@ (03/19/84)
I was in the U.S.A. recently and happened to read the following article on March 1 in the newspaper , "USA TODAY." It appeared on page 2 and is very revealing about how Canadians are viewed. (It was the only article on Trudeau's resignation.) Canada change may please U.S. By Jim Fox Special for USA TODAY Ottawa - Public opinion polls have long indicated that most Canadians wanted Pierre Trudeau to resign as prime minister, but many Americans may also welcome the departure of the man who led Canada for nearly 16 years. Trudeau, 64, has often been out of tune with Washington, alienating the United States with trade barriers and reduced defense commitment. Major irritants between the two countries -- each of which is the other's largest trading partner -- include acid rain, trade protectionism and taxes. The low point in the Trudeau era came four years ago when major U.S. oil companies complained their large interests in Canada were being hurt by the Trudeau government's decision to nationalize Canada's oil industry and give tax and exploration advantages to Canadian companies. It will be up to Trudeau's successor to decide when the next federal election will be held, but the Liberal Party's term of office expires in February 1985. The current frontrunner to succeed Trudeau is John Turner, 54, a charismatic Toronto lawyer and former Cabinet minister. He is being viewed as an easy victor in a crowded race with as many as 10 candidates. Canadians appear to want the Conservatives -- led by Brian Mulroney, 44, a suave, bilingual Irish-Quebecer -- to form the next government. Mulroney might also be Washington's choice as he favors closer economic and defense ties with the United States. Mulroney, a self-made labor lawyer and corporate president, also shares many of the Reagan administration's views on free enterprise and has indicated that it is more important for Canada to have better relations with the United States than with other countries.
peterr@utcsrgv.UUCP (Peter Rowley) (03/19/84)
It should be noted that USA Today is a right-leaning publication and is not entirely representative of the US.
elf@utcsrgv.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) (03/19/84)
Perhaps it would be more precise to say that that glossy rag, USA Today, is a right-leaning publication relative even to that right-leaning country south of us--and that's the Plain Truth! Eugene Fiume U of Toronto
chrisr@hcr.UUCP (Chris Retterath) (03/20/84)
If USA Today is right-wing, then John Gamble must be an ultra-right wing MP. No kidding, folks, so it says in March 19th's Toronto Star. C'mon, you guys, just because Canada is a welfare(=socialist) state, it doesn't mean that anyone slightly right wing anywhere else is automatically a reactionary ultra-right wing fanatic here. Maybe you've been fooled by the labels: just for your info, the federal and Ontario Conservative parties are BOTH pretty well socialist, while the federal Liberal party is about as far away from a laissez-faire liberalism as you can get without joining the NDP (Socialist party of America?). I actually thought that the part of the article quoted was exceedingly fair and correct in its assessment of Trudeau's policies as perceived by many Americans. But then again, I'm not an American myself. Chris Retterath hcr!chrisr
elf@utcsrgv.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) (03/21/84)
I'm not sure I want to get involved in this sort of discussion, because it's somewhat pointless. I don't know what is meant by a "welfare" state vs. a "socialist" one, but it strikes me that intuitively they're not co-extensive. The fact that people of almost all political persuasions this country believe in government-supported, enlightened social programmes only serves to illustrate that the politics here appear to have a left-of-centre bias, relative to the American system. Now, you can quibble all you like about how pervasive this really is, but it's likely that all you'd really be showing is that rednecks exist everywhere and within every political party. So it goes. I also think an n>2 political party system is preferable, but that's another matter altogether. Eugene Fiume U of Toronto
advisor@utcsstat.UUCP (Milan Strnad) (03/24/84)
If you say that a right-leaning publication is not representative of the US (the same US that voted for Reagan), do you mean to imply that a left-leaning publication would be? milan (..utzoo!psddevl!milan)