If the Liberal leader keeps his cool and avoids attack mode, he can reinforce the impression that he is calm, thoughtful, and fully prepared to deal with future White House bullies. 

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 21, 2025.

OTTAWA—Only in Canada would a hockey game trump a federal election debate.

The Montreal Canadiens had one last chance to make the playoffs last week, and their game was in conflict with the national leaders’ debate in French.

The simple solution was to move the debate forward to an earlier time. The move probably helped the front-runner more than anyone else.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney struggles more in French than the rest, but the move may have meant fewer Quebecers watched the debate in person. Some were likely still en route from work, and others were preparing dinner for their families. Six o’clock is probably the worst time for a political debate.

But there’s also a school of thought to say that debates really don’t change much.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had better hope that they are wrong because he needs a major boost to have any chance of beating the Liberals on April 28.

In reality, there are very few occasions when a knockout punch decides an election.

Most people remember Brian Mulroney’s response when then-prime minister John Turner was asked to defend a series of appointments forced upon him by predecessor Pierre Trudeau.

Turner’s response, “I had no option,” caused Progressive Conservative leader Mulroney to jab him with a pointed finger. “You, sir, had an option.” That knockout punch led the PCs to a historic victory of 211 seats in the September 1984 election.

Many have compared that debate scenario to this year’s campaign. Both campaigns saw unpopular Trudeaus leaving their positions as prime minister.

Both saw a new leader take over who had been outside the previous prime minister’s direct orbit. In Turner’s case, he left government after a disagreement with the prime minister, and returned when the leadership position opened up anew.

In Carney’s case, he is brand new to politics. But his previous work as an adviser to Justin Trudeau meant that he was not completely separated from the previous regime.

He, too, has experienced a post-leadership bump. That would likely have slumped in the rollout of a regular election campaign.

But United States President Donald Trump made sure that this was not an ordinary Canadian election.

He caused a pan-Canadian call to arms with his constant musings about annexing our country, and referring to our prime minister as “governor.”

Carney came out as the leader most likely to defend this country’s interests against American protectionism and against a president who seems to enjoy belittling allies and supporting former enemies.

It has been lost on no-one that the president exempted Russia and North Korea in the global tariff attacks that saw him turn his back on Europe, Canada, and other former allies recently.

The debates in French and English last week permitted Poilievre to exercise his acrid humour in a frontal attack on Carney. But he had to use caution because if he were to be seen as too nasty, that would simply reinforce the animus that Canadian women voters have already identified in him.

There is a reason that he is running 20 points behind when it comes to support from women. His nasty, three-word slogans get the anti-vaxxers motivated, but have the opposite effect on women who are concerned with issues like language and behaviour. They want to provide good examples to their children, and when it gets too nasty, politicians simply lose their support.

I was on the debate preparation team for Trudeau in his first election, and the whole group was encouraging him to hit hard. He refused to do so, saying he wanted to show that politics didn’t have to be dirty.

He was right. Running in third place, Trudeau took a nasty hit from then-NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, and in a calm voice, he reminded Mulcair that debate day was the anniversary of his father’s death. Mulcair melted and Trudeau vaulted to first place in an election victory that no one had seen coming.

All that to say that debates do count. But for the current Liberal momentum to be blunted, it would mean a direct hit from the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democrats. They are all fighting for their lives, so any onlooker can expect a full-frontal attack on the prime minister.

If he keeps his cool and doesn’t fall into attack mode, Carney can reinforce the impression that he is calm, thoughtful, and fully prepared to deal with future White House bullies.

That perception will be important since, if Carney is successful at the end of the month, his anti-bullying days may just be starting.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

The Liberal leader is leading in all demographic groups except for men aged 35 to 54

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on April 7, 2025.

OTTAWA—Women are stampeding to the Liberals in this election.

The most recent Ipsos Reid poll showed that, for women over the age of 55, Prime Minister Mark Carney holds a 27-point lead over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

The Liberal leader is leading in all demographic groups except for men aged 35 to 54.

But the startling gap between women and men is worth examining.

Poilievre didn’t help himself last week when he launched his housing strategy claiming that women’s biological clock would run out before a Liberal housing program would help.

“I don’t think any woman wants to hear Pierre Poilievre talking about their body, period!” was the immediate retort from New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Critics on social media questioned why Poilievre plans to cancel national childcare if he is so interested in women having babies.

The social gains introduced by the Liberals over the last decade are particularly important for women.

