MARK MACDONALD
BRITISH COLUMBIA – Pierre Trudeau hated Alberta, tried to destroy its economy and political relevance, but failed. Justin Trudeau is apparently determined to finish off the job his father started.
He may very well have succeeded, except he’s run into Danielle Smith, the Alberta Premier and de facto leader of the real “Team Canada”. She is the lone Canadian elected leader who is doing anything constructive to deal with the looming threat of U.S. tariffs, now promised for February 1.
Lost in all the panicked rhetoric and bluster by Trudeau and the other Premiers who have aligned with him to bash Smith and Alberta as rogue traitors and the ultimate Canadian slap-across-the-face “not a team player”, is that new American President Donald Trump says his government would impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods for one reason: If they don’t fix the leaky border. Trudeau’s abysmal immigration policies have opened this country to untold amounts of criminals, who view Canada as an easy portal through which to enter the U.S. Trump lumps Canada’s border in with Mexico’s, and he made it abundantly clear throughout his campaign that this must stop.
There it is, in black and white: Fix the border. Case closed. It’s astounding that Trudeau and his crew continue to grandstand as if they’re trying to prove their political masculinity and stand up to Trump. They seem deliberate in their obstinance to defend the status quo by not correcting Canada’s immigration and border issues.
Their veiled threats include counter-tariffs on energy – most of which comes from Alberta – and Smith is having none of it. No longer will she allow Ottawa to create policy that cripples her province’s economy. They’ve won court challenges that substantiate their claims of the federal government’s over-reach into provincial territory, namely resources.
The Trudeau Liberals have done everything in their power to inhibit Alberta’s oil and gas industry – and now they suggest they’re going to use that as the major bargaining chip in a tariff fight?
Smith says that’s not happening. She’s openly challenging Trudeau, rightly blaming the entire situation on him, waiting for the day he finally resigns.
Can anyone blame her?
Smith deserves plaudits for standing up to Trudeau, again, who, despite the nationwide disdain and angst that citizens hold for him, somehow managed to drag the other Premiers into tag-teaming Alberta once again. Surely at some point they’d realize that if it wasn’t for Alberta oil, Canada’s economy would be in the tank.
It is particularly hyper-hypocritical of Quebec to tangle with Alberta, as it is the cash cow it milks almost directly while it guzzles the lion’s share of equalization payments. Not only that, but Quebec’s previous refusal to move the Energy East pipeline forward continues to make Canada susceptible to American demands, since Canada’s oil export market is almost exclusively America. Energy East would allow exports to Europe, lessening this country’s dependency on the U.S.
Smith is now the only Premier effectively working on behalf of Canada. She has made multiple forays into the U.S. through various media interviews and personal visits with Trump. Alberta has its own office in Washington and is working a solid ground game, reminding the U.S. government that they need Alberta (Canadian) oil, and Alberta needs them.
Political commentator Mark Slapinski states that Trump apparently told one of his aides “that if Danielle Smith didn’t meet with him at Mar-a-Lago, he would have crushed Canada with tariffs. He has since changed his mind and is now open to working with Smith and Pierre Poilievre.”
Then there’s this: Alberta has unilaterally addressed the U.S. border issue, increasing security measures staffing at critical points. Which is exactly what Trump says he wants.
Is there any other Premier, or the PM, demonstrating that they have done the same?
Their customer isn’t happy with the service. Fix it, and you have a satisfied customer once again.
Is there any other Premier, or the PM, demonstrating that they have done the same?
Trump has mastered “the art of the deal”, and his negotiating skills are well documented.
Perhaps that’s because he is a businessman first and foremost, and recognizes that to maintain long-term mutually beneficial economic relationships, it must truly be “win-win”. A short-term negotiating victory against a very weak partner, which Canada now is, may bring a quick advantage, is it worth it over the long haul?
With Trump, who knows which way this will go? What if he sees Alberta’s eagerness to satisfy his concerns and declares the tariffs will not be imposed on Alberta energy, but remain on the rest of the country? Maybe they will become the 51st state. Governor Smith?
B.C. Premier David Eby’s response, predictably, is out of touch and inept, but perhaps the NDP would be pleased with a 25 percent tariff on the forest industry. Their policies have choked the industry into contraction, much to the delight of the Greens that now prop them up as the NDP has with Trudeau.
Alberta holds all the cards now, and Smith knows it and appears she is willing to go all in. In reality, Alberta is now using the cards that Quebec uses.
Trudeau has now brought the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis. Alberta’s last option could be to threaten departure from the union, a negotiating tactic that Quebec has done with great success.
There is still one simple solution to all of this, and it’s over: Fix the border.
Smith gets it, and she’s leading the real “Team Canada”.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd.: mark@communicationink.ca
