The Face Of Pragmatism

The trade deal that Mark Carney just made with China has elicited a wide range of reactions. There are those who are exultant, such as Scott Moe for what it does for canola exports, and there are others who are predicting doom. The auto industry fears it is the death knell for the Canadian car industry (although it is hard to fathom why the importation of 49,000 Chinese EVs would have such an effect). Captain Canada (a.k.a, Ontario Premier Doug Ford) is thundering against it. And PP is doing his usual posturing about Chinese security threats and how the government has betrayed Canada. However, from where I sit, the deal makes eminent sense.

Carney, embracing pragmatic politics, said this: 

We take the world as it is – not as we wish it to be.”

Which, of course, means recognizing that the United States is no longer a reliable trading partner, a view bolstered this week by Trump's proclamation that the U.S. doesn't need anything from Canada, and that he isn't even thinking about the CUSMA deal. Those who still hold out strong hopes for a renewal of that agreement are, in my view, indulging in magical thinking, and it is an abandonment of that thinking which, I believe, informed Carney's bold move with China. 

The world of realpolitik is not a pretty one. It involves a recognition that ideology can take a country only so far, and in the face of external factors far beyond one's control, it is better to put one's head down and move forward, in this case making deals with countries that don't share our values. Indeed, it can be argued that is exactly what we are doing in our efforts to maintain our trading relationship with the U.S., but given its volatile, insane leadership, the Americans represent diminishing returns.

I am glad Carney has finally understood that appeasing the mad king is pointless. However, the road ahead is still fraught with possible pitfalls. Even though Trump has given his initial 'approval' of Canada making a deal with China, one wonders whether that reaction will change in the coming days. Already, U.S. trade Jamieson Greer sounded an ominous note:

“I think it’s problematic for Canada,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Friday morning. “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”

One is reminded of Trump's initial dismissal of Doug Ford's anti-tariff ad in the U.S., only to replace it with anger and the termination of sectoral talks with our country. Similarly, it seems likely that whoever is the current Trump "whisperer" will tell him that his initial response was wrong; after all, the deal might encourage other 'vassal states' to go their own way in trade. The Empire cannot encourage such independent thinking.

Nonetheless, the risk is well-worth taking, in my view, and this is the first time I have felt some pride in our prime minister. The scales have fallen from his eyes, and he is conducting himself in a way I suspect the majority of Canadians will applaud.