As someone who is part of the Indian diaspora, having been born in the country and having family there, I will say this: India isn't a monolith, and neither is the diaspora. Even within particular ethnic groups you'll find a wide range of opinions. For a lot of people in the Indian diaspora in Canada, what the general Indian media's view of this country is does impact their perceptions. Part of why we saw such a huge swing towards Conservatives among South Asians recently is because of Indian media, which is an absolute garbage dump, honestly, becoming vehemently anti-Trudeau. If we can keep Canada's image positive within India, it's beneficial overall.
Additionally, unlike China, India isn't a dictatorship, it's a democracy. Since 2024, the ruling BJP is in a coalition government that's moderated by more centrist alliance partners. It doesn't have the ability needed to make constitutional changes. The opposition alliance is pretty broad-reaching and governs quite a few states. There are flaws, but there is still quite a bit of room for dissent.
I don't like the BJP, but I do see closer ties with India being a good move in the long run, as long as we don't become singularly dependent on them like we did with the United States.
Great article Evan as it helps demonstrate that we do not have a lot of good options for re-starting our economy. It's like one of my Con friends who berates Carney for what they perceive as being 'elbows down'. What is Carney supposed to do with Trump - crosscheck him on the White House lawn?? No, it's called diplomacy and being the adult in the room. We can't operate in a bubble of Canada and not deal with world leaders from other countries. It's immature to think we can.
Agreed, I feel for the members of the Indian diaspora here in Canada and it feels a bit greasy suggesting that we need to move on but it is naive to think there are good options available to us.
Also, let's not forget what got us caught up in the Two Michaels being held hostage. We arrested Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver as per our cooperation agreement with the US on these matters and what did that get us? A whole lot of misery.
This canola, seafood, EV tariff business with China will be tricky for Carney to manage alongside getting American tariffs removed. What exactly is he going to use to negotiate with each country? And you're right, he can ill forward to anger Trump with a deal that looks preferential to China over the US as our trade with the US eclipses trade with China.
I certainly agree with Carney though that we need to carefully consider before we integrate our economies even further with the Americans than it already is (much as my Premier Smith is willing to hand over the keys to the province to the Americans - and I say that unironically. She's a separatist in sheep's clothing but I digress...). I feel the key will be a critical minerals deal in some form - again, not saying we should integrate with the Americans more but we need a shiny new object for Trump.
Overall, not a lot of good choices and honestly, I don't relish Carney his job but I'm hella relieved it's him stick-handling all these negotiations and not the man that has never had a job (like seriously, never) other than being a mouthpiece for the Conservatives.
I just hope Canadians give Carney the room and the space to maneuver, both domestically and internationally.
Otto von Bismarck probably said it best: “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best.”
Very little is gained by waiting for an apology from India for its unacceptable behaviour on Canadian soil. That apology will never come. However, Canada’s intelligence services will know if India is continuing its behaviour or is backing off. So, it is worth making a small step and see if there is a corresponding small step on the Indian side.
Governing is indeed often about choosing between bad or worse options.
Which reminds me, Ken: faced with the Covid crisis, the Trudeau govt chose to spend on keeping Canadians and businesses afloat instead of allowing mass bankruptcy and even greater costs downstream.
Sounds like a classic choice between bad and worse.
Canada had the privileged affluence to weather the pandemic storm better than almost any other nation.
And the Trudeau govt snagged vaccinations near the front of the global supply line.
Thanks so much for this clear-eyed view. I wasn't certain how I felt about the invite to Modi, I wasn't certain how to evaluate the pros and cons, and your analysis has helped a lot.
I absolutely accept your first sentence (and much else that follows) that reads, "There is not always a good solution to a problem."
You then provide the (quite legitimate) example of rising prices after Covid. Yup; the problem was there and the government did nothing about it. Quite honestly, the part that absolutely, positively infuriated me was that the government denied there was an issue and then, when it was undeniable, simply shrugged and, effectively, said, "Who, us? It wasn't us that flooded the money supply and debased the currency while we shut down ever so many of our abilities to run a supply line. Nope, not us."
So, for me, the issue was not so much the issue of rising prices (although they were and are a concern to me and many, many others) as it was the absolute dishonesty and unwillingness to accept any, not any, modicum of responsibility either for the problem or dealing with the problem. Well, other than performative stuff.
As for foreign policy, we have always had these problems but, in the world in which we (formerly) lived and we kept our head down and pretended that we were "better" than the US but we then ignored the actions of the US that we didn't like. So, killing (let's leave out the modifier of "extra-judicial" and such) of those who "needed" killing was something that has been a feature of statecraft just about forever. But, we were too "good" to accept that "necessity."
If you don't like Modi and the Indian government because he killed "a guy" here in Canada, what about the Sikhs, who blew up an airliner and tried for another and missed out on that one because it didn't blow until the plane was on the ground in India? In other words, your choices are Modi who killed "a guy" or the Sikhs who blew up a planeload. Pretty simple to choose, it seems to me. Choose Modi who went after one particular guy who was definitely taking on the Indians or the Sikhs who blew up a plane load of people who were on vacation. I choose Modi. Further, don't forget that the Indian government is also, oh, just a wee bit, wary of China as well.
I will further add that I have been to India and I find it a simply fascinating place. One thing that many Canadians simply do not understand is the pride that the ordinary Indian has in his/her country. Canadians expect that folks from countries like India want to come to Canada to "better" themselves. Certainly, many folks have arrived here from India but far, far more people are proud of their country and do not want to leave.
So, to come back to your original point, there are no clear "good" solutions so take the best alternative, even if it isn't (it never is!) perfect.
