Try and weave a couple of recent JAM themes to end the month. Watched a little of the Blue Jays this weekend and was surprised at how weak the line up still is in terms of offensive pop. Would have thought management after last season would have constructed a better roster. I was also surprised based on all the offseason angst from fans that Ted Rogers Park (baseball should not be played in a centre) was filled for the weekend series.
Fans know the only way to make ownership take notice and hold this management’s poor track record to account is to stop going. Otherwise your patronage is seen as an endorsement of this leadership and wanting it to continue. It would be like voting Liberal in this election.
JAM - March 28
Hearing Mark Carney declaring the relationship with the U.S. as over is certainly a depressing way to start a Friday. It is also the wrong approach to take if it is something that Carney actually believes and would follow as a course of action as an elected PM.
Trump is temporary so the approach should be to mitigate the damage in the short term without jeopardizing the long term economic benefits of being connected to our closest geographic neighbour. It will be interesting to see what Poilievre has to say about this comment and how his approach would be different. I could be wrong on this, but I don’t believe most Canadians, especially those out west want to throw the American relationship out with Trump. People in eastern Canada may not want to hear it, but keeping the west on board is vital for a sea to sea Canada. They provide the economic life blood of transfer payments to the east.
It is a fine line to straddle to stand up for Canada without crippling the country economically. We need a leader who can thread that needle. If calling our relationship with Americans over is an end game and not posturing - we all should be very concerned about the direction Carney and the Liberals would take this country.
JAM - March 27
Opening Day for the Blue Jays would usually put a spring in my step, but I can’t remember being this meh about the start of a season. While the Blue Jays last place division finish last year would mute much enthusiasm, the team made some off-season additions that should at least see them win a few more this campaign. I guess what has me so blase about baseball now is the fact that the regular season doesn’t matter that much anymore. I grew up in an era when only 4 teams made the playoffs out of 26 or 15.4%. Winning a division or a pennant actually meant something. Now 12 out 30 teams (40%) make the playoffs. Most leagues in the championship or bust North American sport culture that places little value in regular season accomplishments follow roughly the same format with about half the teams making it to the postseason. The big difference is they don’t play 162 freakin games. If you don’t want reward the accomplishment of a team winning over a six-month odyssey, then cut the season in half. Of course that’s not happening, so neither is my enthusiasm.
Tonight, I’d rather watch Duke win!
JAM - March 26
Okay, I promise to change the topic tomorrow, but I am still gobsmacked by the Liberals flip flopping on policy so quickly, and it seems for now little push back, from well Liberals.
The left in both the U.S. and Canada has labelled any turn away from their policies as populist movements. They would like you to believe that they are guided by principle in fighting climate change or increasing the size of government. They charge the other side just follows the herd. But the desire for smaller government is a Conservative cornerstone of domestic fiscal policy. Conservatives prefer private sector, market intervention where possible over government involvement. Trump in the States is following this playbook, by slashing the government (Voice of America) and government duplication (Federal Department of Education). Poilievre in Canada, is promising to shrink the size of government by ending media subsidies and cutting the CBC (now you know where that real or perceived media bias comes from). There is nothing populist about these moves, they follow an economic ideology that you either agree or disagree with.
The problem with the Liberals in Canada, is they don’t follow any guiding principles when it comes to managing the economy. They’re a box of chocolates when it comes to fiscal policies. Right now Carney has put his finger in the air and has determined the massive government spending that he approved as lead economic advisor to Trudeau was a mistake and now wants to reign it in. He also wants to reverse course on taxes and cut them. This doesn’t sound like a reasoned economic philosophy, but rather it is the very thing that Liberals call others out for following - populism. Will see if it works, but Liberals please don't preach anymore about your principles.
They change like the wind.
JAM - March 25
If the latest polls are to be taken seriously, it does make you wonder what Canadians are thinking. I don't know many liberals who agreed with the policies of the Liberal party for the last decade. Polling only a few months ago showed that most Canadians wanted a Conservatives government in charge. Now given the opportunity to change teams, it seems the country is not so sure. The Liberals, who prorogued parliament during a national crisis in order to get their own political house in order first, have rebounded in the polls by adopting many of the policies the Conservatives have pushed while in opposition.
I still believe at some point the electorate will ask themselves if they can trust a party that can flip flop so quickly on core policy issues during an election campaign. The only core principle Liberals seem to follow is to say or do anything to maintain power. Right now, this chameleon strategy is working.
JAM - March 24
If the Conservatives are going to wrestle power from the Liberals in the April 28th Canadian election (finally) then the NDP have to wake up. The Liberals are now acting like Conservatives and adopting all much of their playbook. That should expose the Liberals left flank and be vulnerable to an attack from the NDP. If Singh wants to keep his party relevant, then he must take advantage of the opportunity the Liberals have presented.
If the NDP keeps silent and runs through the motions this campaign, then you would have to wonder if the Liberal-NDP alliance has really ended. Long-time NDP supporters must be wondering what has happened to their party since Jack Layton made the party a political force.
