Nations with growing recent immigrant citizen populations have realized that one of the key advantages in capturing large numbers of block votes, is to publicly reach into those identifiable communities.

So what better way to do it then to have your leader go shopping for votes in other countries. You can be assured that the identified community’s media will be providing you with mucho coverage.

And eyeballs count.

Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was doing the media love-in tour in India, then later, in China, cozying up to some Asian film stars / TV hosts, and doing the crafted photo ops in front of strategic foreign locales, places that are meaningful to some of our fellow Canadians.

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It’s nice to see Canada’s Prime Minister reach out and touch fellow global villagers, but is there another, more calculating reason?  One of the sure things about being Canadian is the connections many of us have back to our places of origin – be it of a recent or of an ancestral connection.

The one calculating thing that our Conservative party has figured out, is that it’s the “ethnic” vote that may help them form a (majority) government. And what better place to shop for votes here at home, then to shop from outside Canada – from the original homes of some new Canadians … and appeal to this homesick connection.

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Former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien figured it out earlier.

He cozied up to the south Asian politicos and with their help, Chretien secured the leadership of the Liberal party, to rival Paul Martin’s dismay. And we all know that Mr. Chretien became Liberal leader and Prime Minister, until he finally retired to let Paul Martin take a shot at it.

Harper’s strategist have just figured it out too!

It now appears that our Conservatives are plotting to become the “immigrants” preferred flavour of choice, with all of the recent pandering by the Harper conservatives.

Take for example, Harper’s acknowledgment to Canada’s historic blemish, the Apology of the Chinese Head Tax.

An observation often shared among Chinese-Canadians is the problem with Harper’s heartfelt Head Tax apology was that it became unsettling when Harper started apologizing to almost every Chinese he met – whether their families were historically affected or not.

For example, Harper’s sincerity and understanding was later questioned when Harper accepted a “thank you for your Apology dinner” put forward by Chinese businessmen.

The only problem with that “thank you PM dinner” was that the dinner was held by some recent immigrant Chinese businessmen. These new comers really did not have the moral authority to accept an apology nor acknowledgment.

But most gwail-los can’t tell a recent Chinese voter from a multi-generational Canadian voter.  And each side used this fact to their advantage. Real descendants of Head tax payers were prevented by security from entering the “Thank you Apology” soirée.

A report by the Vancouver Sun had earlier reported this embarrassment. We’ll find the article and will post it here later.

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Here is another interesting article on the UGLY Canadian, by our friends at the TYEE, one of British Columbia’s best on-line news magazine:

The Ugly Canadian

Nine ways we are ruining our once enviable reputation in the world.
By Murray Dobbin, 17 Dec 2009, TheTyee.ca

It was really just a matter of time. The deep well of affection and respect around the world that Canada has drawn on for decades has been slowly poisoned by the Harper government (and the Liberals immediately before it) and the world is now taking serious notice. In the words of the famous Yes Men (who pulled off the brilliant hoax in Copenhagen): “We’ve always kind of grown up looking up to Canada… We’ve always thought that Canadians were such nice people and had much better policies than we did — national health care and all that. And this is just a real disappointment for us, energy policy and learning that Canadians’ carbon footprint per capita is higher than us.” The Copenhagen conference may just be the final burden that brings us to critical mass, that qualitative leap where Canada is suddenly seen as a mean-spirited, disingenuous, and reactionary force in the family of nations.

Here are some of the most important image-busters in Canada’s foreign policy bag of nasty tricks.

Climate change. This is obviously the biggie. More than any other issue, it is truly global and the Harper government’s staggering arrogance makes Canada a rogue nation. No other country is so contemptuous of the interests of the planet. Not only does Stephen Harper think he is smarter than anyone in Canada, he thinks he is smarter than anyone, period. Harper’s message: the rest of you are a pack of idiots. As a result, even the U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu refused to agree to a photo op with Environment Minister Jim Prentice.

Asbestos. It is the deadliest workplace substance in history, killing more workers in Canada than any other cause. And the deaths are increasing every year. Stephen Harper has explicitly declared himself the champion of Quebec asbestos and has dedicated himself to ensuring that asbestos is not declared a dangerous substance under the Rotterdam Convention. Thousands of workers in developing countries will die as a result. Canada challenged France’s ban on asbestos through the WTO and lost, making the French environmental law one of the few to survive such a challenge and reinforcing the science declaring asbestos a class one carcinogen.

Terminator seeds. Terminator technology refers to seed genetically modified to produce sterile seeds that cannot be planted, forcing peasants around the world to purchase seeds every season. Globally, farmers would lose hundreds of millions of dollars in income. At the last meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Curitiba, Brazil, Canada joined Australia and New Zealand in trying to undermine the protocol, calling for a “case by case risk assessment” of terminator seeds, with the intention of allowing the technology to be approved through existing legislation for genetically modified crops. Canada and its partners failed in their efforts but not for lack of trying. Not a single company in Canada has expressed an interest in pursuing this technology — so Mr. Harper casually trashed Canada’s reputation for purely ideological reasons.

GMO food. Canada is on the front line of forcing people around the world to eat genetically modified food. It is using a big stick against Europeans. A November 2006 World Trade Organization ruling found in favour of a complaint brought by the U.S., Canada and Argentina that the EU had violated WTO rules through “undue delays” in approving genetically modified organisms. This in spite of the fact that Europeans’ rejection of such foods has been growing over the 15 years that polls have been conducted. Even previously supportive leaders like President Sarkozy of France and the EU’s environment commissioner have changed their mind citing new science.

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please visit the TYEE for the rest of this article: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2009/12/17/TheUglyCanadian/