I almost feel badly for Justin Trudeau. Leadership contenders are running away from him as if he has a very bad smell. So much for any aspect of party loyalty. It will be interesting to see if any of them can get away with it. Personally, I don’t think so.
The list of contenders for Trudeau’s job has shrunk considerably. Most of them bowed out early, likely seeing the writing on the wall in terms of who can win the next federal election, and less likely, in my view, that they believe, in a few short months, they can save the country from Donald Trump, although I do wish them well in that regard.
It appears there will be three people who have any real chance of winning the top job, both in the Liberal Party and in Canada. None of them can duck their association with the current government and its record.
Mark Carney, who has been President of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, has officially thrown his hat in the ring. Chrystia Freeland, former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the Trudeau Government, is set to join Carney in that battle, and Karina Gould, a member of Parliament who has held a number of portfolios in the Trudeau government, has also just announced her candidacy.
Neither Freeland nor Gould have any credible chance of separating themselves from Prime Minister Trudeau. They both served him faithfully and vigorously for many years, right up until the prospect of winning the top prize became too real to ignore.
As for Mark Carney, he may have a better chance of posing as an outsider, but his record does not support that. In a recent opinion piece, journalist Erick Blais put it this way: “Here’s the problem, positioning yourself as an “outsider” while having served as a top economic advisor to Trudeau and led the Liberal’s Economic Task Force, is ripe for Conservative ridicule.” He goes on to say, “This barrage of attacks will underscore the disconnect between Carney’s “outsider” rhetoric and his clearly insider resume.”
At his second leadership launch in Edmonton last week (his first was on a United States Talk Show), Carney, who for years was Justin Trudeau’s trusted economic advisor, said, “I know I am not the only Liberal in Canada who believes that the Prime Minister and his team let their attention wander from the economy too often.”
Methinks that is a stretch too far. Elected or not, Mark Carney was a part of that team, even attending at least one Cabinet retreat. All candidates for the Liberal leadership may attempt to distance themselves from the Trudeau government, but in reality, they were all part of it in one way or another.
I also find it very interesting, to say the least, that Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, and Karina Gould are now distancing themselves from Trudeau’s domestic Carbon Tax. I call that a hat trick. I also wonder why.
Could it be that they recognize that Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s consistent attack on the domestic Carbon Tax has gained traction with many Canadians? Do they really think that by dropping this from their own platforms, after years of supporting it, Canadians will be fooled and not remember who the frontrunner was on this particular national issue?
As the race moves into top gear, I believe Mark Carney has the best chance of winning the Liberal leadership. Certainly, although his French is less than perfect, his chances have improved in Quebec now that Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, a popular Quebecer, will endorse him.
However, six weeks in federal politics is a long time, and Chrystia Freeland or Karina Gould, who is now the dark horse, may surprise us.
It is now certain though, that when a federal election is held this year, both the Conservatives and the Liberals will be campaigning on dumping the domestic carbon tax. That says to me that Pierre Poilievre should first take credit for that and then get on to talking about other issues important to Canadians. Everyone knows what and who he is against. Few of us are really sure about what he is for. Axe the Tax is now redundant.
Although the federal government appears to be working hard with provincial and territorial premiers to develop a response to Trump’s demands when they come, probably as early as next week, the fact remains that we now have a lame-duck government with a Prime Minister who has tendered his resignation. Not a lot can come out of that in terms of final solutions.
The leader of Canada’s Opposition needs to recognize that on election day, Canadians are going to worry more about Donald Trump and that his real threats to our economy and his attack on our sovereignty remain the most critical issues of the day.
Pierre Poilievre has already won the day on the Carbon Tax issue. We now need to see why he would be the best person to deal with life-changing challenges between the United States and Canada.
Poilievre’s professional attack dogs in the back room are urging him to keep on attacking and name-calling and to save the majority of his platform and his views on dealing with the Trump Administration for an election campaign.
I disagree. It is my view, especially because of current circumstances, that Canadians, generally, are at least as interested in what they might be getting as they are in what they want to leave behind. In fact, I believe there is an important role for Pierre Poilievre to play right now.
Pierre Poilievre talks a lot about Canadian unity, as he should. But he also needs to prove it by finding a common ground between Canada’s two largest Conservative jurisdictions, Ontario and Alberta, so that Canada can speak with one voice when dealing with the Trump Administration.
On this issue, which is a direct challenge to Canadian unity, Pierre Poilievre cannot suck and blow at the same time. The ball, in this instance, is in his court.
In my view, Donald Trump sees Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her cohort Kevin O’Leary as Canada’s Achille’s heel as he sets his covetous eyes on this country. Poilievre, even in his position as Opposition Leader, is probably in the best position to do something about that.
