I think it's two things, one of which you mentioned:
1) Structural. Canada is a 'large open economy' next to a 'massive open economy' where the economic pyramid is 10x - plus more inequality and they are a global player meaning that everything important in Canada gets consumed by the American system. Bought, put out of business, or talent goes south.
Bombardier is a good example: Trump arbitrarily and totally against NAFTA laid down tariffs which led to the failure of the business and put into the hands of another major power - the EU.
2) Cultural. A lack of focus on exceptionalism, and without very strong cultural foundations, a historical focus on 'equity' and 'stability' (which can be good things of course) Canada cannot play 'asymmetrical jujitsu' like Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong (pre takeover), Israel. It's a hugely contentious thing to say, but large scale migration - for all its benefits' - also exacerbates the problem, by creating more of an 'economic civility' rather than 'cultural civility'. When PM Trudeau sad Canada is a 'post-nation nation' - what he was saying without realizing is that Canada is simply going to be a 'safe, fair, trading post'. Think of Canada now really as 'The Hudson's Bay Trading Company' like a giant corporate living space, managed by well-meaning functionaries. Absent cultural foundations, then core civic and economic elements come to the fore. Canada can be thought of as 'an international economic zone North of the United States', basically without any real elite or national vision. The strategy is 'build more homes, get people into mortgages from one of 6 nearly identical banks, get them buying every day from Tim Hortons, Starbucks, McDonald's, get them in high-consumption environments near shopping malls full of foreign brands, and making consistent car payments, again, mostly surpluses going to foreign car companies. Working either for the government, a small business, or more likely the local office of a large international firm like KPMG, Ford, Price Waterhouse, etc..
Basically, a massive suburb of 'civic consumers', where it's very safe and placid, but nothing really happens either - no intellectual, creative, operational leadership, nothing to distinguish the situation from an arbitrary, nameless suburb anywhere else in the modern world.
This is happening a lot in the world, but the capital of this is Canada.
When you travel, it's getting harder and harder to 'know where in the world you are' by looking out the window, which is tragic.
1) Structural. Canada is a 'large open economy' next to a 'massive open economy' where the economic pyramid is 10x - plus more inequality and they are a global player meaning that everything important in Canada gets consumed by the American system. Bought, put out of business, or talent goes south.
Bombardier is a good example: Trump arbitrarily and totally against NAFTA laid down tariffs which led to the failure of the business and put into the hands of another major power - the EU.
2) Cultural. A lack of focus on exceptionalism, and without very strong cultural foundations, a historical focus on 'equity' and 'stability' (which can be good things of course) Canada cannot play 'asymmetrical jujitsu' like Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong (pre takeover), Israel. It's a hugely contentious thing to say, but large scale migration - for all its benefits' - also exacerbates the problem, by creating more of an 'economic civility' rather than 'cultural civility'. When PM Trudeau sad Canada is a 'post-nation nation' - what he was saying without realizing is that Canada is simply going to be a 'safe, fair, trading post'. Think of Canada now really as 'The Hudson's Bay Trading Company' like a giant corporate living space, managed by well-meaning functionaries. Absent cultural foundations, then core civic and economic elements come to the fore. Canada can be thought of as 'an international economic zone North of the United States', basically without any real elite or national vision. The strategy is 'build more homes, get people into mortgages from one of 6 nearly identical banks, get them buying every day from Tim Hortons, Starbucks, McDonald's, get them in high-consumption environments near shopping malls full of foreign brands, and making consistent car payments, again, mostly surpluses going to foreign car companies. Working either for the government, a small business, or more likely the local office of a large international firm like KPMG, Ford, Price Waterhouse, etc..
Basically, a massive suburb of 'civic consumers', where it's very safe and placid, but nothing really happens either - no intellectual, creative, operational leadership, nothing to distinguish the situation from an arbitrary, nameless suburb anywhere else in the modern world.
This is happening a lot in the world, but the capital of this is Canada.
When you travel, it's getting harder and harder to 'know where in the world you are' by looking out the window, which is tragic.