Canadian Crossing

How much does Sarah Palin know about Canada?

Only excited about #SarahPalin being U.S. ambassador to #Canada if she hires me to teach her about Canada. Lots of $ https://t.co/CnlsBv6Tb4

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) February 9, 2017

We've wanted a U.S. ambassador to Canada to have some knowledge of Canada. The rumours of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin drew considerable uproar on social media.

When Palin was first asked about which countries she has visited, shortly after being announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008, her initial answer was Germany, Kuwait, and Ireland. No Canada on that list.

A Palin spokesperson corrected the list to include Canada. The second time Palin was asked, she included Mexico and Canada. The McCain campaign said she also went a quarter mile into Iraq, likely without permission. And Ireland was a refueling stop.

Palin admitted to being on business in Canada in 2007 in her role as Alaskan governor.

In a speech in Calgary in 2010, Sarah Palin told the story of being in Canada to receive Canadian health care. Funny how that did not come out in the campaign.

“My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse. Believe it or not – this was in the ‘60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”

Palin’s father said the family probably made two trips to Whitehorse, Yukon for medical treatment.

Sarah Palin still can’t tell her own truth about Canada

Sarah Palin’s lack of world curiosity eerie parallel to George W. Bush

Does Sarah Palin know how many countries she has visited?

From our reporting in 2010: "There has been confusion on whether the Heath family received Canadian-style health care, as if this is the only issue in front of us. Conservatives have noted that Yukon didn’t have the current system until 1972. However, Yukon created its hospital insurance plan with federal cost sharing in 1960, before Palin was born. And they admitted going to a hospital."

Given the British Columbia and Yukon drinking age of 19, Palin likely made social visits to Canada. Only after several attempts over a couple of years did we get any idea of Palin's relationship with Canada.

Listen to the Palin/Sarkozy prank tape

If Gov. Palin ends up being U.S. ambassador to Canada, she could relive this precious moment of being pranked by Marc Antoine Audette of CKOI Montréal who pretended to be then French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

We have criticized prospective ambassadors for not knowing much about Canada. Sarah Palin does have some knowledge of Canada but has shown virtually no curiosity about the world.

Mitt Romney does know a lot about Canada, which should be necessary when running for president

A really good choice for U.S. ambassador to Canada from the Republican side of the aisle is 2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Romney spent part of his summers near Grand Bend, Ontario. The infamous Romney dog story started in a trip to Grand Bend, Ontario. There was speculation in our 2012 coverage that Seamus, the dog, had run away once the family got to Canada.

What if Sarah Palin had to debate in English and Spanish?

Romney also speaks French from his days doing Mormon missionary work. As we noted in 2008, Sarah Palin would have had a challenge debating in a second language, such as Spanish. Romney speaks both of Canada's official languages.

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The U.S. ambassador position might come up in conversation as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit the White House today. The economy is supposed to be on the docket for discussion. That could mean NAFTA and pipelines but not softwood lumber. Trudeau will likely remind Trump that 35 U.S. states have Canada as the top export market.

The meeting may be more about setting tone than actual substance. Trudeau has walked a tightrope since the U.S. election campaign. Somehow, we are not surprised Trump is making this meeting about being on his turf as opposed to Ottawa.

The temptation would be to expound on immigrants making dangerous crossings from the United States to Canada to make refugee claims or field trips to the United States being cancelled or continued questioning on religion of some Canadians trying to come into the United States.

Trudeau ministers laid the groundwork for today's visit, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Ministers accompanying the prime minister to the U.S. capital are Freeland, Morneau, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, and Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

Obama in Canada: a little talk, a lot of charm

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We still aren't sure about a lot of things, consistent with Trump, as to whether this is in lieu of a trip to Canada, which is tradition for a U.S. president, or whether there will still be a trip. Then President Barack Obama made his first international trip on February 19, 2009 to Ottawa.

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Is Canadian-born Ted Cruz eligible to be U.S. president?

When people joke about a president being from Canada, they usually refer back to the story of Chester A. Arthur, who allegedly was born in Quebec and not Vermont. That tale centered around a border dispute and may have been fodder from Arthur's political enemies.

The assumption that people born in Canada can't be president is being challenged, of sorts, by the talk of Ted Cruz running for president.

Cruz, who just got to the Senate in January replacing the retired Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, is being talked about as a possible presidential candidate by Tea Party people and TV pundits. Okay, not a whole lot to go on so far. But these groups don't mention the (GOP) elephant in the room: Ted Cruz was born in Canada.

Cruz certainly thinks he has a shot at entering the 2016 presidential race. On Friday, Cruz made his first trip to Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus. Politicians who are running or thinking about the run make trips to Iowa 3 years before the caucus.

