I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve built a successful business . . . yes, in Canada! Being an entrepreneur is not my identity but rather a skill-set, a qualification that enables me—with some experience at my back—to propose a vision and path forward for our dear Canada. A lot of ink has been spent on the current “crisis” that our fear-mongering media likes to call a Tariff War with our neighbours, and yes, our allies. Once again, if your only source of information on the subject of tariffs were the mainstream media, you might reasonably conclude that Canada is doomed. How could we possibly survive? What does the future hold for us? Fortunately, we have other sources of news and perspective.

Let me give you a brief account from my business experience. In 2008, the year the housing market crashed (we weren’t expected to survive that either, ironically), the pundits and analysts were lined up to spell doom for everything associated with houses—building, selling, etc.

I make high-quality kitchen cabinet doors—this looked like it was going to be bad. Soon we saw local businesses go into reaction—workplace hours were being cut, staff subsidized, and the usual bracing for impact that big governments love to swoop in and provide relief for. Our saviours!

As a small company, we noticed a trend: out-of-work cabinet workers went home, swept out their garages, and got started on that kitchen for Aunt Betty that they never had time to build. And they were coming to me for their door needs. We saw an opportunity. We quickly produced a moderate flyer and distributed it to the employees of the slow companies for their garage projects. Soon the word spread and we got busy . . . very busy. The result of seeing events as a business opportunity rather than a crisis was that the year 2008 became our best year to that point rather than the expected grit-your-teeth worry fest. Simply, entrepreneurs pivot, they are agile, they recognize opportunities and they pounce.

Those without the ability to see opportunities and strike simply reacted, held out their cap for assistance to survive the crisis and hoped daddy-government would choose them when it picked the winners and losers.

We Canadians can view the opportunity that’s been dropped into our lap and find innovative solutions or we can wallow in the muck of self pity and get our hands out for our government to notice our individual plight and rescue us.

We have an opportunity knocking at our national doors!

Let’s all recognize that the president of the USA is only interested in being the leader of his country. The interests of America are his interests, nothing more, nothing less. He has challenged his country to pivot, and they will. The United States is full of opportunists, good and bad. Those who are stuck in ruts will fail, but from their wreckage will arise new vigour and zeal.

The same can be done in our beloved country. It has started in a feeble but sound, “Buy Canadian” motto. But the truly innovative will respond with “Manufacture Canadian”.

If the leaders of our country took this opportunity that we have been given and cast a vision for Canadian entrepreneurs to rise up and respond with a vision for building truly Canadian businesses, Canada could rise higher than ever before.

OR, we can wallow in a sea of self pity and bemoan that the “bad orange man” has destroyed our country.

What are you going to do? Do you have an idea that just might be the seed of a new Canadian business? Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes—a symbol of renewal and the ability to overcome adversity—are you going to pivot, recognize an opportunity and pounce?

The CHP, with our strong free market policies, is well positioned to provide just that message. Let’s empower our merchant and manufacturing class, cast a wide horizon and unleash our potential. A revival of Canadian resilience and resourcefulness and the production—right here in Canada—of the basic products we all need . . . is long overdue. We are Canadian and . . . we’ve got this!

We in the Christian Heritage Party are entrepreneurs and ambassadors in the political realm, thinking “outside the box” to re-imagine a Canada thriving and succeeding in a world of adversity. Join CHP Canada today.