First, he can and must, if he wants to retain any credibility, distance himself and his Party from alt-right extremist Kevin O’Leary (Mr. Wonderful), who is working against Canada and buddies up with Donald Trump. O’Leary no longer talks about annexation because he knows that most Canadians don’t like it.
Rather, he talks about economic union as a softer-sounding solution with the United States, although he knows, as do most North American economists, that they both amount to effectively the same thing: American control and a dilution of Canada’s sovereignty.
Second, Poilievre is in the best position to sit down with Ford and Smith and find a way to get the Premier of Alberta back on Team Canada. It may mean a promise of new initiatives for Alberta after the next election, and it may mean some appropriate compromise on energy issues, but at the end of the day, it all must mean Canada first.
Accomplishing that may be a big challenge for Mr. Poilievre, but it is also his golden opportunity. In a strange way, it is he, although not in government, who is in the best position to take an important step for Canadian unity by ensuring a Team Canada that speaks for the entire country when dealing with Donald Trump.
Will he do that? Will his handlers let him? I don’t know.
But that would be statesmanship. That would be leadership. That would be putting Canada first.
That is what Canadians want.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Thank you, Ms Tanaka, Mr. Holland, amen to your comments. Dare I hope that the toxic populism of the GOP and CPC is fading? Unfortunately, I fear that populism (and the great American appetite to be entertained and dazzled by political leaders) may contribute to the results of abuse/rage exhaustion of the electorate in Canada.
What can we do to strengthen the idea of the privilege and responsibility of voting in Canada?
Even though Poilievre has only ever been a whiny politician his whole career he has failed Politics 101.
If you want to win make sure it’s against an unpopular candidate like JT.
Don’t whine so much that even JT gets the message and decides to step down.
To likely be replaced with a very strong candidate with experience from around the world, Mark Carney.
If Canadians pay attention at all PP will be crushed by MC.
The problem with that is getting Canadians to pay attention to the candidates at all.
I guess PP has never heard the saying “be careful what you wish for.”
The only time Cons stop shooting themselves in the foot is when they stop to reload.
Ask Scheer and O’Toole about that one.
Both were ahead of JT before the elections but then lost.
Not as far ahead as PP is over Trudeau but PP compared to MC is no contest.
PP will likely be crushed.
Assuming Canadians pay attention at all.
Is cutting off or restricting Cdn oil to the US even possible? No, it isn’t. Crude oil to eastern Canada flows through pipelines that run through the US. As for placing retaliatory export tarrifs on Canadian energy, the impacts on Alberta would be so severe, they would never allow it. Attempts by the federal government to force it would in all likelyhood lead to a national unity crisis, on top of everything else we are facing. The Trump administration understands all of this, so the threats are empty. Alberta’s Priemer Smith has said as much.
The opportunity to diversify our oil and gas exports beyond the US has been largely squandered, especially with the continued blocking of new pipelines to our east coast.That said, and despite Trump’s recently declared ‘energy crisis’, the US can’t easily replace Canadian crude oil and will need more of it in the future, not less. Their proven oil reserves will last maybe another decade at current production levels, and as they decline, costs to develop new, unconventional oil reserves goes up significantly.
Risking a major trade war with the US by threatening ‘dollar for dollar’ counter tarrifs is a costly battle we can’t win. A better approach would be to leverage our extensive energy & natural resources and work with the US to expand exports to not just them, but also to our energy insecure European allies. Significantly boosting security & defense spending now would also be very helpful and important.
These changes would require significant priority & policy shifts that the current Federal Government seems unwilling or unable to make. An election and new government is needed now, not months down the road.
On reflection, I think that Pierre Poilievre and his team have weakened Canada’s democracy with their obsessive assaults on the PM position, and squashing any collaborative work that Conservative MPs might even think to do, totally blocking any effective operation of the House of Commons.So much so that we can now be viewed as easy prey by President Trump.Mr Poilievre’s “political manoeuvering” has successfully established the concept of Canada as “broken” – I wonder when he achieves the PM position, whether he has any skills or commitment to build a collaborative problem solving democratic process not centred on the PM’s office’s powers. Forget transparency and open government with respect for science and truth. I expect him to follow President Trump’s lead, so there will be no need to annex Canada as the 51st State. His current silence and inaction is his “political manoeuvering” right into President Trump’s lap.
Canada will need a leader that is not just politically savvy (not pp), but one that can give DT some wins without giving up our sovereignty. This is also not CF. DT doesn’t respect women, and hates CF.
The new Canadian Prime Minister MUST be prepared to initiate huge amounts of spending to meet out NATO commitment…..and then some as we are one of the weakest links between the Russians and the US.
