They Desire a Better System

The Liberal Party’s official campaign slogan in last year’s federal election, “Canada Strong,” has the virtue of being hard to argue with. With Canada newly exposed to the vicissitudes of an unstable behemoth next door and a destabilized world order, there is an obvious and urgent need to strengthen and reinforce this country. The debate now is not about whether strength is what’s needed but about how exactly to build it.

In the year since the “rupture”— to use Mark Carney’s term from Davos — discussions about increasing our strength have largely focused on constructing new infrastructure and new economies, rearming our military, and forging closer connections with allies and trading partners. All well and good — but more elements of the system must be beefed up or hardened at this precarious moment. We should consider, for instance, how to bolster the political and democratic institutions that guide and define us.

The United States is currently a...