COLUMN: On Parliament Hill – Promises and announcements

By now, many Canadians will have seen the video released Sunday morning by Prime Minister Mark Carney, called ‘Forward Guidance”. His message was all about abandoning our reliance on the United States— a message delivered using American platforms.

In the video, Mr. Carney reiterated a “new world order” in response to what he labels a more divided and dangerous world. He suggests that the United States has fundamentally changed its relationship to trade by raising tariffs to levels not seen since the Great Depression.

To illustrate his point, the PM referenced a small statue, displayed on his desk, of General Isaac Brock, given to him from U.S. based entertainer Mike Myers just over a year ago. Brock led the charge against the 1812 American invasion of Canada. Mark Carney is no General Brock. And frankly, the Liberal government is not even at the negotiating table, much less defending the Canadian economy.

More than 70 percent of Canadian exports are tied with the U.S. and cannot easily or even possibly, be replaced through expanded trade with Asia or other regions. After a five-month hiatus, it is time for Mr. Carney to re-engage with Washington and make Canada strong. Instead, Mr. Carney envisions “a new world order” that ignores our largest trading partner and the largest economy in the world, right next door. He has dismissed our shared history as nostalgia, not a strategy. He insists Canada’s future should ignore our close geography and history. He completely dismisses the fact that Americans are our closest neighbors, our best allies and our largest trading partners. Instead, Mr. Carney calls all that a “weakness”.

Meanwhile, industries including the automotive, steel, and lumber report a reluctance to invest amid uncertainty—and some are struggling for survival.

Observers on social media are increasingly asking why a leader who campaigned on his ability to manage relations with Donald Trump and deliver the right deal for Canada now speaks of a “ruptured” relationship with no evident effort at reconciliation.

Unfortunately, Liberal MPs do not appear to be aligned even with Mr. Carney’s own message. During an industry committee meeting earlier this week, a Liberal MP, while questioning an expert witness, agreed with the witness’s assessment, stating, “We all want the same thing.” One has to wonder whether she had seen Mr. Carney’s recent video. The Prime Minister’s message suggested that, because the relationship has been “ruptured,” ties with the United States are being loosened rather than repaired.

Journalist Brian Lilley has also raised an important question: why is Mexico moving ahead with its review of Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement, while Canada appears to be sidelining itself? Meanwhile, some Canadian companies facing uncertainty are relocating operations to the United States or Mexico — and may never return. Nicole Vlanich of the Canadian Association of Moldmakers emphasized that maintaining CUSMA is critical, warning that a free-trade agreement is essential.

It doesn’t take a huge leap to reasonably conclude that animosity directed at the Americans is more about political opportunism for liberal fortunes, than it is about what’s best for Canada.

As a member of the industry committee, my Conservative colleagues and I — with the support of the Bloc — successfully passed a motion to hold three urgent meetings to hear directly from Canada’s metallurgical and advanced manufacturing sectors regarding the United States’ unilateral changes to tariff structures under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. This move by the U.S. has increased tariffs on steel and aluminum by as much as 2,300 percent overnight; for example, a single tool valued at $244,000 has had tariffs increased from $1,400 to $36,000.

As one industry spokesperson said, companies that were profitable last week, are no longer profitable: “What’s leaving isn’t coming back”. During committee proceedings, Jonathan Azzopardi, chief executive officer and president of Laval Tool & Mould Ltd., said, they are already hiring consultants to be their representatives in Washington to start to fight for them. Evidently, they have lost confidence in the Liberal government to effectively negotiate on their behalf.

Manufacturers emphasized that Canadian mold makers play a critical role in global supply chains, producing components used in medical devices, telecommunications equipment, defence systems, and automotive manufacturing. The stakes, they argue, extend far beyond individual companies to the broader industrial workforce. Furthermore, the potential for Canadian job loss from U.S. trade is in the millions.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the Sunday early morning video pointing out that, “The Carney Liberals have given us the worst food inflation, the worst household debt, the worst housing costs, and the only shrinking economy in the G7. He has not repealed a single anti-development law, nor approved a single pipeline, and housing construction is actually falling.”

Pierre Poilievre is calling out Mr. Carney’s meetings, photo ops, and non-binding memoranda as an illusion.

Mr. Carney has doubled the deficit Justin Trudeau left behind. Conservatives are fighting for an end to wasteful Liberal spending, cutting corporate welfare, consultants, foreign aid, and handouts.

That’s how Canada can become strong at home and unbreakable abroad.