Interview with Kenneth, One of the Mentors of This Blog

A Senior’s Perspective on Canada's Political Landscape, Leadership, and Societal Changes.

Born in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Ken is a conservative senior living in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Kenneth taught me, a European immigrant, the spirit of this country. I am proud to be a citizen of this great country, just like him.

I called Kenneth shortly after 7 PM on January 7th, 2024.

AI was used to formulate the questions, correct the grammar, and organize the conversation.

🍁 Rcentrism: You moved from Nova Scotia to Ontario in 1963, and you previously mentioned the availability of good paying jobs. However, times have changed. As someone leaning towards conservatism, do you agree or disagree with some voices that say achieving financial stability and private property ownership today isn't as easy? Is it a genuine struggle or perceived as mere complaint?

Kenneth: I shop for groceries and know the apartment management industry well. Between 1960-1970, a family with 2 kids could handle life. Now, I'm not sure how a family with 2 kids manages. With $30,000 back then, you could be comfortable. I can agree it's much harder today. I see people moving from big cities here, as property here is somewhat affordable. Some areas are untouchable like in Toronto.

🍁 Rcentrism: Do you notice similarities between Canada and the United States? Particularly, the widening gap between the public and political elites leading to the ascent of populist leaders. Is this divide mainly due to economic differences or more?

Kenneth: It has been my experience that anything which happens in the United States, good or bad, finds its way here. When someone reads in the media that CEOs are making so much more than regular people, like a recent news report here, that angers the regular person, it does not matter where they stand with politics.

🍁 Rcentrism: How do you respond to progressive activists questioning your Conservative party support?

Kenneth: Progressive as in NDP?

🍁 Rcentrism: What do you say to NDP and Liberal passionate voters questioning you since you see this disconnect, how come do you still vote Conservative?

Kenneth: I don't support the NDP. If you go back, they had power, but people don't buy their messages. They just tell people what they want to hear, socialist, it does not work. I don't know how many seats they had at one point, but slowly people realised, it's not feasible. As for the Liberals, let me say how I see it. I look for a leader in politics; that's what matters to me. A strong leader at the federal level, and I am also Christian. During the pandemic, there were a lot of people dying. I had friends dying. Not one person from the Liberals or the NDP came out and said a word about God or a prayer for the victims of Covid. I heard Doug Ford, heard some locals here, so how can I support the other 2 parties that don't even consider me, which I worked for in this country my whole life? They just pander and are afraid of certain groups. This is why I vote Conservative.

🍁 Rcentrism: Similarly, what's your response to People's Party voters contesting your 'true' conservative allegiance? Some might even accuse you or this interview as being a mental game. What do you say to them?

Kenneth: They can say whatever they want to say. Bernier is seen as someone that lost and ran away to start his own. And people in the polls already said their opinion about that. He can't win anything. I think people don't respect him for how he left. I like Mulroney, Rona Ambrose, and Stephen Harper. I would have wanted Rona Ambrose to be PM, Poilivere is ok too.

🍁 Rcentrism: Who is your favourite Canadian Prime Minister? How about U.S. President?

Kenneth: Brian Mulroney as Prime Minister in Canada. Ronald Reagan for the U.S. President.

🍁 Rcentrism: Do you agree with some historical statues being removed or just leave them as they are?

Kenneth: Leave them where they are. It's another reason why I vote Conservative. I don't hear many Conservatives talking about removing history around the good and the bad. Some of those men did what they could at that time. And if it wasn't Churchill, it would have been Hitler. Is easy to judge from today for some.

🍁 Rcentrism: The surge in gender activism has sparked intense debates across societal sectors. This is new territory, especially for you, now a senior, coming from a traditional background. How do you see this debate in society? Do you think parents should always have the last word when it comes to a pronoun change in schools for students?

Kenneth: Parents should always have the last word. A mother called a TV show one time and asked a good question, might have been the US. If a school calls me if they can give my daughter a Tylenol, why would they not call me to talk about her gender?

🍁 Rcentrism: Considering your conservative stance, comparing Pierre Trudeau to Justin Trudeau might pose a challenge. However, could you attempt to give your opinion as an observer?

Kenneth: I could tell you some things, but then you will have to scrap this interview. Let's be serious. Even if I did not agree with many things, Pierre was a leader. I was the one that told you about the video during the FLQ crisis. As I told you before, I like to see a leader taking charge. Justin Trudeau? This will surprise you. I was not a supporter of the Convoy. I am a senior. If they would have bothered me here day after day, I would have been just as angry as some people from Ottawa. I do not like Justin Trudeau because he is not a leader, on top of the regular scandals of a politician. He did not know what he was doing. When a leader is weak, others can sense it. It's the same thing which is happening now with these war protests. No decisive decisions, one way or another.

🍁 Rcentrism: It's great you brought up Gaza. When there were tensions between Catholics and Protestants in Canada, how did the police respond? What do you see when you look at the Gaza protests today? Was the tension between Protestants and Catholics similar to what we are seeing today between Israelis and Palestinians, due to a foreign war?

Kenneth: There were a small number of Catholics in my village, Cape Breton. Maybe time and John's death, made me forget a lot of the past differences with Catholics now. This is why I don't see it as a big deal. Years in Ontario, friendship with John, even went inside a Catholic Church in my Florida trips. He still did not like Margaret Thatcher though. As for the Middle East, I will go with my recent experience. I met a man from that area; he said to me the divide there is deeper than anyone in Canada would imagine. I don't think there will be peace there. Our policemen have a hell of a job locally to manage protests. Everyone is there with their cameras, snapping pictures. They will get blamed, always. It's a thankless job.

🍁 Rcentrism: Ken, I want to thank you for your interview. I used AI to come up with this idea and questions, will use it to fix grammar and put our conversation together. Next time, for better accuracy, maybe we create a recording. Before I hang up, can you tell us the JFK story?

Kenneth: At the old Russell, I was wearing a pair of sunglasses. Was having some drinks, and an American came in. We started as best friends and decided to talk about JFK. One thing to another, something was said, and it involved a black eye.

🍁 Rcentrism, Kenneth: 😄