Let's get even more Canadian, eh?

  

I never thought I’d be promoting Canadian television. Yet in this time of American boycotts, it seems appropriate. I might also be getting old.

But I'd encourage you to at least try watching Children Ruin Everything, which recently wrapped up an impressive four-season run. It took a few shows for them to gain their footing (maybe don’t start in season 1), but they developed a solid, if not comedically absurd, storyline as their family literally grew.  

Normally, I’m not a cheesy family show kind of guy, but this one had enough edge to keep me watching. And I’ve been in a family long enough to relate to at least some of the situations.

The writers also play around with some interesting formats, like the episode where they go documentary style and the oldest son refuses to sign off on the release of his identity, requiring his face to be blurred and voice modulated. It’s funny. It doesn’t even feel that Canadian. 

Overall, Canadian acting is a step up from what I remember as a kid. Production value is miles (oops, I mean kilometres) ahead. A comedian once joked about how long it took to recognize a show was Canadian. Maybe three seconds, tops? The camera angle alone typically gave it away. I could identify The Beachcombers from another room (nothing against The Beachcombers, but I preferred The Littlest Hobo.)

Don’t get me wrong, I can be quite the television critic. Even successful American sitcoms like Big Bang Theory don’t cut it for me. The laugh track alone makes me want to mute the whole show. But Canadian comedies like Schitt’s Creek, Run the Burbs and Kim’s Convenience have at least tempted me to get through the entire series. And Corner Gas, while more recognizable as a Canadian production, is still enjoyable watched intermittently here and there.   

I’ve started watching This Hour has 22 Minutes again, with all the attention they’ve been getting from south of the border. Labelled as “Canada’s Saturday Night Live”, their impressions of political leaders are quite good. North of North is a new series where you can both laugh and learn about Indigenous culture in Iqaluit, Nunavut. I watched the first episode. (Hey, I'm trying!)

As you may have noticed, I’m focusing on comedies because I’m not that invested in dramas. But I’ve heard we have some good ones, too. Murdoch Mysteries, perhaps?  

Anne with an E might interest some of you. I caught a few episodes while my wife was watching, which took me back to the first binge-worthy Canadian mini-series ever: The original Anne of Green Gables. Remember that? Even some of the most misbehaved prepubescent boys in my class were into it.  But that was eons ago, back in the days of two-channel television. 

In this new age of multi-media entertainment, the viewing options are limitless. An endless number of shows can slip through my Netflix queue before I’ll even feign interest.  

But occasionally, to my pleasant surprise, a show will pop up that will be Canadian. Better yet, I'll just turn on the CBC.

Consider buying non-American

  

Donald Trump gave us a 30-day reprieve from tariffs. That gave us time to think about who we are as Canadians. Time to reconsider our travel plans. Time to carefully consider our retail purchases. 

About a day (maybe an hour?) after Trump announced his tariff threat, my wife had already begun investigating American products to avoid. I thought, this is serious. We just ran out of oranges!

Costco has made it much easier for us by clearly labeling where their produce comes from. So far, I can’t find a substitute for American navel oranges, but for most everything else we now support our friends in Europe, Mexico, Central and South America. And if the tariffs go up, I promise you, I’ll even give up my favourite American fruit.

I realize Trump is inherently unpredictable and that Canada has more to lose in a trade war, but I wonder if Trump has overplayed his hand. He didn’t get much out of the first round of talks other than an anti-American backlash at the supermarket. Mexico promised to send troops to the border, as they did under Joe Biden, and Canada recommitted the same money to the border. Oh yeah, and we anointed (perhaps with oil) a fentanyl czar. Whatever. We have fentanyl problems, too, many of them originating in the U.S. 

But perhaps the biggest obstacle for Trump is that this could sink his economic ship before it even sets sail. A first-year economics student could tell you that a tariff war will cause prices to escalate and economies to suffer on both sides of the border. One would think that after a month of egg prices going through the roof, he may not wish to inflict even more pain on consumers. In case you don’t think egg prices matter, they were one of the most cited products when Americans were asked about issues that mattered during the last election. It’s the little things that really bother people.

Never mind that their president is acting like a monarch, turning the world order upside down by siding with the world's most despised dictators.

It’s disheartening to see the so-called leader of the free world no longer respecting nations’ sovereignty or the rule of law. The last thing we need after emerging from covid lockdowns, wars in Europe and the Middle East, and runaway inflation is another unstable superpower. 

I’m afraid we’ve reached the apex of American arrogance. The worst math student is in charge of class, claiming that two plus two equals five and all the other students are nodding their heads in agreement. Even the once staunch defender of Ukraine Marco Rubio is glad-handing Russians under the shadow of his MAGA cap. How quickly they abandon all sense of right and wrong to toe the line.  

How quickly they forget the pitfalls of unbridled colonialism. Forget Iraq and Afghanistan, this is Gaza! The Middle East is easy. Conquest is suddenly back in vogue all because men are feeling emasculated in the United States of America. The white man has clearly been discriminated against, or at least that’s the vibe I’m getting from Republicans and Joe Rogan.  

If we’ve learned anything in the last few years, it’s the risk of autocracy with one man (never a woman) controlling all the levers of power. American institutions were created to combat this, and within a very short time frame, we’ll see if they actually can.

In the meantime, try to buy Canadian.