[Craic] MAJOR CANADIAN ISSUE…CONTINENTAL DRIFT

[Rob Anderson]

Gentlemen,

At last Saturday’s discussion, we spent much time probing the decline of investigative reporting and the drift of journalism and media away from the local and to feeding from the hands of giant conglomerates that have hollowed out, marginalized or even silenced our former more trustworthy sources.

We might add that Canadians are now increasingly relying on Amazon deliveries, Netflix movies, Google searches, Apple newsfeeds, Facebook social networking, not to mention CNN, the NYT and the Washington Post.

Our Canadian history and unique experience is being supplanted by a “borderless” history that is actually becoming more American in its story than Canadian.  Issue by issue, those who use social media are being influenced by online sources that are more likely reflective of American issues, thought and political response than Canadian such that the history and culture of the two nations are being conflated much to Canada’s disadvantage.

Now we don’t often talk about financial investment in our worthy discussions, yet we all have pension plans, TFSA accounts and RSP accounts.  

Crucial to the strength of our economy is that we have a productive economy and not re-enter the “branch plant economy” much criticized by Canadian progressives in the 60’s and 70’s and the earlier “hewers of wood and drawers of water” critiquing image that in the 1930’s Harold Innes borrowed from the Bible to summarize Canada’s economic history.

With significant monies needed for Canada’s expanding social justice agenda that features increased immigration, racial equity, enlightened environmental policies, resolution of native grievances, the need for adequate and affordable housing, initiatives to address the ever growing wealth disparity not to mention the massive bill accrued from the pandemic lockdowns and healthcare costs etc, it might be time to discuss yet another feature of this American hegemony and Canadian “drain” which never draws much attention.

Check out below the report by the National Bank of Canada to note where Canadian investment money is going.

Bottom line, to “coin” a term, our current Canadian approach to news, sports, entertainment, current events, politics and, last but not least, investment wealth is heading straight to the USA.  

Can the centre hold?  Or more dramatically perhaps, can the culture of Canada hold such that we can chart a course does not feed us directly into the belly of that increasingly infamous rough beast?

Bob

The National Bank report:
Canadians are shunning their domestic market and investing record amounts abroad, according to National Bank of Canada Financial Markets.
Net purchases of overseas securities by locals soared to $144.4 billion (US$799 million) in the first 11 months of 2021 -- shattering a previous record of $73.3 billion set in 2006, the bank said, citing Statistics Canada. Canadians spent an all-time high of $81.8 billion on U.S. securities.
“This is a big-time capital outflow, with Canadian investors taking exposure to foreign markets like never before,” National Bank chief rates and public sector strategist Warren Lovely wrote in a note Monday.
“The apparent abandonment of Canada by domestic investors is part of an overall capital bleed that needs redressing.”
The bank points to U.S. information technology companies as being net beneficiaries of Canadian investment outflows.



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