The Marvelous Middle, Eh?
Cautious to a Fault? Why Canada’s Marvelous Middle Might Need a Push
This post was inspired by Evan Scrimshaw’s excellent piece, “Carney, 2%, and the Death of Cautious Canada.” It stirred up thoughts I couldn’t shake, and this response came pouring out.
Ever notice how Canadians tend to settle right in the middle of things?
Not out of laziness or fear, but something quieter—like instinct.
Call it compromise. Call it caution. Or maybe it’s just our polite way of avoiding a brawl at the national dinner table.
Either way, we’ve made a habit of balancing—not boldly, but carefully—on the edge between push and pull.
When much of the world was zigging hard to the right, we zagged—three centrist minority governments in a row. We’re nothing if not consistent... even in our indecision.
As Evan Scrimshaw points out so perfectly in Carney, 2%, and the Death of Cautious Canada:
“We are an eminently cautious country, the kind of place that looks for ways to get to no.”
Evan, you've nailed it. That line landed hard with me.
It’s a fascinating Canadian paradox. Individually, we might be up for anything—skydiving, trying goat cheese ice cream, even wrestling a moose (okay, maybe not that last one). But when it comes to big-picture, collective decisions? We’re the national equivalent of checking if the stove is off three times before leaving the house.
There’s something about our shared psyche—maybe the vastness of the land, maybe the legacy of compromise—that leans toward risk aversion in public life, even if we embrace risk privately.
And then came this:
“Mark Carney laid out a path to not just making Canada safer, but freeing us from our national malaise. He is killing Canada’s crisis of chronic caution, and in doing so, he is setting this country up to finally be the best version of itself, at a time when we’ve never needed this more.”
Again—spot on. I couldn’t have said it better, largely because Evan already did.
But I do want to echo the hope embedded there. Because it matters.
We—the cautious, marvelous, middle-leaning common Canadians—can embrace boldness. We don’t need to become reckless. But we do need to stop dipping our toes. The world is shifting under our feet. “Normal” packed up and left. And the things that could turn this country around? They’re going to take time, vision, and yes—a little daring.
So let’s jump in the deep end. What’s the worst that could happen?
(Don’t answer that.)
Leni Spooner writes Between the Lines, a newsletter decoding politics, power, and public life with clarity, context, and the occasional raised eyebrow.
For the overworked, the underpaid, and the deeply curious.
💬 Wry truth-telling. 🧠 Accessible analysis. 🎯 Actionable insight.
Thanks for reading Between the Lines © 2025