Obviously, childcare is huge, and the dental care program is especially important for older women on fixed incomes who cannot afford dental work. Ditto for school lunch programs and pharmacare, including free birth control, IUDs, hormonal implants, and the morning-after pill.

Poilievre is definitely not on board with national childcare, and has been ambiguous about dental and pharmacare. He has promised that no person currently covered under those programs would be cut off, but is silent on the extension of the programs to others. He also voted against the National School Food Program, and is silent on its continuation.

These are issues of particular interest to women.

It is not lost on them that several dozen members of the Conservative caucus have pledged to support limitations on abortion through private members’ bills. Poilievre himself, in his very first speech to Parliament, spoke out in opposition to public health funding for transgender medical services.

The Trump Supreme Court nominations that resulted in an end to reproductive choice in the United States, and the United States president decision to abolish equal rights policies for women, minorities, gays, and transsexuals has frightened Canadian women, as well. If it could happen there, what about us? Poilievre doesn’t pass that smell test.

Carney leads dramatically in net-positive favourability. That sum is the number achieved when you deduct unfavourable from the favourable viewpoints to discover what people think about each candidate.

Carney is enjoying a positive favourability among men and women. With men, the net range is 18-plus while for women it is 26-plus, according to the same poll.

The difference between Carney’s favourability rating and Poilievre’s unfavourable is stunning. Three in five women—at 61 per cent—say they have an unfavourable view of Poilievre.

Carney has also managed to attract the majority of young voters, a crucial element in Justin Trudeau’s 2015 majority government victory.

Forty-five per cent of young men between the ages of 18 and 34 now support the Liberals, and 46 per cent of men over 54 years old support the Liberals.

We are almost four weeks away from the vote, and the leaders’ debates could both have an effect on the outcome.

Poilievre has been cautioned publicly by members of his own party that he needs to pivot away from the anti-Liberal message to an anti-Trump stance.

But the challenge for the Conservative leader is that a significant percentage of his base also supports Trump. So if he is too tough on the American president, he will lose supporters, as well.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who is busy courting Trumpian podcasters and running her own “Trash Canada” campaign, is stoking the flames of separation in Alberta, which is decidedly unhelpful to her federal leader.

Poilievre not only has had to pivot on message that Canada is broken, he also has to attack Trump. The “lost Liberal decade” phrase, which peppers all his public declarations, seems to reinforce the notion that Canada is broken, even while his Bring it Home/Canada First mantra sounds like a page out of the Trump playbook.

Of course, Trump’s chaotic approach to government is ensuring that his prints are all over this Canadian election.

His ill-advised Liberation Day announcement of worldwide tariffs on April 2 has certainly caught everyone’s attention. Even if the American Senate is successful in reversing the emergency resolution that allowed the president to impose tariffs, it is going to take time for this to happen.

Financial markets and ordinary citizens in the United States are already very nervous about the cost of these tariffs.

But Trump’s tenure is four years, and Poilievre only has three weeks.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Liberals are positioned to fight Donald Trump. Thanks to Alberta’s premier, the Conservatives seem to be ‘in sync’ with him.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 31, 2025.

OTTAWA—With friends like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre needs no enemies.

In the first week of a very short federal election campaign, Smith managed to solidify the ballot question in the Liberals’ favour.

Her major gaffe involved an intervention with the White House, asking American officials to delay tariffs until after the election because that would help Poilievre. Smith stated Poilievre was “in sync” with U.S. President Donald Trump.

All this was recorded in an interview Smith gave to Breitbart, a right-wing podcast that’s been advocating a constitutional amendment to make Trump president for life.

Instead of apologizing for foreign interference in an election, when confronted, Smith simply doubled down and claimed this was her lobbying effort for Canada.

The Alberta New Democrats did not agree, organizing the unveiling of a Canada flag in front of the Alberta legislature to underscore their belief in our country.

Smith added insult to injury by flying to Florida on March 27 to headline an extremist American fundraiser for an Islamophobic group that, according to Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, denies the history of slavery.

Smith was set to share the stage with Ben Shapiro, who has called Canada “a silly country” and the “Puerto Rico of the North.” Shapiro believes that Canada should be annexed as the 51st state without the right to vote.

Despite multiple requests to cancel her trip, Smith spoke in the Alberta legislature where she blamed the controversy on Liberals because the federal government had asked premiers to join in an all-in tariff lobbying effort.

Smith claimed the opposition to her Florida fundraiser came from eastern Canadian media elites, and the Liberals and New Democrats. She insisted that Albertans supported her.

