Policy analyst gives a bleak assessment of the country’s world status but holds out hope for change
Canada is a morass of mediocrity and misspent opportunities, historian and policy analyst Ken Coates told the Canadian Crops Convention.
In general: “We’re looking at the edge and we’re not doing very well.”
On the economy: “We’re going the wrong way.”
Compared to similar nations: “There are countries that are passing us by.”
On retaining skilled foreign students and immigrants: “They don’t want to stay.”
On Canada’s international stature: “We have no profile.”
In summary: “This nation is sliding.”
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It was a bleak assessment of the state of Canada by an historian who has often challenged the comfortable complacency he sees gripping the nation’s soul.
Completing natural resource projects, from mining metals and minerals needed for the electrical power revolution, to developing pipelines, to establishing anything outside the cities, has become a nightmare.
“The country has forgotten how to go about economic development,” said Coates.
The urban-rural divide has become extreme and is getting worse, he added. That’s dangerous for farmers and rural people because those in the cities have little knowledge or care for small-town Canada.
Some countries have a vibrant small-town society, but in Canada it’s hollowing out.
“Why do we do small towns so poorly?” he pondered.
Agricultural education is also a weakness for Canada, he thinks.
“We don’t do agriculture very well at universities.”
Despite his dire warnings about the path he believes Canada is travelling, Coates sees golden potential if the country sorts out its problems.
“It has absolutely staggering potential,” he said.
But first, it has to face the reality that it is not a leading country in the world any longer, as European and Asian nations bound ahead in development while Canada slips. Canada has been great at drawing foreign students and immigrants, but too many choose to leave due to frustration with Canada’s constrictions on their ambitions.
A bright spot in Canada’s economy and society is farming, Coates said. It is an example of a Canadian industry that is still world class.
However, for farmers to stay at the front, Canada must break out of its stagnation, Coates said.
