Book Review - Could It Happen Here?: Canada in the Age of Trump and Brexit

Back in March my friend Malcolm and I went to a talk at the Toronto Reference Library called "Star Talks: Trump and Brexit: Could it Happen Here?" It was a very lively and enlightening look at the vast differences between American, British and Canadian societies, more so between Canada and the US. The talk even included a look at Provincial Conservative leader Doug Ford, who at the time had just been named to the leader of the party.

It was interesting enough that I bought Micheal Adams book Could It Happen Here?: Canada in the Age of Trump and Brexit.

From award-winning author Michael Adams, Could It Happen Here? draws on groundbreaking new social research to show whether Canadian society is at risk of the populist forces afflicting other parts of the world.

Americans elected Donald Trump. Britons opted to leave the European Union. Far-right, populist politicians channeling anger at out-of-touch “elites” are gaining ground across Europe. In vote after shocking vote, citizens of Western democracies have pushed their anger to the top of their governments’ political agendas. The votes have varied in their particulars, but their unifying feature has been rejection of moderation, incrementalism, and the status quo.

Amid this roiling international scene, Canada appears placid, at least on the surface. As other societies retrench, the international media have taken notice of Canada’s welcome of Syrian refugees, its half-female federal cabinet, and its acceptance of climate science and mixed efforts to limit its emissions. After a year in power, the centrist federal government continues to enjoy majority approval, suggesting an electorate not as bitterly split as the ones to the south or in Europe.

As sceptics point out, however, Brexit and a Trump presidency were unthinkable until they happened. Could it be that Canada is not immune to the same forces of populism, social fracture, and backlash that have afflicted other parts of the world? Our largest and most cosmopolitan city elected Rob Ford. Conservative Party leadership hopeful Kellie Leitch proposes a Canadian values test for immigrants and has called the Trump victory “exciting.” Anti-tax demonstrators in Alberta chanted “lock her up” in reference to Premier Rachel Notley, an elected leader accused of no wrongdoing, only policy positions the protesters disliked.

Pollster and social values researcher Michael Adams takes Canadians into the examining room to see whether we are at risk of coming down with the malaise affecting other Western democracies. Drawing on major social values surveys of Canadians and Americans in 2016—as well as decades of tracking data in both countries—Adams examines our economy, institutions, and demographics to answer the question: could it happen here?

This book is full of telling and sometimes very surprising statistics, charts and explanations. One chart that jumped out at me (shown below) was a comparison between Canada and the US on how much of the population believes the father of the family should be the "master" of the house. During the talk the stats were also broken down by province. Even the most rural and rugged province in Canada, Alberta, which had the highest of all the provinces in the belief that the man should be, was far more liberal in this view, by almost half, than the least chauvinistic state in the US.

The chapter titles show how deep the research goes.

The Global Re-awakening of the Xenophobic populism
We've Been Here before
Canada and Immigration in the Era of Trump and Brexit
On Being Muslim in Canada - Optimism with Vigilance
The Taxi Driver with the PhD
Occupy This - The Politics of Inequality in Canada
Doing Democracy Differently

Adams book speaks not only of our different cultures but also happiness levels, economics, health systems, the political system of each country, acceptance of immigrants and refugees, immigrant views on their new countries, racism and even a look at the difference on how our leaders were raised as children and their respected countries views towards that.

In the end, yes, Canada as a whole, except of course for the few assholes that exist in any country, has a much greater acceptance and welcoming attitude when it comes to immigrants and diversity when compared to the US. I am very proud of that. That view and the set-up of our political system is one where we most likely will never fall to the current level of the US state of affairs.

But that's no reason to be smug. We can never be complacent and must always work to ensure that the levels of hate in Canada continue to fall and that we fight to keep our standard of living and the positive views the world has of us as a nation.

An Inside, Personal Look at Toronto General Hospital's Transplant Program

Yesterday I went for a 4,500 step walk with Teena down by Lake Ontario. I know this doesn't sound like much of a hike except for the fact that 30 days before, during the night of April 20, I was on the receiving end of a liver transplant.

I have always made sure that my driver's license and health card showed that I was registered as a donor. Never did I expect that I would be the one who would need a transplant from another.

Canadians are lucky. We have access to the busiest transplant hospital in North America and one of the most famous in the world. In 2017, the UHN program performed 639 adult transplants compared to 607 at the UCLA Medical Center and the University of California San Francisco Medical Center which completed 601. It should be noted for the purposes of this article that 195 of the transplants at Toronto General Hospital were liver transplants

Last year it was discovered that I had cancer in my liver. Princess Margaret Hospital took care of that. Originally I was told that the procedure, called a TACE, would halt and shrink the tumor but would not kill it.  It could be contained, though until I received a new liver.  However, it turned out that the cancer was indeed wiped out. The liver was weakened by the cancer and the likelihood of it returning was great so I was placed on the transplant list.

While waiting for my turn to come, I met with many doctors, surgeons and social workers at Toronto General  who all made sure that I was physically and mentally ready for the operation. My turn came up on April 20 and at 10pm I was wheeled into the operating room for my six hour operation. Let's just say that the day after my operation wasn't the best I have ever felt but, hey, it's like that for anyone that has gone through any type of major surgery.

The ward is divided into post-op stages, the first one being right after surgery in acute care where I was constantly monitored. I wasn't in there long, maybe overnight (that part is hazy) before being moved to the next unit and a less intensive level of care and designed to get me moving. My first feat of strength? Being helped out of bed and into a chair beside it to sit for an hour. The next day, though, the physical therapist had me heading down the halls for a lap with a walker. The day after, a lap or two without a walker and then I graduated to my last unit.

I spent three nights there, resting, climbing stairs with my physiotherapist, walking and being constantly looked after with medications, blood tests, small procedures and training.

Training for what? How to detect organ rejection. Surprisingly it's not IF it happens but how to recognize it when it happens. It could be in a few weeks, few months, few years, decades, but definitely will  occur.

My medications drive up my sugar levels so currently I am diabetic and had to learn how to inject myself and go through a diabetic program. I may or may not have to continue with my daily shots when one of my meds is cut off. I'm hoping I don't need it.

Every transplant recipient has an aftercare transplant co-coordinator and transplant doctor. The program has a call system that I had to learn about where I can leave messages that are answered the same day, or they can contact me though it for any followup, medication change or questions they may have. It's wonderfully efficient.

Six days after my operation, on Friday April 27th, I was sent home with Teena. Everyday has been a challenge but everyday too, Teena and I see an improvement.  My thanks go out to everyone who has been involved and helped me through all of this. Especially the nurses. I was so well looked after!

I know people had to suffer through a loss of a loved one for this to happen. That plays on my mind and every day I am thankful for their kindness and generosity.

There is still a long way to go to recovery but it seems to get a little faster every day. After all, 30 days ago I would have never dreamed that I would be going for a walk along the lake. Now I'm starting to look forward to so much more.

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