JAM - March 21
If the Conservatives were to lose the upcoming Canadian federal election, they would have to ask themselves what they have to do to win power in Canada. Back in 2019 the Conservatives ran a social conservative, Andrew Scheer from out West and lost the election, but did win the popular vote by over 200,000. In the next election in 2021, they ran a more moderate, red-tory Ontario conservative in Erin O'Toole. Once again they lost, dropping a percentage point in support, but still winning the popular vote by over 200,000. Now in 2025 they are running a socially progressive, fiscal conservative born out west, but representing an Ontario riding, leader Pierre Poilievre.
Will now see if this combination breaks through. But if the Liberals can replace their leader in a couple of months and extend their ten year reign that would say a lot about Canadian democracy and our electoral system. Many countries including the U.S. often will not have the popular vote match the end result. So it continually happening in Canada, is not unique, but it does leave a country feeling fractured and government leading without a clear mandate. Canada has been in this state for a while now. Like it or loathe it the Americans, went in a clear direction in November. Will soon see if Canada is ready to do the same.
JAM - March 20
Ahh the first day of Spring. While I love the warmth of summer, it's the cold of winter that makes me appreciate the heat all the more. As they say, you never appreciate something till it's gone. That may soon be the case for the various government programs that are being cut in the United States. Public sector unions are screaming as expected and burning Teslas as unexpected. But an effective opposition needs to show people how the cuts will impact the lives of the people receiving the service, not the lives of the service providers. People are getting what they voted for. As much as the left may "resist" I don't think there would be any change if an election were called today. Stoking anger in your base may help with fundraising, but its not changing anyone's mind.
JAM - March 19
The response of Canadian voters to what Trump thinks of their candidates/party in the upcoming Canadian election will get plenty of attention. Certainly, the trade war and anti - American sentiment is quite high, but at the end of the day this election will be decided by the candidate who is able to stand the scrutiny and pressure of a campaign.
Under that criteria, I do believe you will see Liberal leader Mark Carney crack under pressure if a rather fair question about his assets gets his goat. Expect a pattern to develop. Thin skinned politicians don’t last long.
JAM - March 18
There is certainly plenty of despair among progressives in the States right now. With so much end of days doom talk about American democracy, perhaps a little perspective is needed. I am not oblivious to the current President's penchant for flouting democratic traditions and norms, but I do have more faith than most on the left in one guard rail - the Supreme Court. Last I checked, Donald didn't appoint all the judges. Yes, the court does lean conservative, but lately we have seen that what that word actually means is up to the individual. The main allegiance all members of the court follow is to the constitution. So I have faith that the court, in protecting it, will protect American democracy.
Trump has said he respects the Supreme Court. Will see if that is still the case when it rules against him for violating the Constitution. If that court order is ignored, then it will be time to fight.
JAM - March 17
The trouble for Democratic lawmakers in the States right now is that they demonized their opposition to such an extent during the campaign, that now any hint of compromise (which functioning governments must do) is met with anger from their base.
There is a real vacuum of leadership right now, but it will get filled by someone who will channel this discontent into a movement. Whether this is a winning strategy is another matter, but it sounds like the party now sees themselves as the resistance, rather than a government in waiting.
JAM - March 16
Canada’s new PM Mark Carney’s opening moves of killing the carbon tax and selecting few women to his cabinet illustrate two of the new political realities that dictate a winning strategy now in North America.
The first new reality is that fighting climate change that in any way restricts people’s economic choice and prosperity is a non - starter.
The second is that identity politics and hollow virtue signalling like stating your pronouns etc. are a political liability.
Finally, and this is more of an American issue, open borders and mass immigration are done. Countries will now only allow in immigrants who provide skills and immediate economic benefit. Everyone else need not apply or enter.
What will be interesting to see now is how the left in both countries reacts. Will progressives who resist these new realities stay true to their causes or adjust. Democrats in the U.S. are fracturing on what they now stand for. In Canada, will Carney’s move to govern like a Conservative, cause him to lose left leaning voters?
JAM - March 15
We’re a society right now that seems to have no problem adding more rules, policies, laws and regulations. Enforcement, however, is another matter. Signs and postings are everywhere telling us what not to do, but not a lot of people are around to deal with the people who ignore them. The ones that are around are either too busy or indifferent to disciplining infractions.
Nobody it seems wants to be the bad guy. The shortage of referees in sports reflects a passive aggressive society that wants to regulate behaviour while sitting in the stands.
JAM - March 14
Surprised there isn’t more attention paid to our government leaders still travelling to meet with each other face to face for meetings. You would have thought the pandemic zoom revolution would have changed this behaviour, but apparently Doug Ford and the G7 must keep flying all over to communicate. Guess there is still something in demonstrating import and commitment by doing it face to face. The remote work debate should take note.
Cost is the major constraint for everyone else, but these leaders and their entourages have never had to concern themselves with that. The other rationale I can think of for why this behaviour still continues today are vanity and the need for secrecy. Obviously, something must be said that can't be risked doing it over the phone.
JAM - March 13
If Canadian environmentalists are so distraught about Trump and Republicans reversing any progress on fighting climate change with their “drill baby drill’ rhetoric, wouldn’t they want Canada to join the United States?
Canada could join the likes of New York and California as an influential liberal state and king maker - setting a progressive environmental agenda not just Canada, but for the world’s top economy.
Just A Minute Thoughts By Greg Cawsey - 100% Human - Like AI has time for this :)
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