The U.S. senator from Texas placed sixth in Iowa in the Public Policy Polling survey released last week. Cruz was at 10%, 13% among men and 7% among women (among Republicans). The gender gap also is in effect, where men are more than twice to know who he is.

Unlike Arthur, Cruz clearly was born in Canada. He lived there for his first four years. By that standard, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm could be eligible to be elected president. Granholm has lived in the United States since she was 4.

Cruz theoretically has one more element in his column that was separate him from Granholm: Cruz's mother is an American citizen.

The criteria in the Constitution is "natural born citizen." Traditionally, that has meant being born to American parents on U.S. soil, though that standard hasn't been challenged.

George Romney, born in Mexico to U.S. parents, ran for president in 1968. John McCain was born in the Panama Canal zone and ran for president in 2008.

Barack Obama, who is the president of the United States, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but that didn't stop some of the same people who support Cruz from claiming otherwise.

In fact, the Tea Party people pointed to Obama's "illegitimacy" citing that being born to an American mother and a father who is a citizen of a foreign country outside the United States doesn't make for a natural born citizen if that person is born outside the United States. Yet that same exact criteria applies to Ted Cruz.

Yes, Cruz's mother is American, but his father was Cuban. And Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta and lived there for his first four years of his life.

Whether Cruz is eligible needs to be determined. If the Tea Party people are to argue that point, they need to explain why they didn't support the same criteria for Barack Obama, if Obama's life had existed in the Tea Party's parallel universe.

The United States is more strict on citizenship issues than most similar countries. Being born to an American parent, even on foreign soil, does entitle you to U.S. citizenship. However, this is about being a natural born citizen, and until now, this action required a person to be born on U.S. soil to U.S. parents.

Also, to be president (and vice president) of the United States, you have to be a natural born citizen and at least 35 years of age. Contrast that with the Canadian requirements for prime minister.

Are you a citizen of Canada? Yes. Are you at least 18 years old? Yes. So if you can get elected to the House of Commons, you can be prime minister.

You certainly don't have to be born in Canada to be prime minister. John Turner, who was born in England, served briefly as prime minister in 1984 after Pierre Trudeau's reign before Brian Mulroney won election for the Progressive Conservatives.

Turner also didn't hold a seat in Parliament while being prime minister, but ironically did win a seat in the election that tossed him out as prime minister.

The United States needs to decide what criteria is needed to determine who is eligible to be president. Canadians want to know if they have a shot.

Will Justin Trudeau be the Liberal Party savior?

If Americans — under penalty of death or on a game show — had to name one Canadian prime minister, chances are they would say Pierre Trudeau.

Or Margaret Trudeau's husband. Or Garry Trudeau, who is the creator of "Doonesbury" and is not related to the former prime minister.

Pierre Trudeau hasn't been prime minister of Canada since 1984 yet he is still very memorable in the eyes of people who don't know much about Canada otherwise.

That legacy, good and bad, will be brought out once again as Justin Trudeau, son of the former prime minister and current MP from the Papineau riding in Montréal, announces today that he is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

The Liberal Party has fallen to third for the first time in its history. And the party has had a bad habit of changing leaders after a defeat. The Liberals have gone from Paul Martin (first majority, then minority) to Stephane Dion to Michael Ignatieff to the interim leader Bob Rae.

In the same timeframe, Stephen Harper has been the head of the Conservative Party.

Americans are used to father/son issues in determining leaders in the last few years with George W. Bush (daddy was president), Mitt Romney (daddy ran for president). Even Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have similar backgrounds of not having fathers around during childhood.

Trudeau has a number of issues to consider as to whether he will be effective as the Liberal Party leader, and of course, there is no guarantee that Trudeau will win the leadership position.

Cons

Youth. While that has been a positive trait in some American leaders (John F. Kennedy, Clinton, Obama), Canada hasn't seen a similar breakthrough. Trudeau, 40, has only been in Parliament since 2008. The youth angle may not be so bad, especially if he is given time in the role. After all, unlike the U.S. system, Trudeau would be the Liberal Party leader for quite awhile before being able to be prime minister. By contrast, Stephen Harper is 53 and has been either the opposition leader or prime minister since 2002.

Quebec. Though Trudeau represents a riding in Montréal, relying on his father won't score him points in the province. And Liberals have been blown out at the polls going back to the sponsorship scandal. The Liberals fell to third place in part due to the number of seats the NDP acquired in Quebec in the last election.

Inexperience. When Bill Clinton won the race for president in 1992, he has been governor of Arkansas for 12 years. Trudeau has four years in Parliament, three of those in the official Opposition Party.

