Carney invokes Sir John A. as trade war with U.S. reaches new low
After years of Liberals denigrating Canada's first prime minister, Mark Carney invoked Sir John A. Macdonald's push to unify the country while delivering a message to Canadians about the ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
Canada imposed $18 billion in retaliatory tariffs on the United States this week, covering American goods like milk, perfume, golf clubs, steel, aluminum, stoves, and hundreds of others.
The Globe and Mail reported that no trade talks were scheduled for the Labour Day weekend, with a government official confirming there were no negotiations planned and Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc delivering the same message to business leaders on Friday afternoon.
Donald Trump responded in typical Trumpian fashion, threatening to ban Bombardier products from the U.S. and encouraging Americans to "buy American, fly American Airlines, enjoy American liquor, sail on Lake America."
On Tuesday's Rebel Roundup livestream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle wondered: "how's that retaliation going, Canada?"
A new poll added another layer to the ongoing trade dispute.
Roughly 75% of Canadians surveyed said they favoured holding firm in the spat with the U.S., even if economic costs lasted longer. Yet approximately 68% said increased household job loss risk was unacceptable as part of Canada's response.
"People aren't computing yet what a trade war is," Sheila said. "It means lost jobs. It means things cost more." She predicted the anti-American sentiment will collapse the moment the steel belt starts losing jobs en masse. The Liberals are "going to go over the event horizon on this," she said, "because people's anti-Americanism is going to run out of steam once half their town loses its job."
The hosts also reacted to former Alberta premier Jason Kenney praising a Carney address as "very well done" and calling it "a positive contrast to what's coming out of the White House."
In Sheila's assessment, Kenney is suffering from a case of "Trump Derangement Syndrome." She also noted the irony of a man who colluded with Rachel Notley to supply-manage Alberta's oil now positioning himself as a free market conservative opposed to supply management on dairy.
"You phony bologna free market conservative," she said.
The clip of Carney's address drew particular scrutiny from the Rebel Roundup hosts.
Standing in front of plywood walls at a housing factory, Carney invoked Sir John A. Macdonald — arguing that just as Macdonald raced to build the Canadian Pacific Railway to unite the country in the face of American expansionism, Canada must now race to build and deregulate in response to Trump's tariffs.
Sheila was unimpressed with Carney's remarks.
"If the Liberals are saying this is the exact same thing and John A. Macdonald raced to fix it, tell me what you've raced to do," she said. "You didn't even work on the weekend." She noted that Macdonald's "iron spine" was railways — and the modern equivalent is pipelines.
"You know what hasn't been approved?" she said. "A pipeline."
She also pointed out that it is the Liberal side of Canadian politics that has spent years tearing down Macdonald statues and attempting to cancel his legacy.
"It's fascinating to listen to the Liberals talk about John A. Macdonald," she said.
Rebel Roundup airs Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 11 a.m. MT / 1 p.m. ET.
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