As someone who is part of the Indian diaspora, having been born in the country and having family there, I will say this: India isn't a monolith, and neither is the diaspora. Even within particular ethnic groups you'll find a wide range of opinions. For a lot of people in the Indian diaspora in Canada, what the general Indian media's view of this country is does impact their perceptions. Part of why we saw such a huge swing towards Conservatives among South Asians recently is because of Indian media, which is an absolute garbage dump, honestly, becoming vehemently anti-Trudeau. If we can keep Canada's image positive within India, it's beneficial overall.
Additionally, unlike China, India isn't a dictatorship, it's a democracy. Since 2024, the ruling BJP is in a coalition government that's moderated by more centrist alliance partners. It doesn't have the ability needed to make constitutional changes. The opposition alliance is pretty broad-reaching and governs quite a few states. There are flaws, but there is still quite a bit of room for dissent.
I don't like the BJP, but I do see closer ties with India being a good move in the long run, as long as we don't become singularly dependent on them like we did with the United States.
Great article Evan as it helps demonstrate that we do not have a lot of good options for re-starting our economy. It's like one of my Con friends who berates Carney for what they perceive as being 'elbows down'. What is Carney supposed to do with Trump - crosscheck him on the White House lawn?? No, it's called diplomacy and being the adult in the room. We can't operate in a bubble of Canada and not deal with world leaders from other countries. It's immature to think we can.
Agreed, I feel for the members of the Indian diaspora here in Canada and it feels a bit greasy suggesting that we need to move on but it is naive to think there are good options available to us.
Also, let's not forget what got us caught up in the Two Michaels being held hostage. We arrested Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver as per our cooperation agreement with the US on these matters and what did that get us? A whole lot of misery.
This canola, seafood, EV tariff business with China will be tricky for Carney to manage alongside getting American tariffs removed. What exactly is he going to use to negotiate with each country? And you're right, he can ill forward to anger Trump with a deal that looks preferential to China over the US as our trade with the US eclipses trade with China.
I certainly agree with Carney though that we need to carefully consider before we integrate our economies even further with the Americans than it already is (much as my Premier Smith is willing to hand over the keys to the province to the Americans - and I say that unironically. She's a separatist in sheep's clothing but I digress...). I feel the key will be a critical minerals deal in some form - again, not saying we should integrate with the Americans more but we need a shiny new object for Trump.
Overall, not a lot of good choices and honestly, I don't relish Carney his job but I'm hella relieved it's him stick-handling all these negotiations and not the man that has never had a job (like seriously, never) other than being a mouthpiece for the Conservatives.
I just hope Canadians give Carney the room and the space to maneuver, both domestically and internationally.
Otto von Bismarck probably said it best: “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best.”
Very little is gained by waiting for an apology from India for its unacceptable behaviour on Canadian soil. That apology will never come. However, Canada’s intelligence services will know if India is continuing its behaviour or is backing off. So, it is worth making a small step and see if there is a corresponding small step on the Indian side.
Governing is indeed often about choosing between bad or worse options.
Which reminds me, Ken: faced with the Covid crisis, the Trudeau govt chose to spend on keeping Canadians and businesses afloat instead of allowing mass bankruptcy and even greater costs downstream.
Sounds like a classic choice between bad and worse.
Canada had the privileged affluence to weather the pandemic storm better than almost any other nation.
And the Trudeau govt snagged vaccinations near the front of the global supply line.
Not bad, and definitely not the worst.
Thanks so much for this clear-eyed view. I wasn't certain how I felt about the invite to Modi, I wasn't certain how to evaluate the pros and cons, and your analysis has helped a lot.
I absolutely accept your first sentence (and much else that follows) that reads, "There is not always a good solution to a problem."
You then provide the (quite legitimate) example of rising prices after Covid. Yup; the problem was there and the government did nothing about it. Quite honestly, the part that absolutely, positively infuriated me was that the government denied there was an issue and then, when it was undeniable, simply shrugged and, effectively, said, "Who, us? It wasn't us that flooded the money supply and debased the currency while we shut down ever so many of our abilities to run a supply line. Nope, not us."
So, for me, the issue was not so much the issue of rising prices (although they were and are a concern to me and many, many others) as it was the absolute dishonesty and unwillingness to accept any, not any, modicum of responsibility either for the problem or dealing with the problem. Well, other than performative stuff.
As for foreign policy, we have always had these problems but, in the world in which we (formerly) lived and we kept our head down and pretended that we were "better" than the US but we then ignored the actions of the US that we didn't like. So, killing (let's leave out the modifier of "extra-judicial" and such) of those who "needed" killing was something that has been a feature of statecraft just about forever. But, we were too "good" to accept that "necessity."
If you don't like Modi and the Indian government because he killed "a guy" here in Canada, what about the Sikhs, who blew up an airliner and tried for another and missed out on that one because it didn't blow until the plane was on the ground in India? In other words, your choices are Modi who killed "a guy" or the Sikhs who blew up a planeload. Pretty simple to choose, it seems to me. Choose Modi who went after one particular guy who was definitely taking on the Indians or the Sikhs who blew up a plane load of people who were on vacation. I choose Modi. Further, don't forget that the Indian government is also, oh, just a wee bit, wary of China as well.
I will further add that I have been to India and I find it a simply fascinating place. One thing that many Canadians simply do not understand is the pride that the ordinary Indian has in his/her country. Canadians expect that folks from countries like India want to come to Canada to "better" themselves. Certainly, many folks have arrived here from India but far, far more people are proud of their country and do not want to leave.
So, to come back to your original point, there are no clear "good" solutions so take the best alternative, even if it isn't (it never is!) perfect.