Pros

Leadership. Canada needs charisma in its leaders even more than the United States. And the Liberals haven't had that since Paul Martin. Dion and Igantieff had their problems in that they didn't come across well to average Canadians. Rae has been a fine interim leader, but he wouldn't be able to lead the party into the future.

Being his own man. Trudeau's reluctance to take advantage of his father's name has endeared him as a candidate. And though the last name will be the same, Justin knows he will have to make his mark as a 21st century Trudeau. We've seen the "being his own man" backfire severely with George W. Bush, but Justin Trudeau don't have that kind of legacy from his father, nor does he seem to have the desire for revenge.

Youth. While youth is a con, Trudeau looks more attractive as a candidate than the other Liberal Party leader contenders. And Canada loves Barack Obama, possibly more than the United States does.

Fighter. Trudeau needs to be a figurative fighter in the uphill battle to bring the Liberals back to power. He showed that off literally earlier this year in a charity boxing match where he knocked out Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau in a third-round TKO victory. Trudeau entered the bout as a severe underdog.

Trudeau faces a number of challengers for the position, including previous contender Dominic LeBlanc (New Brunswick) and Deborah Coyne. Though Coyne is not in Parliament (not a requirement in Canadian politics though she would run for a seat if elected), she has her own Pierre Trudeau legacy, as she is the one-time girlfriend of Pierre Trudeau and mother to Justin's half-sister.

The next Liberal Party leader, even if that is Justin Trudeau, will have more external problems than internal. The NDP dominating in Quebec, though that support is slipping and could easily be taken away. The distrust out West about the Liberals, especially in the current power province of Alberta. The ease at which the Conservatives have been able to give an identity to a Liberal Party leader before that person can self-identify. The continued edge the Conservatives have in the 905 area code (Toronto suburbs) and rural seats in Southern Ontario.

Even with Justin Trudeau's pros and cons, he may be the Liberals last chance for a long time to get back to second or possibly first in the minds of the Canadian voters. Trudeau has a long road ahead of him with a lot of potholes. In many ways, he will have to be better than his father just to get to the point of contending to be a future Canadian prime minister.

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Montreal protesters offer lessons for U.S. protesters

The same chant, the themes, the red squares -- those in the mainstream criticize protesters from the left because they aren't uniform, their signs don't match, and nobody believes in their cause other than those in the protest.

The Quebec student protesters, mostly in Montréal, are proving that you can get power if you stay consistent.

Having also seen the NATO protesters in Chicago last month and other protests over the years, I can offer some great tips that U.S. protesters can learn from their counterparts in La Belle Province.

For more, check out this blog entry from our sister blog, Democracy Soup.

Canada weakens food safety as part of Harper budget cuts

Especially with NAFTA, when a NAFTA member country cuts back on food safety, good results never come as a result.

In the Harper budget cuts, food safety takes a much sharper cut than other federal agencies. The memory of the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 is still fresh, even if the deli meat wasn't. 22 deaths and 35 serious illnesses resulted from the outbreak.

In the last Canadian federal election, the Conservatives promised $100 million more in spending over a 5-year period for food safety. Wonder how that will turn out.

How food safety became a political issue on both sides of the border is startling. Conservatives eat food just like liberals and others.

At least Canada has a federal agency — Canadian Food Inspection Agency — devoted to food safety. The U.S. can't even spare that as a concept, real or weak.

For more on this story, check out our perspective from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Ontario brothels made legal, but don't pack your bags right away

"Did you hear that there will be brothels in Ontario?"

While the United States Supreme Court is trying to settle what Canada has already figured out (and better) a long time ago, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled on something the United States Supreme Court won't get around to for well over 100 years.

Yes, Ontario's highest court ruled unanimously that prostitutes had the right to protect themselves by hiring bodyguards and organizing in brothels. Prostitution is legal in Canada, solicitation remains illegal, the latter being upheld by the Ontario court.

Essentially, the ruling allowed prostitutes to do what they do in private with better protection while keeping the community safe from visible signs of what was going on (i.e., solicitation).

The brothels won't kick in right away, but bodyguards can be a part of what they do 30 days after the ruling. The appeals process will kick in, likely going to the Canadian Supreme Court.

The words "Ontario" and "brothels" spark up images of "ranches" outside Las Vegas, but assuming the decision survives on appeal, and the Canadian Supreme Court will definitely hear this case, the landscape won't change significantly.

Again, prostitution has been legal in Canada. Outside of "massage places," you don't see any sign that anything such as this is going on. Even the "massage places" don't advertise those services.

