As the Paris 2024 Olympics draw to a close, Canadians are basking in the reflected glory of a stellar performance by our athletes, already surpassing our record of 24 medals at the 2020(21) Tokyo Games with one day still to go. Many individual performances have also exceeded expectations. Likely none is more impressive than our stunning and unexpected gold medal finish in the men’s 4×100 m relay, an accomplishment that has made sprinter Andre De Grasse the most decorated Canadian Olympian in history, an honour he shares with 2016 Rio swimmer Penny Oleksiak. Many of these athletes, and especially those like De Grasse who were successful in winning a medal, have said the most important lesson they learned as they prepared was the importance of perseverance in the face of difficulties.
But there is another, perhaps even more important lesson to be learned from these Olympic Games, one inadvertently highlighted by American Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Speaking at the first rally after announcing her choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, Harris cheerfully declared “only in America” could “two middle class kids” from such different backgrounds vie for the White House together.[i] Really?
Obviously the Horatio Alger myth is alive and well in the United States, but one would expect better of Ms. Harris, who in most other ways is an impressive and hopefully felicitous choice as Joe Biden’s successor. It is difficult to know where to begin to dissect this absurd claim. To begin with, it is perhaps very instructive that she refers to herself and Mr. Walz as middle class. Apparently no one would expect someone from an American ghetto to reach such dizzying heights, and with good reason.
At the same time, if economic/class origin is what Harris is referring to, it is immediately obvious that she is mistaken. Take, for example, the current president of Russia, who is living proof that even someone from a St. Petersburg slum, raised in a small “communal” apartment with other working class families, could succeed in the former Soviet Union (an autocratic dictatorship) by becoming a street-wise brawler who fought his way into the KGB and then rose to the top through a combination of violence and corruption.
Clearly this is not what Ms. Harris had in mind. Evidently she was thinking of the merit-based rewards promised in a liberal democracy, where equality of opportunity is a key value. But here, too, the U.S. is hardly the pre-eminent role model, especially over the past few decades. With one of the most limited social safety nets of any G7 country and even fewer programs to level the playing field by promoting equality of opportunity, the success of the disadvantaged or underrepresented (read: discriminated against) in America is extremely limited, regardless of ability, and most often is the result of some combination of an individual’s truly exceptional ability, sheer determination and luck. Someone like Ms. Harris herself.
This is not to say that America does not offer many of the benefits of liberal democracy to its citizens. But it is important to note that several other western democratic states do so as well, and sometimes better, especially in terms of representation, yet Ms. Harris appears oblivious to this fundamental reality.
Which brings us to Canada.
Needless to say, in comparison with the United States the Canadian social safety net, both historically and currently, (although hardly perfect), is far superior. And in recent years, under the Trudeau Liberal government, a second tier of social support architecture, including the Canada Child Benefit, a national child care plan and an emerging national dental plan, have been introduced that have raised more than 500,000 children out of poverty and enabled working class families to join the middle class. [ii] Indeed, prominent conservative analyst and Liberal critic John Ibbitson has actually highlighted, albeit disapprovingly, the numerous improvements to the social safety net and other progressive policies adopted under the current Liberal government to level the playing field.[iii]
Then there is the dramatic contrast between the internationally recognized competence of the Canadian governmental approach to handling the global pandemic and the disastrous absence of governmental leadership in the United States, a contrast that led to one of the highest fatality rates in the world in that country, and one of the lowest in Canada.[iv]
Both Canada and the United States have been immigrant receiver countries of the New World, a phenomenon which has led to significant racial and ethnocultural diversity in their population. However in the American case, the ability to integrate newcomers has been increasingly limited, as evidenced by the partisan and frequently violent disputes over how to manage the southern border and so-called “undocumented” individuals. And this relatively recent development is, of course, in addition to the longstanding issue of racial discrimination against black Americans.
Canada, meanwhile, also continues to be a top destination for individuals from around the world. More than 40% of Canadians are now first or second generation immigrants. But unlike the United States, (or for that matter the UK, as recent riots there have lamentably demonstrated), and despite the current post pandemic economic difficulties, Canadians continue to be overwhelmingly welcoming of immigrants. While some concern has been expressed recently about the number of immigrants arriving each year, primarily due to uncertainty about the ability to adequately house and otherwise accommodate these large numbers, there is still an overwhelming belief that immigrants are a positive addition to society. As an extensive Environics Institute report on public opinion about immigration[v] demonstrates, “Canadians are now much less likely than ever to say that too much immigration represents a threat to the country’s culture and values.” In addition, “there has been no change in how Canadians feel about immigrants themselves, how they integrate and what they contribute to society.” In fact, “the public is much more likely to say that newcomers make their own communities a better place rather than a worse one.”[vi]
Canada’s ability to effectively integrate newcomers into the fabric of Canadian society has long been recognized internationally. In large part this has been accomplished through a comprehensive network of government programs and services that have served as a role model for more recent immigrant-reception countries in Europe, programs that are largely lacking in the United States.
Not surprisingly, the result of successful integration has been a high degree of representation of racial and ethnocultural minorities in virtually all aspects of Canadian society. From the appointment of individuals of Ukrainian and Haitian origin as Governors-General, to the widespread presence of diversity in the political sphere and the judiciary as well as national media and business communities, Canada’s image as a successful pluralistic, multicultural as well as bilingual society is well established on the international stage.[vii]
Put another way, Kamala Harris would do well to consider the lessons from Canada, (a country where she once lived), before claiming that the United States is the only country in which she could conceivably have become a presidential contender.
Which brings us back to the Olympics. If ever a snapshot of successful pluralism existed, it is surely the images of the many athletes representing Canada at Paris 2024. As the photos in the following link demonstrate, they represent the best of Canadian athletes, but also the best in terms of liberal democracy. https://olympic.ca/team-canada-roster/
[i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wST5FODDmZU
[ii] https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/07/20/families-get-boosted-canada-child-benefit-through-sizable-cost-of-living-adjustment/; https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/child-care.html
[iii] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-it-is-too-easy-to-forget-how-transformative-a-prime-minister-justin/
[iv] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60380317
[v] https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/focus-canada-fall-2023/focus-canada-fall-2023—canadian-public-opinion-about-immigration-refugees—final-report.pdf?sfvrsn=75312743_2
[vi] https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/focus-canada-fall-2023/focus-canada-fall-2023—canadian-public-opinion-about-immigration-refugees—final-report.pdf?sfvrsn=75312743_2
[vii] https://www.international.gc.ca/country_news-pays_nouvelles/2018-03-06-germany-allemagne.aspx?lang=eng
