The Laurentian Elite

Not long ago, I ran across the term "Laurentian Elite" in the context of contemporary Canada. It turns out there's a Wikipedia entry:

The Laurentian elite, also referred to as the Laurentian Consensus, is a Canadian political term used to refer to individuals in the upper class of society who live along the St. Lawrence River and watershed in major Central Canadian cities such as Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, an area which represents a significant portion of Canada’s population. The term has been used to describe the belief that a general governing political consensus existed in Canada due to the influence of the Laurentian elite from Confederation until the early twenty-first century.

The term is generally attributed to John Ibbitson[.]

. . . Ibbitson described the Laurentians as "the political, academic, cultural, media and business elites" of central Canada who were responsible for shaping Canadian identity. He argued that Laurentians viewed Canada as "a fragile nation" kept together by the federal government but protected from the United States of America.

The entry goes on to say the Laurentian Elite is generally connected to the Liberal Party, but the 2011 election, in which Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada won a majority, is regarded as a turning point in Canadian politics. However, the Liberals returned to power in 2015 and have retained it ever since, returning to a full majority governmenmt in just this past week's elections. It is thought that Mark Carney was able to exploit traditional anti-Americanism via the trade war with Trump to do this. But let's put this in context:

In an address to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa some 80 years ago, President Harry Truman declared, “Canada and the United States have reached the point where we no longer think of each other as ‘foreign countries.’ We think of each other as friends, as peaceful and cooperative neighbors on a spacious and fruitful continent.”

Since that press conference, US-Canadian relations have taken a quantum leap backward and are now at their lowest ebb since the War of 1812.

Let's go back to my post here on August 25, when I discussed Canada's strategy in the incipient trade war. I cited Chrome AI mode:

The Ontario provincial government launched a television ad campaign in U.S. border markets invoking the legacy of Ronald Reagan to criticize modern protectionism. By using a conservative icon, the ad specifically targets right-leaning and moderate American voters, warning that tariffs on Canadian goods will ultimately hurt American consumers and destroy local automotive and agricultural jobs.

The Impact: These ads have directly provoked the White House, with President Trump publicly condemning them as "foreign-funded propaganda" at campaign rallies.

How is this going? The video embedded above suggests that the Canadian psyop has been overwhelmed with memes. At 0:49:

"When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade . . . we can have those discussions." Fresh off his three by-election wins, of course Mark Carney's ready to come back to the trade table, but he wants President Trump and the Americans to stop bullying him. Stop making memes! Well, you knbow what happens when you ask the internet to stop making memes? Well, they start actually making more memes. Oh, boy.

He then posts a succession of memes like the one below:

I'm not sure if the traditional Canada of the Laurentian Elite can survive this, and let's not ignore that the tariff threat to Canada is also existential. If the Canadian establishment is portrayed this way from south of the border -- and let's keep in mind that there are Canadians who find this entertaining as well -- it's hard to avoid thinking Canada's existence, at least as it once thought of itself -- is indeed under threat.