Throughout these past many months, I have been a frequent critic of Mark Carney's policy of appeasement toward the Americans. Concession after concession, as I have written in this blog, has yielded nothing but a demand for more, each servile submission being met only with contempt and no reduction of tariffs from the likes of U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greet. "Why would we reward the withdrawal of policies that should never have been implemented in the first place?" he has said.
Baffling to me have been the almost uniform expressions of faith in Carney, at least to judge by readers' comments in newspapers and in blogs. ("He knows what he's doing." "He's playing 4 D Chess with Trump." "Poilievre certainly couldn't do a better job.")
Now however, it would seem that Canadians are waking up after a long, complacent slumber, and that fact is not going unnoticed by Canada's negotiating team. At least I hope so. More about that in a moment.
First, the latest reports suggest U,S. demands that would challenge our very notion of sovereignty, including the following:
The U.S. is demanding a right of first refusal on Canadian critical minerals, that Canada complete its purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets, that Ottawa buy U.S. tech such as radar planes as part of joining Mr. Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defence system, and that Washington receive some guarantee on future supplies of oil and gas, one Canadian and one U.S. source said.
The deal under discussion would see Mr. Trump lower – but not fully get rid of – his tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and forest products, as well as refrain from hitting more products with tariffs on Aug. 19.
In exchange, Canada would eliminate its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. autos, agree to Washington’s interpretation of how dairy quotas should be allocated, and have provincial governments stop their Buy Canadian programs and boycotts of American alcohol, among other things.
As well, Greer has said that any retaliation on the part of Canada should talks fail will not be tolerated.
All Canadians should be outraged by this contemptuous assault on our sovereignty, and their anger will not be limited to the U.S. if Carney caves to those demands. Andrew Phillips writes:
The public mood is shifting — and it’s shifting in ways that will make it even more difficult to get a deal.
Concessions a dirty word
Canadians are in no mood to make more compromises. They don’t want to keep giving up ground while getting nothing in return and facing the threat of yet more punishment down the road. “Concessions” has become a dirty word. There’s a stand-and-fight feeling across the land.
That will make it very tough for the Carney government to agree to anything that doesn’t include clear wins for Canada — an unlikely prospect when it comes with dealing with Trump & Co.
Phillips says that the goodwill and benefits of a doubt extended to Carney are reaching the end.
Instead of Carney leading public opinion, his government is finding that public opinion is running ahead. If the Liberals think Canadians will accept the prime minister’s explanations for even more concessions, that it will be “trust Mark” once again, they’ll be taking a very high-risk bet.
The clearest evidence comes in the same polls that show Carney’s approval ratings still defying gravity. An Angus Reid survey shows only a bare seven per cent of Canadians willing to support concessions to head off more tariffs. Two-thirds support counter-tariffs — punching back, in other words.
The pundits are joining in as well. I can hardly count the number of columns I’ve read in the last couple of weeks urging the government to stand firm. One that stands out for its sheer vehemence is by Jen Gerson in The Line, under the headline “If Carney signs this deal, let’s be clear: it’s the beginning of our surrender.”
Gerson says it looks like Carney “is losing his nerve.” The deal his government is about to sign will be another cave-in to Trump that won’t be worth a thing. And “there is no better time to fight than right now.”
Earlier, Canadian negotiators warned Greer that they were reaching a cliff, and that the imposition of new tariffs next week will end trade talks. While this might only be a negotiating ploy, I hope they mean it.
We've been battered by the barbarians in Washington for long enough. National pride and sovereignty demand an end to our shameful efforts at appeasement. And although the "men in suits", i.e., our business 'betters' will likely condescend and tell us that anger is natural but not productive, it is time for that anger to be recognized as the legitimate expression of real Canadians, Canadians who are finally saying, "No more!"