The more she speaks out, the more Canadians learn about the deep ties between Canada’s Conservatives and MAGA supporters south of the border.

With the American vice-president joining his wife on an uninvited trip to Greenland, Canadians are taking the annexation threat very seriously.

Trump has refused to rule out the use of force to take over the island, but the local appetite for annexation is close to zero.

In the recent election, only one per cent of Greenland voters supported a party that promoted unification discussions. That party was the only one that did not get a single seat in parliament.

Back in this country, the ballot question for the April 28 election appears to be a vote on which leader is best placed to fight American tariffs and annexation.

Poilievre is trying to portray himself as the person with the chops to fight Trump’s tariffs, but quisling Smith’s cosy relationship with extremist Trump supporters is killing that narrative. Smith’s position is not lost on Canadian voters, and has helped to send Tory polling numbers downward.

The turnaround for the Liberals has been nothing short of astonishing. It is so positive that even a former Nova Scotia minister who left politics for “family reasons” made a surprise decision to return. Sean Fraser said last week it was a personal request from the leader that made him reverse his retirement decision, even though a successor for his riding nomination had already been chosen.

Other star candidates like a former mayor of Vancouver, the former acting mayor of Toronto, and well-known journalists Evan Solomon and Anthony Germain have jumped into the fray for the Liberals as the party’s popularity continues to rise.

The first week of the campaign has Liberals on a high.

Polling numbers across multiple platforms show that Prime Minister Mark Carney has eliminated Poilievre’s lead, and has moved to top spot.

The NDP has felt the pain of this Liberal swing because polls show leader Jagmeet Singh moving to single digits.

As Trump continues to threaten more tariffs and annexation, Liberal numbers continue to rise. Carney is viewed as the best choice to stare down the American president.

When it comes to the question of affordability, the Conservative leader fares best.

But it looks as though the ballot question will be who is best equipped to fight the United States. Carney’s massive resumé beats Poilievre’s by a mile.

Trump just added 25-per-cent tariffs to the automobile sector, and that is a huge blow to the Canadian economy.

As a pre-emptive strike, Carney announced a plan to fight the tariffs with a $2-billion auto industry fund the morning before Trump’s announcement. Poilievre was campaigning on tax cuts for seniors.

Liberals are positioned to fight Trump. Thanks to Smith, Tories seem to be in tight with him.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 24, 2025.

OTTAWA—Trump is rooting for Carney. Who would believe it?

Nobody. The notion that the president of the United States would support the leader of a party he has been insulting and demeaning, is as believable as his claim that he won the 2020 election.

Donald Trump has spent the first two months of his term in office trashing the Liberal government and threatening the country with economic takeover.

Donald Trump has spent the first two months of his term in office trashing the Liberal government and threatening the country with economic takeover.

The interview given by the president in which he states he would rather deal with Liberals because the Conservative leader said bad things about him is simply another of Trump’s multiple contradictory positions.

Pierre Poilievre jumped on the statement, claiming that he is the strong Canadian leader to fight the constant flow of attacks from the president.

But he will have a tough time convincing most Canadians of that, since his whole career has been based on copying the messaging and governing approaches of Trump.

Just last week, Poilievre announced he would break a longstanding tradition, by kicking journalists off his campaign plane during the upcoming election.

Poilievre barring reporters from his aircraft is akin to Trump’s decision to eject legitimate journalists from the White House briefings and replace them with so-called social media journalists.

One of those newbies posed a ridiculous question on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s clothing choices during the recent disastrous meeting with the Ukrainian president.

Poilievre supporters regularly denigrate the Canadian mainstream media, labelling them as legacy journalists with whom the Conservative leader refuses to engage.

CBC’s Rosemary Barton is constantly reaching out on social media simply asking for an interview with the leader of the official opposition.

Poilievre has also recently released details on his party’s position to cancel foreign aid in favour of military reinvestment.

That is the same position taken by Trump, who authorized Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate international aid.

That cancellation was questioned last week in a Federal Court judgment ruling that the dismantling of USAID was likely unconstitutional.

It is unclear whether the White House will even heed this court ruling as Trump has pushed back against another court ruling opposing the mass deportations being carried out under government orders.

The chief judge of the American Supreme Court issued a video warning to the president, after Trump threatened a judge with impeachment because of a ruling.

Last week, Poilievre repeated his promise that he would have no problem firing the governor of the Bank of Canada.

Poilievre refuses to accept the independence of those responsible for Canada’s monetary policy just as Trump threatens the independence of the judicial system.

