Caught in the Crossfire: Canada's China, India, and US Dilemma

 Saskatchewan got hooked on China importing canola like a rockstar gets hooked on nose candy. Farmers saw their $13 billion industry, half of Canada’s canola output, snort $3 billion a year from Beijing’s market. Politicians - Scott Moe and his Prairie posse - saw big money, hyping jobs and growth while banking political gold. But like any junkie, Saskatchewan has learned the dealer’s ruthless nature.

 In 2019, after Canada arrested Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou, China banned canola, costing farmers over $1 billion. Meanwhile, China is pushing their sleek BYD and Nio EVs into Canada, and Ontario’s homegrown auto industry, thirsting to sell Ford F-250s to canola-rich Saskatchewan farmers, can’t compete.

 Canada has got an Ontario and Saskatchewan problem now - families always have to deal with the problems created by junkies. China is playing a vicious game. Their EVs, backed by $400 billion in subsidies, are flooding markets - BYD sold 3 million vehicles last year, Nio is climbing fast. Ontario’s $16 billion auto sector, employing 100,000 in plants like Ford’s Oakville or Stellantis in Windsor, faces a bloodbath. Saskatchewan’s farmers, flush with canola cash, crave those Ontario-made F-250s to haul grain, but China’s cheaper EVs threaten the truck sales Ontario’s workers need.

 Worse, from a policing and security intelligence view, Chinese EVs gather data 24/7 - when, where, how long, and who - tracking communications, locations, margins, volumes, and intellectual property rights. This endangers all Canadian industries, from tech startups to mining firms, leaking trade secrets and competitive edges to Beijing. Saskatchewan’s 40,000 canola farmers know the economic pain: 2019 showed how fast $3 billion in exports can vanish when China flexes. The vise tightens. China’s Polar Silk Road, with Arctic shipping routes and research stations, threatens Canada’s northern sovereignty. Their tech - EV software, potential 5G backdoors - screams security risk. But Canada is caught in a 3-way trap.

 Diversifying canola to India could break China’s grip, but reports, like the 2023 assassination of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar, point to Indian operatives killing Canadians on Canadian soil - trading one devil for another. Then there is the U.S., our so-called ally, and the US seems intent on taking our critical minerals from Canada north in order to make Elon Musk and the gang happy. From the Ring of Fire to Nunavut’s deposits, America is eyeing Canada’s lithium and cobalt to fuel Tesla’s batteries, leaving Canada’s industries high and dry. Call out China’s human rights abuses - Uyghurs, Hong Kong - and Beijing’s trade bans hit like canola in 2019. Box out Chinese EVs, and Ontario’s F-250 plants and Saskatchewan’s fields suffer. Stay silent, and Canada is a maple leaf doormat. Saskatchewan’s politicians, high on canola cash, should’ve seen China’s leash. Farmers, craving new F-250s, didn’t push for safer markets. Ontario’s auto giants, banking on truck sales, didn’t brace for China’s EV invasion - or its spying. Canada has got a family mess: two junkie provinces dragged down by foreign predators.

 The fix takes spine. Diversify canola exports, but vet India carefully - Canada can’t swap Beijing’s threats for New Delhi’s. Subsidize Ontario’s auto sector to keep F-250s rolling, or mine the Ring of Fire before the U.S. grabs it. Ban Chinese EVs with data risks, as Australia is eyeing. Build Arctic bases, ships, maybe go nuclear to flex some teeth. Saskatchewan’s farmers and Ontario’s workers deserve better than being pawns.

 To truly insulate ourselves from these trade threats, imagine a Canada with 100 million citizens. With our vast natural resources, a larger domestic market could absorb more of our agricultural output and manufactured goods, lessening our reliance on volatile international partners. To achieve this, however, Canada must be willing to grow its population and, crucially, make significant changes to housing policy.

 Provincial capitals and city halls, in both urban and rural areas, must be compelled to remove 100% of all 4-plex exclusion zones. This densification is essential to accommodate a larger population without unsustainable and expensive sprawl, creating the domestic demand needed for true economic sovereignty.

 Time to clean up. Saskatchewan’s golden fields and Ontario’s truck plants aren’t just jobs - they’re Canada’s future. Quit chasing Beijing's cash, block the spying EVs, guard those northern critical minerals from the US, and expand Indian trade but keep it on leash, and lastly, remember,  ELBOWS UP.