The trolls

When this pathetic blog crawled out of the primordial ooze eighteen years ago, it was all about real estate. The US was in a housing meltdown. Watt Street was in crisis. All the signs said one thing. We were next.

So, we wrote about that. We spelled out the dangers of a market gorging on easy credit (downpayments were 0% then and 40-year loans plentiful), and the threat to families of going all-in on housing.

That was an unconventional view, supported by my book, ‘Greater Fool’. It attracted a raft of realtor-hating, property-poor, basement-dwelling, iconoclastic, pissy readers rooting for societal collapse and a giant reset.

But in time it became obvious Canada was different. Governments here – all of them – worked overtime to ensure there would be no US-style crash. They wanted high prices. The banks joined in. The regulators did, too. Mortgage rules changed. Risk was tamped down. Housing incentives were created. And by 2017 we’d created out own unique Canadians bubble.

We wrote about this metamorphosis. Every day. The comment section started to hate me.

Then Covid happened. At first the political reaction seemed extreme, overdone, hysterical. We questioned it. And a raft of new people arrived – the conspiracists, the anti-vaxers, the libertarians and the don’t-tred-on-me rightists. Oh, and truckers.

But in time it became clear this was a public health emergency in which over 60,000 Canadian were to die. The social distancing, closures, masks and utter disruption of WFH and masiive government support made sense in that moment.

So we wrote about that. And the comment section hated me more.

The latest national wound is the trade war with America. We warned something like this would happen if Trump were to be elected. The rebels, malcontents, maple MAGAs and Trudeau-haters in steerage dismissed the warnings. They dissed Carney, and doubted me for saying he was the adult in the room to deal with the orange guy.

Lately, daily, I’m accused of being a Liberal toady for supporting the former central banker, economist and Wall Street heavy. Carney has lately stepped off a cliff into the unknown, telling the world our relationship with America has ruptured and our former ally now wants, “to break us, so they can own us.” We seek another path. New allies and partners. The old friend is the new enemy. The danger in this strategy is profound. The danger in succumbing could be worse. We just don’t know. Die on your feet. Or give up life on your knees.

The urgency of the moment is playing out today in the bond market. Turns out most of the world now frets about Trump’s ability to keep the great American ship from hitting a ‘berg. Debt is being sold off, yields are rising, inflation worries growing and confidence in the Fed, the US Treasury and the White House being tested.

Carney was right. We were right. And last night voters in three byelections got it.

The Libs won in North Van, east-end Toronto and north of Montreal in Chicoutimi. Victory for the government party in BC and Ontario was expected. In Quebec the Libs flipped a seat from the Cons – so the Carney majority in Parliament is greater.

But the real story was in the margins of victory. They were remarkable.

The Liberal candidate in North Vancouver-Capilano received almost 59% of the vote. In the Beaches, it was 55%. In Chicoutimi-Le Fjord, 51%. These results are ten points higher than the Carney Liberals scooped in the general election a year ago. Meanwhile the Cons were creamed – just 29% of votes in the BC riding, 16% in Toronto (finishing third), and only 12% in Quebec, where the Poilievre party held the seat last time and now finished disastrously behind the second-place BQ.

This blog does not swing Liberal or Conservative. If anything, it’s a Progressive Conservative dinosaur. Similarly, we don’t want a housing boom. We don’t crave a bust, either. And, yeah, it was a pandemic. I’d have Fauci over for drinks.

The world has polarized. Trump makes it worse now, as does social media – including the comments routinely posted here. We need a lot more common sense at the moment. Less trolling. The fight ahead could be much deeper nd longer than most people imagine, or expect. Without locking arms, we’re materially weaker.

Voters did good last night. So did 16,000 fans at a Blue Rodeo gig on the Toronto waterfront fist-pumping a line about Lake Ontario.

Get ready.

About the picture: “In 1984 we closed on our new home purchase without a hiccup because of a columnist I read daily in the Toronto Sun who detailed the extra funds you need to have in order to close a house purchase,: writes DN. “I’m still reading him. Thanks Garth for the insights. This is our re-homed 10 year old Sheltie Cody. Beloved by my Grand kids and petted by everybody on our walks. Cody adopted us,not the other way around. He “debates” everything and rules the house. He’s a people watcher and loves just sitting out front watching everybody walking/cycling on the pathway across from our house. We wouldn’t have it any other way. Take care.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘[email protected]’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/09/01/the-trolls/