Some believe that Trump’s comments were specifically intended to help the Conservative leader, but the presidential tirade was more likely directed against Poilievre’s negative commentary on Trump.

“The Conservative that’s running is stupidly no friend of mine. I don’t know but he said negative things. So when he says negative things, I couldn’t care less. … It is easier to deal actually with a Liberal. And maybe they’re going to win, but I don’t really care.” Trump said in an interview on Fox News.

Poilievre jumped on the attack saying,

“It’s true. I am a strong leader. I am a tough guy to deal with….By contrast the Liberals…have driven a half trillion dollars of investment to the U.S.”

Poilievre’s pro-Canada positioning is relatively new. He has spent most of his time in opposition saying Canada is broken because of the tax policies of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Now Trudeau is gone, the carbon pricing is gone, and Poilievre is trying to pivot into a posture as the strong man for Canada.

Trump’s declaration will definitely soften the MAGA edges that have been dogging Poilievre.

If the ballot question in the election is “who is best prepared to deal with an erratic American bent on annexing Canada,” current polls place Prime Minister Mark Carney in first place.

Trump could be blamed for the turnaround.

In an unprecedented political comeback, the Liberal Party has reached polling parity with the Conservatives since the election of Carney.

Trump is not oblivious to the astonishing political upswing of the Liberals.

He must be steaming that Carney’s first international trip was to Europe, not Mar-a-Lago. Carney also managed to purchase an Australian early warning radar system that was supposed to be destined for the United States.

One of Canada’s first financial moves under Carney was to sell off American dollars in a Canadian government bond offering.

Trump has met his match.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

If this fight continues, the federal government may have to consider overriding Danielle Smith’s objections. The pain of tariffs needs to be shared across the country. If Ontario and Quebec are facing tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, every province has to do their part. 

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 17, 2025.

OTTAWA—The roller-coaster ride facing our country is unlikely to end soon.

U.S. President Donald Trump is doubling down on his false claims that Canada is responsible for the tariff wars engulfing both countries.

And he continues to repeat that Canada’s best economic path would be to simply join the United States. Trump has been publicly questioning the boundaries between the two countries, and the organizations that manage boundary issues and shared watersheds.

The International Boundary Commission has maintained the integrity of the border since a treaty signed in 1925. The current boundary was surveyed and demarcated in 1908. Since that time, there has been zero claim that the border designation is wrong.

But we are dealing with a president who thinks he can rename the Gulf of Mexico simply by executive order.

He can also decide that news organizations refusing to carry the Gulf of America geographic designation will no longer be part of the White House press pool.

Reuters and the Associated Press have both been kept out of White House briefings for not bowing to the president’s order.

The White House Correspondence Association used to be responsible for managing the media membership and presidential pool access. It has criticized the change in policy, but Trump has said he wants new media included.

The president has also decided to further snuff out free speech by authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport anyone in the country on a temporary permit who participates in legal demonstrations.

So much for America’s First Amendment guaranteeing free speech.

Trump’s disrespect for Canada continues apace, even though the vast majority of Canadians have made it very clear that they are not interested in becoming the 51st state.

The only organized group that seems lukewarm to the fight for Canada is the truckers’ Ottawa occupation group.

Leader Tamara Lich—still awaiting the verdict in her trial for mischief, intimidation and counselling people to break the law—went on social media to complain about the slogan “Elbows Up,” calling it “the stupidest slogan I ever heard of.”

Mike Myers didn’t agree with her. In his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, the Canadian comedian launched the “elbows up” movement after playing Elon Musk on the show. At the very end of the episode, Myers opened his vest, showing his ‘Canada Is Not For Sale’ T-shirt, and mouthed the words “elbows up” message while crooking his left elbow up. Every Canadian knew exactly what he meant. #ElbowsUp became a rallying cry that Liberal Leader Mark Carney referenced in his victory speech at the party convention last weekend, as did outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Some of the Liberal government’s more vocal opponents don’t like the unity message. It will be interesting to see how the leader of the official opposition manages this national consensus.

Pierre Poilievre has expended so much political energy to convince people that Canada is broken that it is tough for him to embrace a national, united fight for the country.

His core support draws from anti-vax truckers and if he appears to be too pro-Canada, that could cost him dearly. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has made it clear she will risk nothing in her tariff fight.

While most other premiers appear focused on this existential fight of our lives, Smith heads off to Florida March 27 to headline a conservative event with Ben Shapiro, a strong supporter of the plan to overrun our nation.

“When we take over Canada, you will be expelled to Panama to work the canal,” he wrote in a social post to prime minister Justin Trudeau in January.

