6d ago

Why are younger Canadians more susceptible to Trump and the lure of the 51st state?

policyoptions.irpp.org

New vulnerabilities are surfacing. While most polls suggest the vast majority of Canadian adults are resolute in resisting any such takeover, the younger generation (18-35) is much more inclined – given certain favourable terms – to join the United States. The younger you are, the more likely you are to be susceptible to Trump and his appeals.

One of the most unacknowledged reasons is the failure of our school systems to teach the current generation about historic Canadian resistance to U.S. threats, incursions and trade sanctions going back to the American Revolution.

The result that alarmed Colin MacEachern, a former Halifax high school history educator now teaching in Australia, was the susceptibility of today’s students and their teachers to Trump’s bluster and blandishments.

MacEachern wrote on social media that his students would likely have no comprehension of the U.S. doctrine of “Manifest Destiny” or the American threat to Canada that was a major factor in nudging us toward Confederation.

It’s also fair to assume they have little or no knowledge of critical events of U.S. pressure on Canada such as the American invasion of Quebec in 1775, the War of 1812, the 1911 election reciprocity debate, the nuclear warheads controversy of the 1960s or American pressure to join the Iraq War in 2003.

33 comments

Why the fuck would a developed nation want to join the US? I write this as an American citizen.
- We have analogues of Trump voters here too. They're unthinking, ignorant, and proud of it
  
  Condolences. Personally, I'd be happy if every single trump supporter dropped dead as I write this comment. I just wish that set didn't include members of my family.
  
  Yep, I have a cistomer and his only quest is for a smaller government. Seriously has no clue what repercussions come with that...
  Other customers who are die hard MAGA morons...
- Nearly all our media is your media.

While I accept the premise of the article, I find it misdirected. If we weren't watching a national housing crisis, a cost of living crisis, the death of the middle class, the climate crisis, the demographic crisis, the healthcare crisis pile up on Canadians one after the other, no one would want change and would fight to preserve our way of life.
But we went down the yellow brick road of neoliberal plattitudes about free markets and privatization and made offshore tax evasion easy and risk free for wealthy Canadians and multinationals alike.
Even today, there are tremendous forces working hard with big money to privatise one of our most effective, efficient and formerly sacrosanct institutions. Healthcare. What good is not paying directly for a family doctor when you've never had one and can't get one?
Public healthcare was fantastically productive and efficient, and the same voices that decry canada's productivity crisis are happy to keep erroding public healthcare and march in the profiteers knowing full well it will be a disaster.
Happy people don't revolt. You got unhappy people, it will be taken advantage of by your rivals and enemies.
- If you actually read the article, it's a guy complaining that kids are too woke and post-national to resist Trump because they don't know enough about John A. Said guy is a person who sells history textbooks, if you then click through to the bio.
  
  I read some of it but couldn't stomach much more. The amount of thinly veiled racism was not the vibe for me. Also, I grew up in BC and am in the "young Canadian" age and we were most definitely taught Canadian history and the concept of manifest destiny. Guy just seems mad that they're teaching the ugly parts of Canadian history now too.
  There's definitely an issue of how so many young Canadians are favouring fascist bullshit, but this ain't it.

My best guess would be social media and how they facilitate and enable the spread of misinformation and actively block information about certain topics like trans rights, Palestinian genocide, or news that hurt conservative groups. Then there's the algorithms. You click on one of the toxic posts and you're done for.
If you go on youtube, you quickly get recommendations like Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, Jordan Peterson or even Andrew Tate.
If younger Canadians spend more time online today than the previous generation, it's no surprise.
- Agreed, corporate social media carries a fair share of the blame. It's not just privileging right-wing view points over left-wing ones, but it's all about rage-farming, which is what right-wing politics has become. It's a double-whammy to push people right, especially young and/or under-informed people
  
  it’s all about rage-farming, which is what right-wing politics has become
  Oh abseolutely!

Teach them about the cost of health care and that should make them think twice
- One would hope so, but I think people who find Trump alluring tend to vote (and think about politics) like sports fans as opposed to rational or self-interested actors. For them, feelings and fiction are more important than policy, facts, etc.
- One of them told me that they learned that the price you pay a hospital is paid by insurance and that the price you actually pay is a lot lower. So they're not bothered. Like, seriously.
  
  Yeah i could get it for free from the government if i need it, but wouldn't it be better if i constantly pay a fee even if i use no health services then get denied when i do need them and have to pay out of pocket?
- Yeah, I suspect ignorance of the situation is what's driving the trend, which must not be very significant because the CBC article cited barely mentions it.
- These people see themselves as destined to be upper class so they imagine their future as covered by good insurance plus investments that would easily absorb any emergency. So they vote for the interests of the rich, because in their fantasy that’s also their long term best interests.
  Tragically, this lack of class consciousness makes them vote for narrowing the path of social mobility that they’re counting on.

Quite the presupposition
- Indeed. I know kids in my area know about “54.40 or fight” and the war of pigs, among other bits of history. In school mock elections, the results in my area seem to be leaning heavily NDP.
  
  This is why we complement anecdotal experience with polls. To be fair, most of these polls were conducted back in January
  https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/43-percent-canadians-would-vote-be-american-if-citizenship-and-conversion-assets-usd-guaranteed
- I'm not sure what word you're looking for but it probably isn't presupposition when the claim is backed by multiple polls. Care to expand?
  While most polls suggest the vast majority of Canadian adults are resolute in resisting any such takeover, the younger generation (18-35) is much more inclined
  
  I think the presupposition refers to young people not knowing the history of conflict with the US.

One of the most unacknowledged reasons is the failure of our school systems to teach the current generation about historic Canadian resistance to U.S. threats, incursions and trade sanctions going back to the American Revolution.
X to doubt.
They go over every British colonial dude endlessly in my province, with a helping of French and Native as well. It unclear why that would inspire 21st century resistance. The article cited also doesn't mention how significant this trend is. This appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at making us into the US a different way by the kind of author that cries for statues.
- Your doubt is welcome. The history I was taught in ON in the aughts was terrible. Completely pro-colonialism when I was too young (and uninformed [by my education]) to know what that meant. Whether history curricula could be improved though is a separate topic.
  It unclear why that would inspire 21st century resistance.
  For one, the author highlights specific Canada vs US events, as found in the body of this post (last paragraph)
  The article cited also doesn’t mention how significant this trend is.
  Description is a useful precursor to quantification
  This appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at making us into the US a different way by the kind of author that cries for statues.
  I'm not sure what you mean. Care to explain? I think part of it is you think the author would (not) cry for the tearing down of confederate statues (or anyone with a bad ethical record by today's standards)
  
  For one, the author highlights specific Canada vs US events, as found in the body of this post (last paragraph)
  Yes, but doesn't then establish the connection, from my skim through. For example, the war of 1812 was a war by a colonial empire, against a breakaway state that was arguably a bit more democratic at the time. If you think the British Empire was cool maybe Trump's expansionism should speak to you as a fond old tradition coming back.
  I’m not sure what you mean. Care to explain? I think part of it is you think the author would (not) cry for the tearing down of confederate statues (or anyone with a bad ethical record by today’s standards)
  If the Confederates were Canadian, I'm pretty sure the author would cite their role in the civil war as an example of resistance we should draw on now. He basically agrees with Trump's worldview, and the rhetoric gets pretty noticeably "anti-woke" in the full text.
  It could also be naked commercial interest, though, considering he writes history textbooks for a living.

33 comments