As we, in Canada, move into the hyperbole of another election campaign, I decided to drag out an old bit of political paper issued by the Progressive Conservatives in response to the earlier Diefenbuck that had been created and distributed by the Liberals in 1962. Brings back a few memories of years long ago.
As the Chinese governments foreign reserves pass the US$1trillion mark, Canada’s dollar flirts with the US$1.05 level, and many central governments in Europe struggle with their own financial problems, I find it interesting to compare some of the arguments of Canadian politics of 1962 with what is going on around us every day. In 1962, the Canadian government of the day had decided to devalue the Canadian Dollar versus the U.S. dollar and peg that new currency at a fixed rate of CAN$1 = 92.5 U.S. cents. In the late 70’s real estate agents and bankers told me emphatically that interest rates would never reach 6% in my lifetime. Thank goodness, I lived long enough to see them drop even further than that!
What has happened since 1962. The price of gold is no longer US$35 per ounce, the Canadian dollar is no longer pegged to the US currency and has fallen below 68 cents to the US dollar for at least one stretch since then, the Euro has been created with all of its benefits and woes, and the Chinese Yuan is occasionally being touted as the new reserve currency of the world.
Sorry, I have no idea what will happen over the next 40 years. I have only one vote and everyone out there wants it!
Bring on the election rhetoric. Should be a wonderful few weeks for those who like to believe everything that they hear :-).
Traveling to Canada – Don’t worry, regardless of what politicians in Canada might say over the next two weeks, Spring will indeed come again and flowers will bloom and birds will sing and Canada will continue to be a great place to visit.
IMHO the end is not nigh, despite what some politicians might say about voting for someone else :-).
BTW – The idea of a Diefenbuck was created by folks at the Winnipeg Free Press and used by the Liberals to advertise the 7 1/2 cent drop in the value of the dollar from its $1.05 high in 1960. Plenty of Diefenbucks were handed out by Liberals during the election campaign but I unfortunately don’t have a copy of the original Diefenbuck. That particular election campaign ended in the Progressive Conservative party losing seats but still hanging on to form a minority government.
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