Alberta New Democratic Party Leader Naheed Nenshi called Smith’s participation in the US$1,500 ticketed event, “Despicable. These are not the kind of people that Albertans want her associating with,” Nenshi told reporters.

Smith defended her participation, saying she will be influencing millions of followers on Shapiro’s social media account.

The premier has also been on Breitbart, saying she is getting the message out, but unlike Ontario Premier Doug Ford, her main strategy appears to be appeasement.

Smith repeatedly states that Alberta will not retaliate with oil and gas tariffs, even though the brief threat of electricity tariffication got Trump’s attention.

If this fight continues, the federal government may have to consider overriding her objections. The pain of tariffs needs to be shared across the country. If Ontario and Quebec are facing tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, every province has to do their part.

A fuel tariff would be immediate cause a hike in gasoline prices south of the border. Gas-guzzling pro-Trump truckers would not be amused.

Canada needs all elbows up!

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

United States President Donald Trump has been able to turn most of the world against him, but his unfair tariff war against Canada will also bring some positive changes to Canadian public policy.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 10, 2025.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is going out on a high.

So much so that some believe he will remain prime minister until a quick election makes a decision on future leadership.

The thinking behind this new political twist is that Trudeau would be able to fight the tariff war internationally while the new Liberal leader would focus on fighting the opposition in a Canada-wide campaign.

That decision will be up to the winner.

United States President Donald Trump has been able to turn most of the world against him, but his unfair tariff war against our country will also bring some positive changes to Canadian public policy.

Canadians are united in their resolve to fight what Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly characterizes as an existential threat.

Former Alberta United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney has come out gangbusters, lauding Canada’s decision to fight American tariffs with all possible tools at our disposal.

His social media message was an indirect hit at current UCP leader Danielle Smith, the only domestic leader who has been publicly undermining the Canadian tariff response strategy.

Only minutes after Trump announced illegal 25-per-cent tariffs on almost everything, and a 10-per-cent tariff on energy, Smith undercut the feds by announcing on an American media outlet that she would not retaliate with her tariffs on oil and gas.

Any good negotiator would never make such an admission on Fox News in a foreign country without having a discussion with Canadian partners. Smith obviously doesn’t have much concern for industries other than Alberta’s petroleum producers. Her official response is that she is onside with the prime minister and other premiers, but her actions say otherwise. Like Trump, she is an untrustworthy ally.

Compare Smith’s response to that of re-elected Progressive Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford. He is threatening to cut off electrical exports, and has cancelled the $100-million Starlink satellite deal with Elon Musk’s company.

Ford’s aggressive response caught Washington’s attention, as well, so much so that he received a call from American tariff designer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Lutnick tried to convince Ford that Canada should enter into negotiations to lower the illegal tariffs.

Ford pushed back and insisted that the only negotiation was to end the tariffs totally.

United against the tariff war—possibly minus Premier Smith—Canadians have also seen this fight for our sovereignty spread to Quebec.

For the first time, the premier of Quebec is on the same page as the rest of the country. For the first time, the fight for sovereignty is not aimed at Ottawa, but at Washington, D.C.

Josh Morgan, mayor of London, Ont., and chair of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities big city mayors’ caucus, is calling for municipalities to change procurement rules to encourage “Buy Non-American” purchases. Morgan says the 25-per-cent tariffs have forced municipalities to move away from American purchasing where possible.

That means sourcing Canadian or international replacements for anything that municipalities, hospitals, schools, and other public institutions purchase.

A “Buy Canadian” strategy embraced by municipalities across the country could be huge. Provincial and federal institutions need to follow suit, including Crown corporations.

The federal government is the largest property owner and purchaser in the nation, and a shift in procurement policy to buy Canadian could rejuvenate businesses hit by Trump’s economic attack.

Quebecers are motivated because they also know that if Trump’s annexation threat were to come true, he would quickly squash the French language in public policy.

The idea that a country is founded on two official languages is an anathema to Trump’s vision of a white, anti-diversity population.

The president’s new slogan is “Make America Rich Again,” but the stock market reaction to his tariffs doesn’t match his rhetoric.

Fox News carried an analysis of the tariffication on trucks, saying it would boost the cost of a Dodge Ram truck from $80,000 to $100,000.

One dealer in Pennsylvania told Fox News that a truck purchase cancellation has already occurred because of the price hike.

House prices in the U.S. are expected to jump 10 per cent, and Republicans—facing trouble in their districts with lost Canadian booze and orange juice sales—are starting to knock on the president’s door.

