This is pretty interesting I think.
Like, Trump shit all over your closest neighbour, ally and trading partner, eroding a successful relationship unnecessarily, for four LONG years.
And now this millionaire is pissed he can’t cross to his palatial home near Vancouver Island so let’s get right to the attack ads! The worst of American bleeds across our border, just like illegal handguns. It feels like our biggest existential threat sometimes.
Ugh.
You guys still shitting on us. The reason the border is still closed and 80 and 90 year olds still can’t get their second shots is that you won’t release enough doses, while some states can’t even use the doses they have.
You’re attacking them for refusing to give shots they don’t have? And at the same time pointing out the US has a surplus?
This is off topic and an inappropriate nationalist attack in the wrong forum. Get off this immediately and stick to the topic of the ad.
RickJay
Moderator
I’m not sure what the topic of this thread is. Is it the difference in dates that the countries want the border open? Or is it that a Canadian company aired an American based ad? That Canadian news broadcasters covered the ad? Can you more clearly explain your OP? Id be willing to discuss this if I knew what your main point was, but I don’t want to draw a mod note for guessing wrong.
Is this a mod note? I’ve not seen a yellow post that isn’t a mod note or warning.
Yes, it’s a mod note. Hence the use of the mod color and the “Moderator” tag.
Sorry, I’m used to them actually saying mod note or warning in the text of the yellow part. Thanks for the answer.
Sorry OP, I wish you would start a new thread and flesh out your post.
(I’m not sure why a new thread is required, so I’ll just continue here.)
I find it somewhat reprehensible that an American style, full on, political attack ad is running here. Politicizing what is a health and safety issue, and why? So a billionaire can get access to his vacation home!
Canadians have had four years of watching Trump shit all over Canada US relations. We’ve watched as Americans have skirted border restrictions again and again. Lying about driving to Alaska so they can shop and party in BC, walking across the bridge entry points to skirt quarantines, etc. Time and again the government has had to address this crap.
And now we’re watching as the left/right conflict is being exploited and exacerbated by a guy who wants special access, because he’s rich and powerful.
The right will not fail to import the tactics they see succeeding in the US, into the Canadian political mainstream, and it’s disturbing to watch it happening and being powerless to stop it.
Watching the worst of American culture bleed into our politics is heartbreaking. Our fundament societal structures like quality public education, and universal healthcare are constantly under pressure from US capitalist giants looking for fresh markets to exploit. Of course they’d love to profit from monetization of those services.
Those are actual political issues though at least. This? This is a billionaire not getting special enough treatment. With no regard for what the long term cost of exploiting the existing political divide might be. Politicizing what is, at heart, a public health and safety issue.
We’ve had a front row seat watching your country be torn apart by these kind of politics.
It’s just hard to watch it come here, yknow?
I don’t understand the complaint. The guy wants the border reopened and starts an ad campaign that encourages that reopening. Disagree with him if you like, but this is political speech in the tradition of free speech and advocacy.
What this has to do with Trump and handguns is beyond me.
The Canadian government allowed him to buy the home and presumably collects property tax on it while denying him access to it or the ability to use it. I would be upset as well.
Again, what does Trump, handguns, education, health care, or fraud at the border crossing have to do with a guy who wants access to property that he has paid for and continues to pay for?
Attack ads are a reprehensible thing, playing to the lowest common denominator. Why are they used in elections? Because they work. But only to some degree. (I did not watch the ad.)
It would be naive to think attack ads would not work in Canada. They do - to a degree. The hilarious Letterkenny spoofing attack ads “Being President of the Ag Hall isn’t an entry level job. He’s just not ready. Nice hair, though.” shows their ridiculous side.
The billionaire has a point about using his home. I know Americans unable to visit dying relatives. There should be compassion but their should be quarantine.
But attack ads are not better than quiet diplomacy. They will not win the sympathy of Canadians, following the rules, many ambivalent to the US and happy to see the rules applied to the wealthy. This will backfire. Make the target more popular.
