Canada’s Dangerous Obsession with American Politics: Time to Wake Up and Focus on Our Own Problems
By Arya Sadri
Opinions Editor
We love American politics. It’s flashy, chaotic, and more entertaining than any reality show—never running out of absurd twists. But this obsession has turned from a casual hobby into a an addiction, where Canadians are so fixated on the dumpster fire down south that we’ve completely lost sight of the burning issues in our own backyard. Our news cycle recycles American trash endlessly, dragging attention away from pressing problems that should be keeping us awake at night. From presidential debates to abortion rulings, we’re so locked into U.S. politics it’s embarrassing. And while we’re busy binge-watching the American political soap opera, we’ve imported its worst disease: toxic partisanship.
The U.S.’s vicious political tribalism has invaded Canada, and it’s poisoning the way we talk about politics. Forget about nuance or real debate. Now, it is about picking a side, reciting party-approved talking points, and digging your trenches so deep there no way out. Compromise? That’s a thing of the past. Today, we just scream at each other and call it politics.
Take a look at Question Period in Parliament—its basically a shouting contest where no real work gets done. Every politician is too busy trying to score their viral moment or land their 20-second soundbite on the evening news. It’s not about solving problems; it’s about putting on a show.
And guess what? Canadians are eating it up, just like we do with U.S. politics.
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has mastered this game, leaning into American-style populism to rally his base. His playbook? Economic populism, anti-elite rants, and tearing into government overreach—the same themes that dominate conservative movements in the U.S. Poilievre isn’t alone. Trudeau himself has built much of his image around being the anti-Trump, painting himself as the global face of progressive liberalism. But this imported political theatre is pushing us toward the same toxic, divisive environment that’s tearing the U.S. apart.
Meanwhile, real issues that are wrecking Canadian lives go ignored. Housing affordability is a joke in cities like Toronto and Vancouver. Our healthcare system is on life support, and Indigenous communities are still being denied basic human rights. Yet, instead of confronting these crises head-on, we’re glued to the spectacle of American dysfunction like it is our own.