LILLEY: Mark Carney pushes Euro-style agenda again with veiled jab at U.S.
· Toronto Sun
Mark Carney isn’t looking for a new trade deal with United States and it doesn’t appear he wants one.
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Instead of being in Washington or courting the Americans to get tariffs removed on Canada’s steel, aluminum, autos and lumber, the prime minister is once again in Europe wining and dining leaders there. He’s also trotting out old lines about rupture, the international order and how European Canada is.
“In many ways, we are the most European of non-European countries,” Carney said, echoing a line he first used publicly on a trip to Europe last year.
It was Davos all over again
Carney used his appearance at the European Political Community Summit in Armenia to rehash some of the themes from his speech last January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That included talking about drawing closer to Europe and pushing away from the U.S.
“The world is undergoing a rupture across several dimensions in technology, in energy, in commerce and in geopolitics. Integration is being used as a weapon by some and the rules are not constraining hegemonies,” Carney said.
Strange that in a world with two hegemonic powers, Carney only ever criticizes one, the U.S., while looking to draw closer to the other, China.
Anyone who doesn’t think China won’t use trade, tariffs or the blocking of goods to score diplomatic victories hasn’t been paying attention. China recently lifted its tariffs on Canadian canola, but this wasn’t the first time it had imposed tariffs or engaged in other trade malfeasance and it won’t be the last.
China uses any integration as leverage ; they weaponize integration, as Carney might say.
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Carney doesn’t want to use leverage with U.S.
Speaking of leverage, Carney gave an interview to The Canadian Press last week, when he specifically said he won’t use Canada’s critical minerals or our oil and gas industry as leverage in trade talks with the U.S.
“I reject that characterization of it’s leverage. It’s looking at: Is it in our mutual interest to trade more? Where is it? And if it’s not there, we have other options,” Carney told CP.
“Should we be further integrating our energy markets with the United States at a time they view that as, quote, ‘leverage?’”
As a country, Canada should absolutely look to expand and diversify our trade. Carney seems to be indicating that we should decouple from the U.S., move away from them.
That would be a difficult, if not impossible, task and it would come at a great cost, not so much to Carney or people like him but for average Canadians who would see job losses and a declining quality of life.
Europe’s no replacement for U.S. market
We aren’t going to switch our exports to Europe overnight.
In 2025, Canadian exports of goods to the European Union amounted to $34.48 billion US compared to imports from the EU to Canada being valued at $54.16 billion US. Our goods exported to the U.S. were worth more than 10 times that of all EU exports at $383 billion US with imports of $336.5 billion US.
Yet there was Carney in Armenia, leaning into Europe.
“It’s my strong personal view that as the international order will be rebuilt … it will be rebuilt out of Europe,” Carney said.
Meanwhile, back in Canada was another sign that no deal is imminent. Industry Minister Melanie Joly announcing a $1-billion support fund for tariff-impacted industries.
“I don’t know,” Joly said, when asked if tariffs will be in place forever. “This is not up to us to answer that question because these decisions will be taken south of our border.”
True, but Canada could be acting. We could be moving like Mexico, we could be using what we have as leverage to get a deal. Instead, our PM is ignoring — or worse yet, insulting — the Americans while angling for an invitation for Canada to join the EU.