Braid: Maybe EU and U.S. should join Canada. This country works better

Is Canada the most civilized, functional country in the western world?

Maybe so. The competition looks more pathetic by the day. From America to Europe, nations are plagued by disorder, riots and threats to democracy.

The choice was to stay in Canada or have a full referendum on separation.

Emotions run hot. Insults and lies fly on social media. Some campaign signs have been stolen or vandalized. A campaign bus window was shattered.

But in the streets and at the polling stations — 1,400 of them — democracy holds firm.

There hasn’t been a single report of disruption or violence over weeks of special balloting and advance polls, up to this writing Monday.

Stay and Leave campaigners sometimes demonstrated close to each other.

There have been no brawls, no riots, no destruction.

Elections Alberta gets nasty phone calls. Some officials have been threatened.

In general, though, workers are treated with respect.

The outfit comes in for a lot of heat but there’s no widespread assumption that it’s crooked.

Premier Danielle Smith poses a series of questions that many consider purely political and opportunistic.

How do people deal with the anger?

They go out and vote in droves, in the same lineups as separatists.

When the stakes are high, Albertans still do old-fashioned democracy.

When or if the separatists lose, some will cry foul. They’ll say it’s all crooked. Very few will believe them.

Quebec’s recent election campaign saw theft of signs. One man was arrested, allegedly for assaulting a police officer.

But the vote went smoothly there, too, ending with the election of a separatist government.

Few if any election issues are more emotional and divisive than separatism.

And yet, two votes related to independence in this country haven’t brought riots or disorder.

Those are positive signs of a nation that remains united around basic democratic principles.

(A far more serious Canadian problem is widespread antisemitism and attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions.)

Now, compare this to the United States, where a rogue president threatens martial law if mid-term elections turn against him.

Donald Trump constantly claims any negative election is rigged. In 2021, he personally tried to get an official in Georgia to “find” votes for him.

The president wants to overturn democracy and replace it with autocratic rule. He tries to jail political opponents.

A national crisis doesn’t get more serious than that.

The Trumpian U.S. is a boiling cauldron of hatred that seems on the verge of civil war.

In Europe, riots and destruction plagued a dozen countries on the weekend — especially France, where the damage was catastrophic after a half-million people took to the streets.

Paris was the epicentre, but riots also occurred in Marseille, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Rennes, Nice, Angers, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lille and Limoges (where flames destroyed the 150-year-old town hall.)

Lesser rioting and damages were reported in Grenoble, Avignon, Montpellier and Valence.

Think of that in Canada — violent riots and massive destruction at the same time in 14 cities.

For all our problems, that is unimaginable.

Serious rioting also occurred in Italy, Belgium and Albania.

It’s no wonder Canada is admired these days. In one poll, we were the most popular country worldwide. The U.S. was one of the least popular.

When even separatism doesn’t crack society wide open, a country is in pretty good shape.

Prime Minister Mark Carney wants alliances with the European Union.

The way things looks, they should beg for alliances with Canada.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

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