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Leo
@lsn
This was a great piece in the FT. Canada has to third biggest proven oil reserves in the world, with basically the same population as Saudi Arabia! Saudi Arabia is an interesting comparison though: both countries are dominated by an inhospitable climate and immense natural resource wealth, but wildly different political institutions. Are Canada’s really set up to be a global power? It’s technically partly still a British colony!
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Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
Great point. I am always curious why republicanism gets so much airtime in Australia but not Canada. I have assumed it’s part of their historical distinction from the U.S. and so they’ve been reluctant to part with it. Plus the Queen was a big Canada stan
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Leo
@lsn
I was stunned when I read Trudeau had to get the King’s representative to call the election I agree it’s historical: Canada has always been far more pro-British But I also think it’s socio-cultural. Most Western liberal societies just are utilitarian, and if it doesn’t interfere with day-to-day 99% of the time then it’s fine. That mode of thinking does not compute with multi-decade strategic vision. The USA too, but at least on the matter of governance, the US stood for something: libertarianism. Where are the principles and vision of Canadian leadership today? It’s not something politicians care about. MbS, however, is the opposite, and is optimising for a 5+ year vision. Trump is similar in that sense, as was De Gaulle. But it’s rare for a liberal society to think about these things and they end up stagnant at a local maximum instead.
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