Canadian elections winner: Canadian exceptionalism

This expands on my initial quick take last week on the Canadian election, and my much longer snark off snark on the Canadian political system.

First, yes, "Canadian exceptionalism" exists.

Nominally, all independent nation-states have some such thing. In a place like Belgium, it may be more "Flanders exceptionalism" vs "Walloon exceptionalism," and in places like, say Poland among "western" countries, it may be more muted. Among most post-colonial countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it's weakened by how they came into being.

But, French exceptionalism, off the trio of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," certainly exists. British exceptionalism, if nothing more than the "stiff upper lip," though often far more than that, exists. German and Japanese exceptionalism may often be muted and expressed sideways after World War II, but it's there. Chinese exceptionalism has come back to life after 1949 and continues to grow. Etc., etc.

In other words, none of these folks is as boisterous as American exceptionalism, which is part and parcel of the "noisy American" in general, even when not expressly an "ugly American."

With Canada, it's part and parcel of stereotypical Canadian cultural DNA.

It's often "nice and polite." Given Canada's relationship to the Great Colossus (Merikkka) it often slipstreams in the wake of American exceptionalism. But, it's there.

Part of it is pretending to be better than the USofA on some things. Like being better on environmentalism, even though Canada's two full parties are whored out to the tar sands of Alberta, the vanishing NDP is not much better, and who knows on the Bloc?

Part of it is pretending not to be so nationalistic. That's even though Canada has been aggressive on what it claims as territorial waters in the Arctic, even as loss of Arctic ice opens up more and more of the Northwest Passage.

With the Liberals staying in power, this sort of triangulation will surely only continue. On the two issues above, Mark Carney already cancelled by a Canadian version of executive order Canada's modest carbon tax. And per that National Post link, he acted more like a U.S. president than is common north of the border. (This shift happened in the UK in the Tony Blair era of "New Labour.") And, that will only help disappear more Arctic ice.

That said, details of the carbon fuel tax don't impress me. From what I understand, and Wiki confirms, it's rebated as a direct rebate. That removes most of its bite, rather than reinvesting it into support for mass transit, solar power, wind power, etc. I've said this down here in the States before, to people like Chris Tomlinson.

So, in other words, Canajans were pretty much bitching about nothing. And Carney rewarded them. 

Per Adam McPhee's post-election roundup and this linked piece about what the NDP really needs to do, there is a sliver of hope for something new in Canada if the post-Singh NDP can get its ass together. That piece specifically calls out faux nationalism. In this other piece, Kwame Eff, whom I am now following, looks more at the NDP, and specifically, possible new leader Matthew Green.