Lessons are abound for how Democrats can both appear patriotic and govern from the left- look at Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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Nationalism has long been a calling-card of the centre-right and far right in western democracies. Calling those on the centre-left and the far left “unpatriotic ” in the US or “ashamed of Canada” north of the border or implying a softness on race and ethnicity in European democracies is a standard campaign tactic from the right.

Enter Mark Carney and “progressive nationalism,” as I am now dubbing it.

As a Central Banker, Carney has a unique understanding of the economy and economic factors. Succeeding Justin Trudeau who made it easy for conservatives to attack him for being “anti-Canadian” was never going to be easy but Carney has it figured out. Embrace economics and unite Canadians feeling uneasy because of the megalomaniacal behavior of Donald Trump.

Having served as the Governor of the Bank of England in the time period when Tory rule of the UK permitted the buying up of the country by American venture capitalists, private equity and hedge funds, Carney had an eyewitness seat to the UK going from having an independent economy to traveling the road to potentially becoming a US vassal state for all intents-and-purposes.

That’s why he is uniquely equipped to see that Canada must take Donald Trump’s bombastic claims about a “51st State” seriously, and Canada must be prepared to take control of its own destiny. So what does this new progressive nationalism entail?

1. Government can be the mechanism to assert national interest and protect the nation from predatory forces whether internal or external.
2. Ideological boundaries are meaningless- Centre-Left leadership is about national values and not niche ideological issues championed by the left.
3. In a world where anti-democratic fascist forces are spreading and Trump-adjacent figures or Trump-imitators are popping up everywhere it is the centre-left that protects the people.

Read the rest of my piece at 11th Province