WARMINGTON: Mark Carney says Canada can 'pivot' from U.S., but at what cost?
· Toronto Sun
Prime Minister Mark Carney warns there will be a “cost” and tough times ahead to chart a new economic course as a result of the trade rupture with Donald Trump’s America.
“There’s always a cost to action, but it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still,” said Carney on a taped 15-minute speech with no media availability.
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But in his “Forward Guidance” video, the prime minister pledged, as a result of his government’s actions over the last 18 months, that Canada is in a good position to weather the storm.
“With a resilient economy and the strongest fiscal position in the G7, we have everything we need to pivot and prosper,” he said.
With news on Tuesday that a new partnership with the European Union would be announced next week as well as a contract for Montreal’s Marconi Technologies to build military radios and allowing farmers to sell canola at a better price to communist China, Carney’s plan is already in action.
Is this needless, expensive divorce worth it?
These are strange, changing times happening before our eyes. Canadians disgracefully booing The Star-Spangled Banner and the U.S. president disrespectfully changing maps to match his 51st state mantra, this nasty cold war between America and Canada is being rolled out so fast that it reminds us of when the Berlin Wall went up in Germany overnight.
But other than some Liberal-friendly polls of 1,000 participants, is it clear Canadians really want this country-changing fight?
Should this be slowed down some with the temperature lowered to a mature, less emotional view to get back to negotiating rather than head to a needless, expensive divorce?
Few in the opposition benches seems to be interested. But some Canadians are still asking why there has to be a trade war? Why is the country being boxed into something that has yet to be talked about in the House of Commons, let alone scrutinized or even voted on.
Canadians might want to be careful what they wish for.
This was effectively Carney’s “special period” speech like the ones Cuba’s communist, anti-American president Fidel Castro gave to his citizens in early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union that subsidized his island’s economy. Carney pulled on patriotic heart strings by saying Canada has been through times like these before, but pulled through.
“The truth is, adversity only makes us stronger, it always has,” he said, while adding, “We are maîtres chez nous,” which translated into English as “masters in our own house.”
Fight ‘won’t be easy,’ Carney admits
Clever slogans, however, don’t convey how losing thousands of Canadian jobs by seeing businesses move state side is the better way to go.
While there’s no question that Trump is a rough and rude negotiator , there was no immediate reason to poke a him in the eye with such a sharp stick by ending trade negotiations. Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, Liberals who failed to get a deal they had promised could have stretched this out in a respectful way without declaring war.
It seems, however, many Canadians want this tariff fight with the U.S. and it appears they are going to get it with Carney, who once called himself European, leading the country into battle.
Citing Sir John A. Macdonald, Carney then leaned into patriotism by saying, “Canada is a nation forged in adversity — that prides itself on doing what is right, not what is easy … That’s what we do in this country: We stand up for each other when times get hard.”
But he did offer a warning.
“This won’t be easy and I won’t pretend otherwise,” said Carney, adding, “Canadians have faced difficult stretches before.”
From his book Values to his Davos “rupture” and “American hegemony” speech this year, Carney is implementing an anti-American vision no Canadian talked about until he came on the scene. Is it really necessary to do this? Or is this a globalist pipe dream exercise being played out on Canadians who risk the most capital? Is this reckless, needless endangerment based on an ideology?
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Carney evokes Macdonald’s legacy
Saying “Canadians look out for each other,” the PM talked about the billions of dollars of social welfare and business startup programs he will dole out and made the pitch that this will be better for us in the long run.
Is it worth the gamble?
“This is about who we are as Canadians. It’s about our livelihoods and the country we leave to our kids,” said Carney. “It’s about making Canada strong and the compassion that makes us who we are.”
But Carney had live outside of Canada until recently and has spent a lot of time abroad since becoming prime minister. Carney argued “we will keep building on our strengths, never forgetting who we are” and that “Canada came to life, in many ways, in response to American aggression … Macdonald recognized the threat of an expansionist United States for what it was and raced to unite this land.”
That was 160 years ago. Since 2015 with Justin Trudeau as prime minister, the Liberals have wanted to tear down Macdonald statues , but the 2026 crop is now using his legacy to sell a form of patriotism that will, admittedly, put some Canadians in an economic bind at least initially.
“He knew that agreements, such as Confederation, could only do so much and that Canada needed an economic and military corridor that could connect our peoples from east to west,” Carney said of Macdonald. “So at an incredible human and financial cost, Canadians took what was a country on paper and we made it real.”
But at what cost to Canadians?
What kind of human and financial cost is Carney hinting at for 2026?
Carney said the Americans are trying to “break us,” so they “can own us.” So that is why he has travelled the world to make deals with “trusted partners” and move Canada away from “easy” business with the U.S. to places like the United Arab Emirates and China.
“We’ve signed 20 trade and defence agreements across four different continents. These represent real opportunities for Canadians and Canadian businesses,” said Carney. “They’re good for today and great for tomorrow.”
But today’s part might involve some difficult times ahead.
“The harsh reality is that the Americans tariffs will hurt some Canadians more than others,” he said.
Carney didn’t say if the financial hurt would also be thrust upon himself, his family or his friends?