We’ve had negative attack ads in Canadian political campaigns for decades and decades, nor has it been just a conservative thing. I don’t understand how anyone could forget this stuff.
But this isn’t a political campaign, or electioneering. He’s not endorsing anyone or supporting an ideology. Just tastelessly pushing for his personal, highly entitled agenda.
I think that is an important distinction. While attack ads may well have a place in politics, this isn’t that, to my eyes.
This is a guy with deep pockets who thinks he should be an exception to the health and safety regulations that keep the border closed.
Yeah, we’ve had attack ads. But the worst level of nastiness is not equal to the US as far as I know. I’m sure there is plenty of unofficial sniping and computer stuff aimed at partisans which I would not care to see.
Of course “American style attack ads” is a loaded term. Which ad, shown in mainstream Canadian media, do you think is equivalent to the US? Sure, nebulous groups - Teachers for Equality, Concerned Families, Citizens For Environmental Excellence etc. support a candidate. None approaches even Letterkenny’s “piece of sh**” vehemence.
Canada did give us this beautiful moment:
To summarize that, what is the worst attack in that video?
Also, he’s not the whole point of the ad. It says right in the ad that similar ads are paid for by donations. Like the couple with the son, one in each country, that can’t see each other. The real problem is the lack of any progress on the idea of vaccination passports from most countries. And not just the little white paper card with a rubber stamp and a scrawled signature on it. There are many people, me included, that have been vaccinated for weeks and still can’t go anywhere. A vaccination card and a negative covid test before crossing a border should be mandatory, but I see no reason it wouldn’t work. Aren’t most Canadians and Americans pretty much isolating themselves and following mask rules anyway? I think we are about even on vax rates although I just can not understand the people that get the first shot and then skip the second. What the fuck is their game plan?
Oh, and thank you for making me partially agree with @UltraVires ! 
This is one of the weirdest things I see Canadians say on this board all the time. “oh, we’re Canadians, so we are polite.” It’s like they think the gulf between the two countries are so vast, we have nothing in common. Come on, 90+% of your population lives a couple of hundred miles of the border. In normal times, millions must cross the border each way, every day. Canadians watch American tv and movies, and(I think) you even had to pass a law making radio stations play a certain percent of Canadian music because American music dominated your airwaves. We share a hockey league and a baseball league, probably even curling leagues. You have more interaction with New Yorkers or Minnesotans than they have with Texans or Floridians. Hell the only way I can spot a Canadian for certain without talking to them for awhile, is their cigarette packs look different and the often travel in convoys of minivans/SUVs hauling U-Haul trailers so they bring back all the crap they come to the US to buy because it’s cheaper. 
But didn’t a group of your own Canadian citizens agree with him? I think Canadian tv can turn down any ad they like, no? They weren’t forced to run it, they just thought it was an ok ad and pocketed the money.
Please, please, tell me this was a real political ad. That looks like it was made in 1995 in a 12 year old’s basement using VHS tape and spliced together with scotch tape. Funniest political ad ever! Did he get re-elected? Did he pick up a nickname like Sam “I’ll kick your kids in the face if you don’t vote for me” Katz?
I was assuming he was joking, that’s not an attack ad at all. That’s a joke, son, I say that’s a joke!
@elbows , I understand you are pissed at the US for the Trump years, maybe even longer, but Trump is gone because over half of voting Americans were also pissed at him and wanted him gone. Just because some dumb shit that nobody has ever heard chose to put out some ads in Canada is no reason to go off on Americans. (I stopped listening after he mumbled about Biden having 14 months to fix this, like I said, dumb shit) Canadians accepted the ads, Canadians got paid for the ads and Canadians ran the ads. Maybe your grievances about this should be aimed at your own country, they could have stopped this in it’s tracks.
Yeah just to clarify, I just posted that ad because I thought it was funny.
But was it a real ad that actually played on tv? And it was very funny!
I don’t know. I think I originally saw it on John Stewart or Colbert or something so I think it actually was.