Trump’s tariff war has woken up his base at home. When the market for bourbon and trucks is facing a crisis, you know the president will have to act.

An offer to negotiate his illegal tariffs should be a non-starter for Canada.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Up until Doug Ford’s hot mic comments about Donald Trump, he was smooth sailing as Captain Canada, but he’s hit some rough waters.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on February 10, 2025.

OTTAWA—Captain Canada has no clothes. Ontario’s Doug Ford lost that standing when it was revealed last week in a leaked hot microphone recording that he was a huge Trump fan who celebrated when Donald Trump was victorious.

“On election day, was I happy this guy won? One hundred per cent I was,” Ford told supporters while chatting with a few of them on Feb. 3 at a campaign event. “Then the guy pulled out the knife and fucking yanked it in us.”

In that regard, Ford joined a minority of Canadians as the vast majority were hoping for another outcome to the American election.

Ford said all the right things in the lead-up to the tariff war, including wearing the mantle of Captain Canada in multiple American television interviews.

His negative numbers were neutralized as a result of these interventions, and it looked like Ford would be sailing to a second term.

Then came the revelations of what he really thinks. Ford called a snap election banking on two things: the unpopularity of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the popularity of Ford’s personal fight for Canada.

But now he has faced a serious hit to his plan on both those fronts.

First, the prime minister’s reaction to the tariffs, including an incredible speech to the nation and a robust response to Trump’s proposed plan, have actually boosted his popularity.

It is hard for Ford to run against Trudeau, and then get on television to say how we all want to work together.

Second, Ford’s attachment to Trump, and the fact that he is sticking to a multi-million Starlink satellite contract with Elon Musk is causing pain on political fronts.

Ford briefly announced he would cancel the deal, but then revoked his cancellation when the tariff threat was put on pause for 30 days.

Trump may have paused, and his attention temporarily pivoted to an insane suggestion to kick all Palestinians out of Gaza and turn the place into an American-owned resort. For a president who campaigned on staying out of other countries’ business, he is off to a poor start.

Trump continually repeats his dream to literally turn Canada into the 51st state. And Canadians are literally not buying it. The national move to “Buy Canadian” and to refuse American purchases or travel shows no signs of pausing.

Trump has even managed to turn Quebecers into ardent Canadian nationalists. The boycott is being felt so broadly that Boston Pizza felt compelled to underscore its Canadian identity.

The company took the unprecedented step of clarifying through social media that despite its name, it is not American.

In fact, it is so Canadian, it was even started by a former Mountie.

The Boston Pizza mea culpa is proof positive that the Buy Canadian movement is working. Even after the American president postponed tariff threats for 30 days, Canadians appear to be launching their own trade war.

And if the label or destination is American, the answer is no.

As for Ford’s Conservative counterpart in Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is still reeling from the fact that his carbon tax election has been pulverized by a change in Liberal leadership and the fight against Trump’s political agenda.

Poilievre is also too closely aligned with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the only Canadian politician bent on weakening her country’s leadership by siding with Trump.

It took Smith only hours after the announcement that Trudeau had been successful in postponing tariffs for the Alberta premier to start attacking him again, and defending Trump’s actions as understandable.

Only a month ago, pundits were claiming that Smith was in the ascendancy as Trudeau was leaving and Poilievre appeared poised to become prime minister.

Thank Trump for a trade war that vaults the federal Liberals into top spot in Ontario for the first time in almost two years.

Mainstreet Research polling published last week showed the federal Liberals at 43 per cent while the Conservatives are at 39 per cent. That has not been replicated in the provincial election trending yet, but Ford’s support of Trump is already provoking some movement in the race.

The hatred for Trudeau that was supposed to be the underpinnings of a successful Ford re-election has diminished, and with the fight for Canada, the premier has to be cautious about his attacks on the prime minister.

As for Poilievre, he has largely disappeared, not doubt huddled with supporters trying to craft a new three-word slogan as “Canada is Broken” no longer cuts it.

Perhaps he should pivot to a four-word pitch.

There is a new MAGA hat circulating featuring the Canadian flag, and the words Make America Go Away.

That is a hat the Tories should be wearing because as long as the threat of Trump’s annexation plans remains, Canada will not be broken.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

But by associating with these extremists, Tory appeal to ordinary Canadians is diminished. Short-term gain for long-term pain.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 31, 2022.

OTTAWA—Hundreds of anti-vaxx truckers descended on Ottawa on Saturday and the longer the convoy actually goes on, the more the Conservatives seem to be tangled in the anti-vaccination web.

