Thread by @NoLore

I think a lot of folks are fumbling their attack on the Canada First messaging of the Conservatives.

Yes, it's clearly a racist nod to all the other ____ Firsts around the world, and a thin carbon copy of MAGA (cause MCGA isn't pronounceable) but!

It taps into something that is real and that the left has not been able to credibly offer: we need a Canadian industrial strategy that restores local supply chains. The pandemic and PPE laid that bare. So how do you talk about fostering Canadian industries while not being racist?

Unions have largely failed at this, with Canada-first messaging usually being accompanied with anti-Mexico sentiment (when related to NAFTA). And the Liberals' all-in on "progressive" trade agreements has made resisting this global race to the bottom important, though confusing

Yes, O'Toole is using xenophobia to boost his brand, but it isn't simply that, and pointing that out isn't going to satisfy the questions we need answered about Canadian industry.

We need local industries and good wages for a lot of reasons, but the most important is...

climate change. Global shipping needs to be intensely slowed and to do that, economies must develop locally to stop our reliance on shipping things so far around the world.

It requires a total rethink of the economy as it stands and the Left hasn't offered a compelling vision.

I'm going to write about some of this for @readpassage so stay tuned.