We've Got to Play our Game, Canada

Look at us go.

Filling our grocery carts with Liberté yogurt and Royale toilet paper, cancelling our Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts, and deciding wholeheartedly that this Bud’s not for us.

We’re Canadian, which means we know it’s the little stuff that matters.

That’s our power.

Our politicians may move at a glacial pace (how are interprovincial trade barriers still a thing?!?), our corporate interests too clubby (Empire Club members to the left; Petroleum Club to the right) but regular Canadians know the score: individuals don’t win the Cup, teams do.

We’re in it now; pre-season’s done, and we know it’s going to be a grind.

Bring ‘er; we know who we are.

A mid-market team playing with the big guns, and they just came strutting into our arena like they own the place.

They underestimate us, but that’s okay, we’re used to it. They think because we’re small, we’re mediocre.

In their quest for geopolitical dominance, they intend to dispatch Team Canada, claim their trophy and keep going.

On paper it’s a formidable plan, and god knows enough commentary and chatter has been shared, has flooded our zone, that it could give us pause, could make us feel a bit cowed in the face of the sheer immensity of the opposing team.

But that’s only if we agree to play their game.

Match them tit-for-tat on tariffs, try to slow them down in the ever-shrinking neutral zone, and play the role of polite diplomat when the mics are turned on.

Meh.

Let the Europeans give that a go; we’re Canadians and when we’re up against it, that’s not how we play.

We’re elbows up, third line grinders playing a double shift because this isn’t a game to us.

This is who we are.

We’re the country that came together to say good-bye to Gord Downie by singing in unison as we cried our way through Wheat Kings.

The country that teaches our children to revere a one-legged marathoner named Terry Fox.

The country that considers Moira Rose and Shoresy among our finest orators.

The country that, unlike our opponents, knows to put the ‘u’ in neighbour.

There’s an implied promise in that particular Canadianism.

That we’ll run towards the fire, as we’ve done in Los Angeles; that we’ll open our doors to strangers, as we did in the aftermath of 9/11; that we’ll take the tough assignments without complaint, as we did in Kandahar; and that we’ll be the first ones in and the last ones out as we did a century ago in Europe.

It’s a history we should and are proud of, but, if we’re being honest, our actions of late haven’t matched these myths of our own making.

We’ve got some holes to fill, and we can’t wait for somebody else’s artificial deadlines, 30 days or otherwise, to start making some moves.

First, we need to power up on defense. We made a commitment to NATO and we need to meet it. We need to plug out borders so illegal drugs, stolen cars, human traffickers and foreign icebreakers can’t pass with ease through our territory.

Second, we need to open up through our zones. We need free trade amongst provinces with extra priority given to our essential needs: energy, food, construction, education and health care.

Third, we need to protect our high scorers. Like it or lump it, oil, gas, minerals and precious metals are essential to Canada’s economy. We need these critical resources to move more freely to coastal ports for export, and we need to do this in a way that doesn’t sacrifice our other natural resources, our farms, forests, fisheries, air and water.

Finally, we need to get better at anticipating the play. Our opponents have changed the game and we’ve got to learn on the fly what’s going to work for us – and what won’t. We need to quickly decide where we can go and what new moves we can make to stay a step or two ahead.

Have a noodle on that as you ponder our collective future over some Hickory Sticks and Pop Shoppe.

There are, of course, any number of reasons why this could be an insurmountable challenge.

Most or all of them are probably legitimate, but in the end who cares?

All that matters right now is this: that you, my maple leaf bedazzled fellow Canadian believes we can get ‘er done.

That we can influence the game, go on the offence, score a couple of quick goals and shift momentum our way.

That’s my kind of power play.

Let’s go, Canada.

Time to lace up and go play our game.