.

Fascist ideals are already seeping into Canada, and they will continue to do so if we’re not vigilant. I know it’s hard not to be cynical, when we have a government and politicians that always seem to be working for everything but Canadians. But patriotism does not = partisanship and blind loyalty, and casting an informed ballot after a record low turnout is important.

A lack of unity, low civic engagement and an uninformed populace only make it easier for larger economies and foreign interests to harm our security, economy and sovereignty. We can have political differences, but we can’t afford division when standing up for Canada. Trade, lies, and geopolitics impact all of us, regardless of political views.