Will this increase travel and tourism to Canada's largest province? As the Detroit Free Press put it, "Perhaps Detroit will need that second bridge to Windsor."

The beauty of prostitution being legal in Canada is that you don't have the hype, the egregious flaunting that you have in Nevada outside Vegas. Subtle is the key word. Yes, it exists, but it's not a big deal. If/when brothels come along, you'll still see it mostly hidden.

Why? Well that is just the Canadian way. Rarely is anything in your face in Canada.

For those who can't get to Ontario easily, if the Canadian Supreme Court rules that this ruling can apply nationwide, you won't have to travel as far. But again, if you really want to travel to Canada for mostly that purpose, two things to keep in mind. You should have a better excuse when customs asks why you are coming to Canada. And remember that solicitation for prostitution is illegal in Canada, and that won't change anytime soon.

Mitt Romney does know a lot about Canada, which should be necessary when running for president

We made a big deal in 2008 when John McCain went to Ottawa in the middle of the 2008 campaign. McCain spoke to the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa on June 20. U.S. presidential candidates don't usually know much about Canada, and the country rarely comes up in the debates.

In one of the early debates for the Democratic Party in 2007, Barack Obama slipped and said "president" instead of "prime minister." Then again, Obama's first trip as president was to Canada, restoring a proud tradition, and has worked well with Canada and the Harper government.

If Mitt Romney is the GOP nominee in 2012, and all signs are pointing that way, Romney does have extensive knowledge of Canada.

Romney spent part of his summers near Grand Bend, Ontario. Romney's father, George, was president of American Motors Corporation before becoming Michigan's governor. The Globe and Mail reported that "Mitt remarked during one of his father's political campaigns that he first spent July 4 in the United States at age 15."

Most of Bain Capital's relationships with Canadian companies occurred after Romney left the company, but the interest Romney gets (at a 15% taxable rate) is in part from those agreements.

Then there is the dog story.

In 1983, Romney and his family drove from Boston to that cottage in Grand Bend, Ontario. Romney loaded the station wagon and put the family's Irish setter, Seamus, in an "air-tight container" (Romney's words) on top of the family station wagon. Well, despite Romney's self-assuredness that the dog would be fine, Seamus started having accidents as the no longer air-tight container began to leak. Even after the trauma of what happened, Romney hosed everything down and put the dog back in there for the rest of the trip.

We have seen reports that Seamus ran away once the family was in Canada.

On top of that, Newt Gingrich attacked Romney for speaking French. Given that Romney spent time in France as a Mormon missionary and has taken his family on vacation there, one would assume that Romney's French is better than George W. Bush's Spanish, and Romney would do just fine in Quebec and New Brunswick.

Newt Gingrich mentioned the elephant in the room (pun heavily intended) when he praised Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as "conservative and pro-American" after Gingrich's win in the South Carolina primary. Gingrich brought up pipelines, specifically the Keystone XL pipeline and the proposed pipeline that would carry oil from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean.

"Now, an American president who can create a Chinese-Canadian partnership is truly a danger to this country," said Gingrich, never one to be subtle in his remarks.

Speaker Gingrich, once 2 heartbeats away from being president, should know that referring to Canada's PM as "pro-American" doesn't go over well in Canada, even if it's true.

Diplomacy is crucial in being president but not always required in being House Speaker.

Other than representing a state that barely borders a Great Lake, Rick Santorum hasn't weighed in much on Canada, though you have to imgaine that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Santorum agree on way too many issues.

Unlike John McCain's 2008 running mate — okay, Sarah Palin — the reason Mitt Romney may not be able to name the number of times he has been to Canada is that there are so many of them. And the fact that Romney's father, George, was born in Mexico gives him complete NAFTA cred.

This isn't to say that Romney would make a good or bad president. However, in a Obama-Romney battle, both have a keen awareness of Canada.

GOP presidential debate spotlights Vancouver's rising real estate market

"Why is it that Vancouver is the fastest growing real estate market in the world today? They allow immigrants in legally and it lifts all boats. We need to focus as much on legal immigration."

Having Canada come up in a presidential candidates debate is extremely rare, despite the tight relationship between the two countries. Having Canada mentioned in a Republican debate is even more rare.

Of course, political followers might wonder how "Republican" former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is, but still, mentioning Canada, and specifically Vancouver's housing market, is still rather impressive.

Vancouver's housing market is through the roof, thanks to the influence of China within British Columbia's largest city. As much as I would love to live in Vancouver (or Canada in general), I do secretly worry how I would be able to afford to live there. Short of winning the lottery, I won't be buying in Vancouver.