In DT’s mind, Canada is annexable because we are weak. PM’s long before JT have poopoo’ed our NATO responsibilities, and it is time for this country to show our grit and become a better ally to the US, and the rest of the free world.
We are weak on our banks and organized crime, and its damn well time we stepped up and got tougher.
Is Mark Carney the guy that can show the DT we are a serious neighbour, worthy of respect and our sovereignty….we better hope he is, cause PP isn’t going away, and CF will get chewed up and spit out by DT.
How well does the combo Carney, Ford, Trump go together? Might that be the future?
Hugh, I say this as a long time conservative, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a person run for PM who is as distinctly qualified for the job as Mark Carney. Even if you remove his stints as head of central banks for 2 G7 countries, his resume is beyond impressive. His time as chair of Brookfield…one of Canadas greatest companies…and their energy transition head, alone is far beyond what Pollievre could ever hope to accomplish.
As far as the best person to deal with Trump, I don’t think that person exists. Trump is a sociopathic facist who is hell bent on creating an oligarchical kleptocracy Putin would envy. How can anyone succeed with that? Pollievre would simply head down to Florida and bend the knee like all the other cowards.
For the first time in my life, I would consider voting liberal if Carney wins.
CANADA FIRST PERIOD !!!
It’s a very big stretch to think of Poilievre becoming Mr. Unifier after spending his entire career as Mr. Nasty. What we need is a big picture diplomat like Mark Carney who understands what’s really driving the costs of living in all countries, not just Canada.
We don’t need leaders who are stuck in the past and content to see more devastating and costly climate events like the recent droughts damaging food crops in the western US and Canada, the terrible wildfires in LA, Lytton BC, Fort McMurray Alberta, Jasper Alberta, the record setting floods in Toronto and Montreal, the damaging storm surges on the Atlantic coast, the increasingly intense and costly hurricanes and tornadoes in the US and elsewhere. The best way the put the brakes on the cost of living is to put the brakes on climate change. The inevitable transition to clean energy is underway and offers enormous economic opportunities in 2025, 2035, and beyond for all areas including Alberta. Mark Carney’s career has given him that understanding.
I am exhausted with Poilievre’s constant stream of insults, attacks, and name-calling. As far as I am concerned he is a pompous career politician with absolutely no real world (outside of politics) experience, no substrance, no plan, no suggestions, no improvements, no positivity, no respect, and I am worried about what will happen when he inevitably becomes our next prime minister. I despise Trump, but at least he has a lot of plans and is not afreaid of sharing them. I strongly dislike Ford, and I find it disturbing that I respect his behaviour around the Trump threat. Sadly I don’t have any positivity right now either. The carbon tax has obviously become a real problem for the average Candian, regardless of whether or not it makes sense (thanks to Poilievre). This is the sad reality of current politics. Carney at least has demonstrated strong leadership and solid results in the face of very real and difficult economic uncertainties. If you read Poilievre and Carney’s resumes, there is absolutely NO contest on who should lead Canada after the next election. Carney has worked in finance all over the world and has a clear and well established track record. It is unfortunate that the tide is against him.
Will Poilievre suddenly demonstrate statesmanship and leadership?
I doubt it.
Whiny complaints are his one and only thing.
Search “What Pierre Poilievre and Donald Trump have in common”
“we now have a Canadian Conservative leader who trades in the same trademark combination of bombast, belligerence, and bs.”
PP’s whole schtick was complaining about Trudeau and the carbon tax
The carbon tax and rebate are actually a net benefit for most Canadians PP wants to take away.
For some references see comments here: https://doppleronline.ca/huntsville/smith-and-richter-at-odds-over-energy-efficiency-programs/
.Now that JT is gone PP’s gone quiet.
Complaints are easy. And worthless.
Solutions are hard and very valuable.
To get a sense of a highly qualified contender for Prime Minister that isn’t just a whiny, career politician watch the video “Mark Carney appears on the Daily Show.”
In a debate Carney will crush PP and his lies and complaints.
Donald Trump is a liar. Yet he will become president again.
Pierre Poilievre is a liar. Yet he could become prime minister.
Doug Ford is a liar. Yet he could become premier again.
Currently there is no hope for positive initiatives in Canada.
Trump has shown PCs in Canada that blatant lies hardly affect polling numbers at all.
I actually don’t blame politicians.
I blame the apathetic electorate.
All politicians from all parties lie occasionally.
But at least they try to be subtle about it and make it difficult to fact check.
Not since Trump.
Blatant lies that are easy to fact check yet polling numbers aren’t affected.
Will Canadians smarten up before the federal election and fact check PP’s many lies?
Unlikely.
Voters didn’t in the US.