On November 4 2015, Justin Trudeau took office to the sort of global excitement rarely generated by a Canadian leader. From Spanish newsstands to Aussie talk shows, Trudeau and wife Sophie were presented as the fresh faces of G7 leadership, and the new prime minister's big smile and easy way with the crowds stood in stark contrast to the leader who came before. (Can you remember his name, dear reader?)
Throughout 2016, Trudeau put the world on notice that Canada was back. In one of its most high-profile humanitarian and public relations moves, Canada sent aircraft to fly in thousands of Syrian refugees, who were then personally welcomed into the country by Trudeau and other ministers. For a brief moment there was a simpatico alliance between Ottawa and Washington.
How different the neighbourhood seems, one year on. While Canada was hoping to keep the good vibes going as it celebrated its 150th anniversary at the start of summer, the royal visits, fireworks and marching bands have been drowned out by the more surreal show south of the border. Canada's foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, (a former FT journalist) has tried to highlight the differences between her own open, engaged, fair-dealing country and its increasingly eccentric neighbour, while remaining cordial with Canada's biggest trading partner.
Much of this has been in vain, as Freeland is now confronting a massive diplomatic and trade row with the US, following tariff proposals levelled against the Canadian aerospace and transport company Bombardier and its new mid-range passenger aircraft. Washington maintains that the company has been unfairly subsidised by the state, and argues that US buyers of its C-Series aircraft should face taxes of more than 200 per cent. Cool-ish heads may yet prevail as there's much at stake for both sides, but the row raises a bigger question. After two years of Trudeau-mania, what should the country do for an encore?
On Monday I confronted this question in Toronto, where I was appearing at the 6 Degrees conference, a summit devoted to inclusion, immigration and integration. Invited by former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson, I was to be the lunchtime follow-up act after the PM's wife Sophie left the stage.
When you sit in the heart of Canada's financial centre, with cranes spinning and the constant din of construction machinery, all seems to be steaming along rather nicely. Canadian pop artists such as Justin Bieber occupy the top spots on the world's music charts, the two Ryans (Reynolds and Gosling) are Hollywood's leading men and Margaret Atwood is the mind behind TV's latest binge-watch — so why on earth would Canada need to think about an encore?
I wasn't sure the audience was going to be up for the challenge of brushing up Brand Canada. But given that one of it's most recognisable industrial companies was on the ropes and UBS was about to announce that Toronto had one of the world's most over-inflated housing markets, there was no harm in trying my luck. My five-point plan went something like this:
- Young Canadians need to follow the lead of their Aussie and Kiwi cousins and get out into the world for extended periods. Holidaying in Florida or backpacking in Europe for two weeks after high school doesn't cut it.
- Canada should have some form of national service with both defence and civilian functions.
- Embassies sold off by the former government need to be reinstated, with new missions designed by the country's best young architects.
- National broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada needs to become North America's balanced news source.
- Vancouver should become the home of a new, Asia-Pacific-focused newspaper of record and global voice.
The applause that followed seemed warm and genuine, and an Ottawa bureaucrat was so taken by the idea of national service that he extended an invitation to the capital to discuss the idea further. Youth of Canada — get your boots on.
Tyler Brûlé is editor-in-chief of Monocle magazine; tyler.brule@ft.com
Photograph: Bloomberg
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