Huntsman is more aware of China's influence, having served almost 2 years as U.S. Ambassador to China. The former governor also help China and Taiwan into the WTO while serving as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under George W. Bush and also served as United States Ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush.

Still, if potential Republican voters were paying attention to Huntsman (and that is debatable), it was a teachable moment (a term used by Huntsman's former boss, President Barack Obama).

Canada's housing market has been helped in great part because bank regulations weren't torn apart, as they were in the United States in the late 1990s. Toronto's housing market doesn't compare to Vancouver's, but no major U.S. city even comes close to Toronto's market today.

The deterioration of the U.S.-Canada relationship ties back to September 11, 2001

The United States and Canada have traditionally had as good a relationship between neighboring countries as any in the modern history of the planet Earth. While many columns will reflect back on the events of September 11, 2001 for its impact on the United States and international terrorism, that fateful date sparked huge changes in that previously long-standing friendship.

The relationship got an initial boost thanks to the generosity of Canadians. When flights were forced to land, many passengers found themselves unexpectedly in Canada, especially in Halifax and the Maritimes. Operation Yellow Ribbon helped out Americans, some of them for days, get through the crisis in a foreign country.

While those involved appreciated the warm generosity of Canadians, such was not the case within the powers of government (e.g., Bush's long-time snubbing of Canada). Though the majority of the attackers came from Saudi Arabia as well as the Middle East, Canada soon became a target for American security concerns. Falsehoods that people were coming across the border spread much faster than the actual truth.

What became slower than the truth was the speed of goods traveling from Canada into the United States. In a society with greed is king, perceived security triumphed over commerce.

Previous coverage:

Wikileaks proves U.S. distrust of Canada runs even deeper than previously thought

U.S.-Canada border issues escalate badly

The false suspicions of a terrorist threat coming from north of the border likely led to the Maher Arar kidnapping and torture. For those who don't remember (most Americans might not even know about this case), Maher Arar is a Canadian citizen flying back from Tunis back to Canada. When his plane landed briefly in New York City, Arar was detained and sent off to Syria to be tortured.

Let's not forget the case of then 15-year-old Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, who was captured after a battle in Ayub Kheyl, Afghanistan. Despite Khadr's age and Canadian citizenship, Khadr was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Khadr waited 8 years at Guantanamo Bay for a trial; his major charge was throwing a grenade, even without any physical proof. Khadr was finally sentenced last fall to serve another 8 years.

Then there was the war in Iraq. George W. Bush and British PM Tony Blair put tremendous pressure on Canadian PM Jean Chrétien to send Canadian troops to Iraq. Chrétien would have done so had the forces waited for the UN, but Bush and the coalition went at it alone.

Canada did send troops to Afghanistan and suffered substantial casualties and injuries (the country finally pulled out combat troops earlier this year), but Canada didn't get much credit for its effort.

Trade wasn't the only trouble at the border; tourism suffered greatly between the two countries thanks to ongoing increased security measures. Perhaps the days of naive travel, as has been traditional between the two countries, would have eventually disappeared, and passports is a sensible way to go. But tensions between the countries have led to much higher scrutiny for those wishing to visit the other country.

Canada has also felt a loss of sovereignty, ranging from giving information on Canadians to U.S. agencies to forcing high-fructose corn syrup on Canada. And it hasn't helped that the current Canadian PM, Stephen Harper, is so pro-American that he prefers watching American TV news to homegrown TV news.

The events of September 11, 2001 changed dramatically the way the United States looks at foreign policy. And Canada has been an unintentional victim of that American response. Acting as if we have no friends won't serve you too well as a nation; the United States needs all the friends it can get, and Canada is a great place to start.

President Barack Obama took a small symbolic gesture toward Canada in the week leading up to the anniversary, writing a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanking Canada for its help after the September 11 attack.

"In one of the darkest moments of our history, Canada stood by our side and showed itself to be a true friend," he wrote. "We remember with gratitude and affection how the people of Canada offered us the comfort of friendship and extraordinary assistance that day and in the following days by opening their airports, homes and hearts to us."

#1 in trade, tourism, and oil imports, Canada is vital to American needs. Would be nice if the United States can remember what life was like before September 11, 2001 and remember how important Canada is in their world. Not that we should go backward, but the United States will be better off going forward with Canada as a trusted friend.

Canadians have more opportunities for 'pursuit of happiness'

Do Canadians have more freedom than Americans, who live in the land of the free?

Americans would sharply disagree with that statement, but mostly out of ignorance.

I "pursue" this line of questioning in my latest column for my political analysis Web site, Democracy Soup.

Whichever country you call home, hope you are enjoying what freedoms you have this long weekend.