He offered to use his personal relationship with JD Vance to advocate on behalf of Canada.
Now he is going to the US (on no one’s authority outside of the voters of Bowmanville—Oshawa North) to strike a deal with the US.
Let’s be honest, JJ wants more power. PP has control of his party, but the cheat code is to pledge allegiance to PP while directly speaking to the radicalized youth and conservative base to gain clout though ostentatious displays of culture warring and politicking through personal networks.
JJ is a mover. He is making very public self aggrandizing actions, in full front of PP, seemingly without approval from his party leader. JJ is after his job; he is also ambitious enough that he will (at some point in the future) bring about the conditions to get it.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Conservative MP Jamil Jivani received a briefing by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, in response to questions from reporters about Jivani’s upcoming visit to Washington D.C.
“We have extensive contacts with the U.S. administration, constant contact with the U.S. administration,” Carney told reporters on Wednesday. “Minister LeBlanc gave a briefing to Mr. Jivani, who I don’t believe is the trade critic for the opposition, certainly not the minister of international trade, nor the prime minister.”
I suspect the “briefing” was to explain to him that he needs to stay in his lane, which is a Member of Parliament for one riding.
Apparently Carney and Poillievre are meeting today, at Poillievre’s “urgent” request, after Stephen Harper (former conservative PM) said that they need to work together more for the benefit of Canada. Sounds like PP has been given his marching orders.
Hopefully Carney will tell him to get his MP’s under control.
Trump’s plan for Canada is to have all our production level industries tariffed and starved to force us down the Value Chain to be solely a low profit margin resource exporting country from which the US can source cheap raw material to use to manufacture goods and sell on the open market. He also envisions that he’ll tariff our raw resources to keep our access to US markets limited and our profit margins as low as viably possible.
This fits in with his ultimate goal of destroying our standard of living and being able to own our country through economic coercion. That is his “deal”. This is why Carney was opening trade talks with every international partner who’d welcome him (including countries like China who we have serious grudges with).
Divesting from the US is just a standard form of Risk Management. Since the US is leveraging it’s integration with Canada to coerce us, we MUST divest from the US to remove the leverage. Its slow, long, painful, and damaging… but the US has put so much risk into our economy that starting to divest is now the safer option. He says this exact thing in his speech:
Hegeimons cannot continually monetize their relationships. Allies will diversify to hedge against uncertainty. They’ll buy insurance, increase options in order to rebuild sovereignty. Sovereignty that was once grounded in rules, but will increasingly be anchored in the ability to withstand pressure. This room knows this is classic risk management.
What has REALLY angered Trump and his cronies is that 1) Carney openly called out Trump’s strategy. 2) He openly stated Canada’s strategy to diversify. 3) He made a “call to arms” for all the middle-powers to share this “cost of strategic autonomy of sovereignty” through multi-lateralism.
Risk management comes at a price. But that cost of strategic autonomy of sovereignty can also be shared. Collective investments in resilience are cheaper than everyone building their own fortresses. Shared standards reduce fragmentations. Complimentarities are positive sum. And the question for middle powers like Canada is not whether to adapt to the new reality. We must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls or whether we can do something more ambitious.
This speech struck to the heart of Europe; they understood it immediately. Trump cannot be dealt with. Only the American people can neutralize Trump.
This may be true, but if course originally Trump praised Canada for making deals. The EU has been knocking themselves over looking for trade with India and China, and recently signed a deal with the former. Trump did not like having his limelight upstaged in Davos.
Carney has a fine line to walk here. Having stated his position and confirmed he meant it, he does not benefit from making further public comments to antagonize Trump. Of course he should stick to values, and sociopaths generally have no interest in fair dealing. He should respond to provocation, but having made his point should act instead of making speeches which stir the pot.
Canada cannot meaningfully divest from the US at this time - 18% of Canada’s trade is interprovincial, versus 60% going to the US. This is ridiculous and a testament to big distances and provinces with too much power and red tape. It is said to cost 7% of GDP which is more than current tariffs. It won’t be fixed very quickly, overturning many decades of naïve policy, despite the perceived momentum and urgency.
Again, it is also important to distinguish between Trump and everyday Americans, who differ… many of whom do business with, and are sympathetic to Canada.
Suppose the Gordie Howe bridge cost $5 billion to build. Suppose tolls average $10 per trip. There have been roughly 6 million crossings annually during recent years via the Ambassador bridge and the tunnel. Even if all those vehicles were to use the new bridge - it would take almost 100 years to pay off the costs (although inflation would cause the tolls to rise). Will Canada have to pay for routine maintenance as well?
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Leaders of all parties, holding hands at a vigil for a tragic mass shooting. Mark Carney asked them all to come. They all came, with his wife, on the same plane.
That’s how he’s doing.
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I heard an interview with the interim NDP leader Don Davies. He said the flight was sombre and non political, with all the leaders in the plane agreeing they were there to support the people of Tumbler Ridge and Canadians. He said they were all fathers, mothers, grandparents, and this is how they approached this. He personally thanked Carney for arranging this.
Generally the Provincial Government(s) are in charge of both Education and Health Care funding. Yes this budget does cut loans and grants, but what percent of funding is cut federally?
Using foreign students to prop up education, and funding private schools, does not help the public education system.
Why aren’t the provinces funding public institutions properly. Follow the money. In my province the Conservatives have been withholding funding to allow private corporations to make money. The noses in the trough are making millions by selling out the Ontario people. Starving public institutions to put profit in their own pockets.
Using tax money to build spas, 6 story parking garages and paying so much severance for breaking contracts - i.e. Hydro One CEO payout. Refusing to fund building for renovations.
Using tax money to fund private health care. Paying surgeons to do “private” surgeries and paying them more per surgery than paying the hospitals. On top of that the “private” surgeons send the complicated patients or the patients that need follow up health care due to surgery problems to the public hospitals.
I pay my taxes willing for public services.
I think Carney is doing wonderful but the provincial governments are sucking us dry.
If you don’t want to pay taxes for public health, education and social services there are many countries that you could move to.
Transport trucks pay far, far more, usually per axle. A big truck can easily be out $50-$100. Over 2 million trucks cross the Ambassador every year. If more than half cross at Gordie Howe that alone could be $50-$100 million per year just on trucks, and that’s a low guess on volume.
