“Welcome back to Dispelling the Rumours and Managing Disinformation, where facts slap fiction in the face before breakfast.”
So, Mark Carney once invested in American oil and gas. Scandal! Someone sound the national anthem in reverse and burn his toque! Or—hear me out—maybe we all take a collective breath and admit that unless you’ve got every dime locked into a GIC at a credit union in Hanna, you might not be the patriotic investor you think you are.
Let’s get real. In the pre-Trump, pre-apocalypse, somewhat-functioning-democracy version of the United States, investing in American companies wasn’t controversial—it was basic common sense. You know, before the U.S. decided to cosplay as a failing empire and we all had to start checking our news apps with one eye closed.
And while we’re on the topic, how many Canadians actually know where their investments are? Like, really know. Because unless you’ve got your RRSP in a shoebox under your bed labeled “100% Maple Syrup Stocks,” there’s a good chance you have exposure to U.S. markets. Apple? Amazon? Microsoft? Hello? These aren’t headquartered in Winnipeg.
Let’s also not forget that most of us don’t sit down and build our investment portfolios from scratch like Gordon Gekko (if you know you know) with a Canadian flag. We have advisors, pension funds, index funds—and those funds? They go global, baby. Including our dear neighbours to the south, with whom we share a border, a trillion-dollar trade relationship, and about seven Tim Hortons franchises in Buffalo.
So yeah, Carney invested in U.S. energy. Big whoop. He also ran the Bank of Canada, led the Bank of England, and tried to keep the global economy from going full Mad Max. He’s basically the adult in the room while everyone else is arguing over what brand of maple syrup counts as “true north.”
Let’s stop pretending this is a scandal and admit what this really is: a very selective outrage party thrown by people whose own TFSAs are probably 30% American tech and 10% “wait, I thought Tesla was Canadian.”
Nancy's Notes 