Canada, Can we stop with the anti-America propaganda?
Bring out the honey, not the vinegar.
Every chance Mark Carney gets, he seems determined to remind you that we live in a more dangerous and divided world. He used similar words when he was the Governor of the Bank of England. The difference now is he's not just setting a mood, he's directing that anxiety squarely at the United States and weaponizing it for domestic political gain.
Carney decided to post a bizarre public address on a Sunday, with the sole purpose of once again attacking the US and our relationship with them. Categorizing it as a weakness. He framed the entire Canada-US relationship as a threat to our sovereignty. Even invoked the historical figure of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, who went to war against America. Why??
These random but consistent attacks are the purest form of political propaganda. It won’t stop because it is working. A huge portion of Canadians are falling into this trap and are taking their eye off the ball of what is going on in Canada. It gives the Liberals political cover and capital to do things under the blanket of this fear-mongering and avoid accountability.
I get it. Donald Trump has said some very silly and insulting things about Canada. The tariffs on us in particular are largely irrational, but did nudge Canada to take some action on drug trafficking, and Chinese dumping of steel, for example, something that Canada didn’t really take action on before. Even right now, Canada has started another investigation into Chinese steel dumping and plywood.
We need to put some things into perspective with gratitude.
Canada has won the geographical lottery. Not only because of what we have inside the country but the fact that the US is our neighbour, our only neighbour. We have the longest undefended land border in the world that we hardly worry about.
We face no threat and have not been invaded in over 200 years. The strongest military in the world is right there defending us and acts as a de facto guarantor of our sovereignty. For free, an irritant to Donald Trump, and he has a point. Mark Carney also largely agrees, as Canada is now spending a record into ramping up our military as a result of Trump’s ‘request’.
We have an incredibly vast and integrated supply chain with the largest economy in the world. They are printing money to buy our products. We are each other’s best customers. We have an economic relationship that has benefited Canada with riches for decades, and we have no one else to blame for what we did with it and our current situation.
Even right now with all the noise, threats and tariffs, we still have the lowest effective tariff rate in the world for doing business with the US. That’s because our best and most comprehensive Free Trade Agreement is with the biggest economy in the world. It’s also a boast for our politicians when politically convenient.
CUSMA renewal is paramount to Canada’s economy. Insulting our negotiation partner and best ally during our most critical negotiation point is beyond reckless. The biggest risk here is the lack of agreement that will go into a cycle of yearly reviews, which will create uncertainty for capital investment into Canada.
We also have the potential to make CUSMA and our economic relationship with the US even better and more lucrative for us. Canada is just starting to develop substantial critical minerals mining and, hopefully, value-added manufacturing. This should be a central pillar of the CUSMA negotiation.
The US is desperate for these and will require them, giving Canada a strategic position to benefit from even more of our trade with the US. The reason critical minerals are in such demand because the whole tech and innovation boom in the US is dependent on them. I don’t know why but it doesn’t seem to be even a consideration by our government to participate in it and also be a partner in these sectors. This is our fastest route to develop these sectors, adding billions to our economy.
Let’s remember that the Donald Trump administration will only last for a couple more years, and both Democrats and Republicans have historically been strong supporters of Canada and have pushed for lower tariffs. But both sides are equally concerned with Canada’s geopolitics and cozying up to China.
The U.S. makes strategic moves to secure the continent; they expect their partner to be on the same page. That's not an irrational concern. The moves the US is making right now are largely about de-risking from China. Canada is playing into the other hand, while risking bipartisan goodwill that is a real asset
This is about long term security and not short-term reaction.
Trump will say things that are offensive and counterproductive. Fine. Call that out when it needs to be called out. But "the world is dangerous, and America is your enemy" is not a national strategy; it's a distraction. The fixes are internal and don’t come from trying to score points with speeches. They come from the radical action we keep talking about but not taking.
Canada should continue to try to find new trade partners and expand these relationships. It’s not America’s fault we’ve been complacent, red-taped ourselves and told our allies there is no business case. Let’s stop with the excuses and blame others. Canada’s success will come from action and honey.