"The opposite is the case in Europe,"

Canada is a land of logic opposing reality.  For instance, we lose money to sell excess hydro to the US... we pay companies to not produce... we are a net oil producing nation who pays among the highest rates in the world for gas... same for dairy, and wheat, and other many other agricultural products, for decades we (out of OECD countries) have consistently been in the top 3 highest costs for telecom/internet and fall into the bottom half of technology (ie: internet speed, phone quality, etc), we have access to the largest trading partner in the world and never seem to reap any benefits from "volume purchasing"... oh and we are getting ready to pay billions to "cut emissions" despite being a net CONSUMER of carbon.

Rest assured, everything Con-quer said is not doomsaying, hypothetical, or cynicism... it is a literal and logical extrapolation of what Canadian's experience on every front on a daily basis.