Now even the New Democrats have been embroiled in the drama after the brother–in-law of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh donated $13,000 to support the convoy.

According to Singh’s office, his relative did not fully understand what the convoy was up to and has now applied to have his funds reimbursed through a GoFundMe process.

Meanwhile, the truckers are rolling in the dough with more than $6-million already collected in support of the convoy.

With the funding come questions as to exactly what the money will be used for. Tamara Lich, convoy organizer, is associated with the Maverick Party, a separatist movement in Alberta. She also launched the GoFundMe page which has been under review by the funding platform because of questions about the transparency of the flow of funds and the plan for disbursement.

However, the truckers have no support from any official provincial or national trucking organization. The international vaccine requirement for truckers was instituted both by Canada and the United States, effective mid-January. Almost 90 per cent of international truckers are already vaccinated so convoy protesters represent a very small number of commercial trucking operations.

Truckers are actually ahead of the rest of Canada when it comes to the numbers of fully vaccinated workers.

That hasn’t seemed to stop the Conservatives from throwing their support behind the movement, with vocal, high-profile approval from former leader Andrew Scheer and current deputy leader Candice Bergen.

Likewise, leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis has accused the vaccine mandate of promoting segregation. Outspoken critic Pierre Poilievre has called the federal requirement a “vaccine vendetta.”

As usual, leader Erin O’Toole is sending out a confusing vaccine message. On the one hand, he refused last week to say whether he planned to meet with truckers, but his caucus was collecting signatures for a petition seeking the reversal of the vaccine mandate for federal workers and international truckers.

If the GoFundMe response is any indication, the Tories could raise a lot of money by jumping on the anti-vaxx wagon. But they also risk alienating a huge percentage of the population that is simply fed up with the refusal of anti-vaxxers to consider science and society in defending their positions.

Just last week, Canadian musical icon Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify after the music streaming platform refused to drop anti-vaxxer and podcaster Joe Rogan. In another health twist, a Boston hospital patient was removed from the wait-list for a heart transplant after refusing to be vaccinated.

The hospital explained its decision by saying vaccination is a lifestyle behaviour “required for transplant candidates … in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and to optimize the patient’s survival after transplantation.”

The medical community is unanimous, and the public is not far behind, in Canada and globally.

Tennis whiz Novak Djokovic was literally run out from Down Under after failing to meet Australian Open tennis vaccination requirements. Djokovic said he was planning on studying the matter further after he was deported. He faces the same requirement for the upcoming French Open and apparently may take a pass there as well.

Bearing the new nickname NoVax, Djokovic has allied himself with the same group of vaccine deniers who came to Ottawa.

Some of the Canadian protesters have even gone so far as to suggest they wanted to replicate the Jan. 6 takedown of the American capital, which resulted in five deaths.

Two Canadian convoy participants were photographed—one wearing a Donald Trump MAGA hat and the other wearing a yellow star of David—mimicking the Nazi requirement for Jewish identification.

Convoy organizers have distanced themselves from racist supporters but that didn’t stop white supremacist Paul Fromm from tweeting “I pray this is Canada’s Budapest, 1956, when patriots and ordinary citizens rose up and overthrew tyranny.”

With so few anti-vaxxers, why would the Conservatives even bother to align themselves with the so-called “Canada Unity Convoy.”

Some of it is about building a power base, with petitioners getting embedded into future Conservative communications. Some is about raising money, because the angry folks attached to this convoy are ripe for campaign donation pitches.

But by associating with these extremists, Tory appeal to ordinary Canadians is diminished.

Short-term gain for long-term pain.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

The plethora of warnings and onerous test results will keep all but the most intrepid traveller from venturing across to the United States anytime soon.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on October 18, 2021.

OTTAWA—The Canadian southern border is opening up, but don’t expect a flood of travel anytime soon.

The plethora of warnings and onerous test results will keep all but the most intrepid traveller from venturing across to the United States anytime soon.

Many border communities depend on travellers crossing the border for a day or two, investing a few dollars into the local economy and getting a break from the drudgery of daily chores.

But the Canadian government’s testing paranoia will make that possibility very nearly impossible.

To enter Canada, even as a fully vaccinated person, you need to have a PCR test that actually spins your DNA in a lab to guarantee your COVID-free status.

That test payment hovers around $200 U.S. on average, and at most American airports, it can be secured for between $250 and $350 U.S. per person.

