According to an English saying, necessity is the mother of invention. Faced with Donald Trump’s threats to impose 25% customs tariffs on Canada, the unexpected success of Wednesday’s federal-provincial meeting is clearly at stake.
Except for Alberta – and despite even Justin Trudeau on the verge of leaving – all the prime ministers present in Ottawa have finally stood together.
Even François Legault, whose level of sympathy for Mr. Trudeau is zero, now agrees to form a united front. An excellent thing.
Everyone is waiting to know what Trump will do once he is sworn in as president of the United States on Monday, but the important thing will be that the prime ministers maintain their new unity in the face of their American adversary.
The important thing is that they can then agree on the nature of the economic retaliations that could be imposed in return on the United States if Trump ever carries out his threats.
At the Ottawa meeting, only one dissent, otherwise predictable, stood out for its usual disconnection from the Canadian national interest: Danielle Smith, the ultra-conservative premier of Alberta.
Doug Ford, the new Captain Canada
While she recently traveled to Mar-a-Lago to happily socialize with Trump, Danielle Smith was content to participate in Wednesday’s meeting via Zoom. Unsurprisingly, she refused to sign the joint press release.
The only winner from his sulking is Donald Trump who, as Ontario Premier Doug Ford said – the new Captain of the national resistance wearing his hat “Canada is not for sale» –, loves “divide and conquer”.
In a message published in X against the background of an American flag – yes –, Mme Smith then was quick to blame Ottawa.
-The federal government, she wrote in English, continues to publicly and privately raise the possibility of cutting off the supply of Alberta oil to the United States and imposing tariffs on it.
At the same time, she proudly confirmed her presence at Trump’s swearing-in, meaning that she would often travel to the United States in the coming months. A great deal.
Disturbing proximity
Behind the scenes in Ottawa, this strong proximity between Mme Smith and Donald Trump – troubling on a political level – still raise doubts about the former’s loyalty to Canada in times of crisis.
Would she reveal to the future president strategic elements of the future response from Canadian leaders? The question, inevitably, arises.
Because it is one thing to defend the economic interests of your province. Turning your back on your own counterparts to better align yourself with the new Trump administration is a much more worrying choice.
Likewise, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre shows himself equally incapable of putting the national interest ahead of his obvious contempt for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals.
Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland, the two main candidates for the Liberal leadership, are of course already entitled to the same treatment from him.
Being very possibly the next Prime Minister, Pierre Poilievre’s visceral inability to show solidarity with the Canadian political class in the face of Trump’s threats bodes poorly for the next four years.
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