By Alexander Brown
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On April 17, 1967, my grandfather Colin M. Brown, a man I never had the pleasure of meeting, began taking out full-page ads in Canadian newspapers, to warn the public of Canada’s growing propensity for war-time spending, with no Vietnam to be found.
“All federal political parties, in their race for votes, seem prepared to make Canadians, in all walks of life, the heaviest taxed people in the world,” he wrote, before closing with, “If you share my alarm, your support is welcome.”
From there, Canada’s pioneering small-c conservative non-profit, the National Citizens Coalition, was born. In the decades since, the group has presided over political battles won and lost, helped alter the landscape of election advertising in this great nation capable of so much more, and even had the Right Hon. Stephen Harper darken its door as president, in the interim period before his near-decade of far-more-responsible-stewardship of the nation’s finances and interests.
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If only my grandfather knew then the breadth of his achievement, and the ripple effects his ad would carry in the years far beyond his passing.
And yet, without ever knowing the man, I know that he’d be appalled by just how prophetic his concerns ended up being.
That propensity for reckless war-time spending continued, while our military was laid bare.
Canada’s GDP per capita cannot compete with lowly Mississippi.
We have an environment hostile to entrepreneurs, energy providers, and innovation, unlike the Western world has ever seen.
We have legalized disorder in our streets, the trial balloon of socialized ‘Universal Basic Income,’ veritable ‘puppy mills’ of foreign students and hand-waved PR recipients flooding our crumbling institutions, two entire generations are at risk of never owning homes, and the Liberal government is offering suicide in place of timely healthcare.
Every day, these problems fester like an open wound. Every day, our federal Liberal government, and even risk-averse Conservatives, offer band-aid solutions to problems of too many people, too few services, and far too much red tape.
It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that without a major course-correction, and soon, Canada may find itself on the outside looking in at the Developed World.
These really are the stakes heading into the beginning of the most important election campaign of our lives. If my grandfather were alive today, he’d be doing all that he could to fight these matters of managed decline. To best honour his legacy, I ask that you join me, in whichever way you best see fit.
Get involved with less-ruinous campaigns. Support your favourite writers or more independent media outlets. Chip into third-party groups, and share your wholly common-sense ideals with friends and family, without fear of reprisal.
If it took a village to break a nation, it’s going to take a village to fix it.
If you share my alarm, your support is welcome.
Alexander Brown is the director of communications for the National Citizens Coalition, and the proprietor of the best-selling ‘Acceptable Views’ newsletter on Substack.
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