The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America's Shadow Review

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The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America's Shadow ReviewThe Canadian Century is an inter-institute effort by Brian Lee Crowley (MacDonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy), Jason Clemens (Pacific Research Institute), and Niels Veldhuis (Fraser Institute).
The book represents the first output of the MacDonald-Laurier Institute's Canadian Century project and serves as a blueprint of sorts for future writing projects (cf. p. 10, 148, 172-173). The introductory nature of the book is evidenced by its treatment of broad topics (e.g., taxation, entitlement programs, trade policy) in a small space (173 pages); topics that demand much deeper treatment.
Though there are three authors to the book, it really has Crowley''s fingerprints all over it. The Canadian Century works within the paradigm set out in Crowley's previous book, Fearful Symmetry, which was released last fall and promptly sold out in three weeks. The paradigm to which I refer is basically as follows: Canada was founded on principles and values of liberty realized in small government and personal responsibility that were interrupted by a 30-year period from the 1960s-1990s of unprecedented growth in government. There was a "'big-government zeitgeist"' not only in Canada but across the Western world during this era (p. 146). An overweening state was mistakenly thought to be the foundation of prosperity instead of the true cornerstone, individual freedom.
What sets this book apart from Crowley's previous work is the main premise that operates within this increasingly familiar paradigm, to wit, "'when Canada follows the master plan that [Sir Wilfrid Laurier] envisaged, its people prosper and it is a magnet for the best that the world has to offer." p. 145)
It was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who said in 1904 that "'the twentieth century would be filled by Canada." (p. 21) Canada was economically prosperous at the turn of the 20th century and according to Crowley et al., Laurier had a plan to ensure that this prosperity would endure. That plan included: (1) individual freedom/responsibility, (2) small government, light taxes, and fiscal discipline, (3) self-confident engagement with the United States, and (4) free trade (cf. pp. 25-39). Of utmost importance is Laurier's belief that taxes must be lower in Canada than in the United States so as to afford Canada a competitive advantage in the continental economy of which the Canadian economy is a part along with the American economy.
The Canadian Century is really a brief economic history that details the unfortunate circumstances that led to the failure of Laurier's vision for Canada in the 20th century. Canada did not become an economic beacon to the world due in large part to the economic consequences of the world wars, the associated global economic depression, and the 'thirty-year love affair with an aggressively expanding state' (p. 145). Perhaps Canada's lowest point is best represented by John Fund's remark in the Wall Street Journal in 1995 in which he refers to Canada as an honorary member of the Third World in terms of the 'unmanageability of its debt problem.' (p. 68)
There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel. The authors argue that Laurier's vision was not wrong, only off by about 75 years. Crowley et al. refer to the late 1980s and early 1990s as the 'Redemptive Decade' in which significant reforms took place at the federal and provincial levels that marked a return to the Laurier Plan. These reforms included a down-sizing of government, positive changes to taxation, and balanced budgets. Some of the heroes during the Redemptive Decade and beyond include Saskatchewan's NDP government, the conservative government's of Alberta and Ontario, the Mulroney government (for the Free Trade Agreement and the replacement of the MST with the GST), and the Chretien-Martin government (for 11 consecutive balanced budgets and debt reduction).
Though Crowley et al. write from a free-market perspective with little interest in Keynesianism, which they refer to as a "'naive faith"' (p. 44), the book showcases contributions from federal and provincial parties of all political stripes that helped bring Canada back to its roots.
Throughout the book, Crowley et al. constantly make reference to work, savings, investment, and entrepreneurship (p. 69). Whether taxes, deficits, or debts are in view, they each have an impact on the aforementioned aspects of the economy. The challenge for the Canadian government is to behave fiscally in such a manner and to structure taxes such that there are incentives for the growth of these aspects of the economy.
Not a lot of space is devoted to the American situation, but enough that the reader gets a general sense for the fiscal nightmare that exists south of the border right now. Given the fact of the continental economy that exists in North America, Canada will feel the impact of the American economy in a big way if the United States does not mend its fiscal ways. Until then, however, the authors argue that a return to the Laurier Plan ' where Canada is a competitive place for Americans to invest ' would be a huge opportunity for prosperity in Canada.
Those who believe in bigger government will likely find plenty to wince at in this book including the arguments against corporate capital taxes, personal income tax, and the arguments for the entry of the private sector into healthcare and more cooperation/trade with the United States among other things. Those with a predilection for small government, however, will find in The Canadian Century a breath of fresh air not to mention elements of a prophet's message in which the Canadian people are called back to the former ways from which they have deviated with a promise of prosperity if they do:
"This book tells of a great Canadian success story, one that is little known and even less appreciated by Canadians.
"Through the wisdom and foresight of some of our greatest early leaders, and especially Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canadians inherited a plan for the future based on deep insights into our origins, our character, our circumstances, and our practical opportunities. Laurier promised us that the twentieth century would be ours if we had the discipline to follow it and the imagination to see where it would lead.
"And indeed, when we have followed that plan, we have prospered. When we shrugged off the self-restraint on which the plan was premised ' when we binged on debt and expensive and poorly designed social programs and self-indulgent nationalism ' we lost our way.
"The story told here is of how Canadians in all regions, in all political parties, woke up to our predicament and began to rediscover the wisdom in what we had so lightly discarded. Free trade, the GST, provincial and federal reforms of taxes, spending, and borrowing ' all of these were elements of that reawakening.
"These good beginnings, however, were only that. People in all regions and of all political persuasions have equally participated in the past few years in a dissipation of the momentum created in the Redemptive Decade. That's the thing about redemption: it is not a permanent state and the possibility of falling afresh is ever-present. The work of putting Canada firmly back on the path Laurier sketched out for us remains unfinished, yet the opportunity is doubled by America's confusion and loss of direction.
"The question now is whether Canadians will take up Laurier's challenge and finish the job." (p. 173)
I hope against hope that Canadians will cherish and work toward a small and smart government so that the 21st century belongs to us.The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America's Shadow Overview

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