VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (RNN) - With the GOP presidential race heating up and the strong desire by everyone to get the U.S. back on track, some neighbors to the north have proposed a surprising new candidate: Canada.
Yes, that Canada.
In a series of YouTube videos, the Canadian half of a two-man team working to elect Canada lays out his arguments for why Canada should be elected president of the United States.
"We're just your neighbors, and we want to help," Brian Calvert says.
Inspired by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Calvert and American-born writer Chris Cannon developed the idea while throwing around concepts for a politically based comedy project and Cannon's idea of Canada as a political party.
"We get a pretty constant stream [of presidential election coverage] up here," said Calvert, who described the debates so far as people "just yelling at each other."
"There are bigger issues out there," he said. "I can't believe anyone can see who to vote for."
Filmed in a friend's living room, the videos feature an acoustic version of the national anthem, O Canada, playing softly in the background as Calvert pokes fun at both America and his homeland.
In the videos, Calvert has his back to a roaring fire and sports the requisite Canucks hockey scarf and miniature Canadian flag.
A photo of Her Majesty the Queen is nearby.
"There are a large number of people not crazy about our own government," Calvert said.
Running on a platform of "America, but better," Calvert explained the theme was actually a position many political candidates were taking: restoring American to its former glory.
In Canada's first campaign video, Meet the Canada Party, Calvert cites "lumberjack fashion," "barley production," and "hockey" among the things Canada excels at. He also names "health care," "human rights," and "crime prevention."
The pair has toyed with the logistics behind Canada running America. Cannon believes the best system would involve each Canadian citizen taking a shift in the White House while Calvert advocates an online voting system so every decision could be decided by the whole of the country.
They've also have taken into account a few obstacles Canada might encounter in its run. Putting aside that it's a country and not a person, Calvert acknowledges that Canada was not born in the U.S.
"But the first seven presidents weren't born in America," Calvert said. "Both of our parents are the British, so it's like we're brothers."
The pair are writing a manifesto for the Canada Party which will be released by the Canadian independent publishing company, Douglas and McIntyre. In the meantime, they plan to release new campaign ads every three to four weeks until the election culminates in November.
The two will be tackling the issue of jobs in their next campaign video.
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
The campaign poster for the Canada Party, made by a friend of Brian Calvert and Chris Cannon. (Source: The Canada Party)
A screen grab of the Canada Party's first campaign ad with Brian Calvert speaking on behalf of our northern neighbors. (Source: Brian Calvert/YouTube)
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