Listen Up! Political maneuvering | Commentary

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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