First and foremost we need to buy Canadian and I have started to read every label so that any new businesses that start up will get our support. The shock is that we have lost so many businesses through the years that have been bought up and closed. Is it possible that these industries could find a place in Canada once again - our textiles used to be so wonderful (we do have to import cottons since we do not grow cotton). We even had a fashion industry although Montreal still does. Perhaps it will be a boost to farming for the production of wool. We used to make wonderful woolen lengths of material. Then there is the oil and we could set up manufacturing to produce materials made from synthetics. We have become very reliant on the United States but that was the danger of NAFTA as people did say at the time.
I can see the pluses in this for Canada because we have allowed ourselves to become a country that sells mostly raw materials and imports finished goods. But when I was a child there were all kinds of industries in southwestern Ontario. They could come back and that would be great for sure. It would be good for our youth to learn the trades as not all of them really enjoy sitting in an office all day. Working with their hands is such a wonderful thing - my grandfather used to do so much carpentry although he was a blacksmith by trade working for the CN. But carpentry he also learned when he was young. But then I did grow up in a trades family where my father owned his own business.
In retrospect I can remember people warning against doing NAFTA - funny sort of that it has come to pass. But we are a resilient people and will find a way to create industry here once again. American car manufacturers will have to decide if they still want to have this customer base of 41 million people and they will have to build the cars here in Canada totally to escape these tariffs. I feel especially sorry for the Jewish people with their companies as this has been a wretched year for them.
Sad about the fresh fruit coming up especially but we are getting into green houses and this is maybe an opportunity to experiment on what can be grown here through the winter. In the Leamington area and out in BC they do have good luck with greenhouses and the little tomatoes that I buy are from Quebec.
It is really hard to turn the clock back to what was and I am not entirely sure anyone really wants to do that. We have enjoyed having our American cousins/friends/relatives as our best trading partner but now we must internalize and eliminate any barriers between the provinces. Success will be ours I am sure.
I do feel sorry for the States that have really ramped up their production of items like dairy and vegetables along the border that we share. This will be really hard for Wisconsin as their dairy products are all over western Canada and their dairy industry has increased tremendously during NAFTA. I am sure there are other states that will also be impinged very strongly by these tariffs.
I remember when we built the Seaway and President Eisenhower declined to be part of that enterprise so we built it ourselves. I think that was something people used to say about NAFTA. One day they will pull the plug and we will be left with no industries. So time to create those home grown industries once again and this time we will not sell them hopefully. It was too tempting to sell them to American industries south of the border and go to Florida to live. I believe in Free Enterprise for sure but we do need to keep our people working and create the industries that have disappeared. We actually had a car industry here before I was born though as I do not remember that.
With our dollar so low now our exports are much more favourable around the world so we need to get to it. Get those oil refineries built and more pipelines to tidewater to sell the oil. Our heavy bitumen is a really good oil standard. We can do this for sure.
But it is time for our youth to get off their phones and get involved with creating companies. They can do it and so many have gone into the trades and not university so the opportunities should be really great for them to do startups. I see that Premier Ford is promising incentive money and what better incentives than to create a business from scratch in your backyard! You can buy a proper business place when you are ready.
We do have tremendous respect for our next door neighbour and best partner. I always say that Americans can do anything; they are very hard working people. We will always be a best friend to them I am sure of that.
The other item we really have to get up to scratch is our military spending so we need to create lots of industry to afford that.
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