At that price, the possibility of crossing the border for a night on the town is just about nil. No one in their right mind is willing to pay that kind of a travel premium just for the pleasure of breaking bread in another country.

The testing system for getting out of the country is less onerous. Right now, the Americans will accept an antigen test, which analyses your body’s protein to see whether you are COVID-free. That test is currently offered free to unvaccinated school teachers in Ontario for twice-weekly personal testing. But to Jane Q. public, the drug store charge is $40.

That is a lot more affordable than the outrageous cost of PCR testing, but consumers are still being gouged. Some European destinations are charging $1 for antigen tests while private clinics in Canada get up to $100 for administering the same test, which can be used within 72 hours as proof that you are travel ready.

Price-gouging and onerous test requirements will definitely discourage travellers from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

And that is just fine with the Canadian government, because it really does not want you to travel anyway.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tried to discreetly rationalize the open border announcement with an ongoing government directive to avoid international travel.

She suggested Canadians follow the Toronto public health officer’s advice to “just try to do the things you need to do and maybe hold back on the things you just want to do.”

So even though the border opening was lauded by many, it is clearly not the wish of the government that Canadians start moving.

But those border communities that are starving for business might feel differently.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty is urging the government to scrap generalized travel advisories in favour of individuated advice focused on the situation in specific countries or regions.

Beatty characterized the current blanket travel advisories as being in the category of “stay home or you will die” and asked the government to review it.

Freeland herself was in Washington when she was suggesting that Canadians do only what is necessary when it comes to travel.

In reality, the in-person appearances that are currently being made internationally by ministers could also be carried out digitally. So, Freeland could choose to stay home and make her point in the virtual bubble.

The fact that she is not doing so underscores the point made by Beatty that we are almost fully vaccinated and know a lot more about the spread of COVID than we did a year ago.

We know how to protect ourselves by getting vaccinated, practising social distancing, and wearing masks.

Pre-vaccination, global gatherings were virtual. And leaders from all countries were able to participate and get their point across in a virtual way.

With the shield of double vaccination, leaders are starting to meet internationally again. That is a healthy development. But it cannot be only applied for political leaders or travelling salespeople.

The Canadian government should have a plan to encourage the same safe movement for ordinary Canadians.

As leaders start cautiously fanning out to meetings across the world, citizens should be encouraged to start travelling with proper precautions.

Advising people to stay home while politicians travel is hypocritical.

The lockdown advice also runs counter to mounting evidence that risks from social isolation can quickly outstrip that of viral exposure.

Increasing depression and mental health problems have been a by-product of Covid lockdowns.

The government should stop stoking Canadians’ travel fears. It should be issuing sound advice on safe travels.

Open borders need to be matched by open minds.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Even if Donald Trump is defeated on Nov. 3, and that is by no means a certainty, the differences that mark our two countries will only continue to grow

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on October 19, 2020.

OTTAWA—Has Donald Trump damaged Canada-United States relations irreparably?

According to a Focus Canada poll published in The Globe and Mail last week, Canadians’ view of our southern neighbour has sunk to the lowest level since those statistics have been collected.

The polling consortium included the Environics Institute, the University of Ottawa and the Century Initiative.

The number of Canadians who consider the United States an enemy has jumped from one per cent to 11 per cent in the past seven years.

Roland Paris, a political science professor and former adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was quoted as saying the worsening of Canada’s view was largely a result of attitudes toward American president Donald Trump. Paris said the number of Canadians who consider the United States an enemy “is more an expression of frustration and alienation than the actual belief that the United States represents an enemy.”

But I am not so sure.

The Senate hearings into the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett shine a light into what is really going on in the United States.

That a candidate for the Supreme Court could claim the president does not have to abide by Supreme Court decisions is outrageous. Her public claim that it was an “open question” as to whether the president could pardon himself is startling. Barrett said she would have to study the issue before rendering a decision on it.

She also refused to weigh in on a defeated Trump’s potential refusal to leave office and was silent on the constitutionality of voter intimidation and deliberate attempts to discredit the election process.

She also refused to affirm the legality of mail-in ballots, claiming that it was “a matter of policy that I can’t express a view.”

Even after Trump has left office, the chief constitutionalists of the country are likely to be Supreme Court judges who are not prepared to defend against potential fraud in the White House.

By all accounts, Barrett’s nomination will sail through the Senate hearing process, as there are more Senators who want to anoint her than oppose her.

What does that say about the state of democracy in a country with or without Donald Trump as its leader?

The majority of Senators are willing to support a Supreme Court nominee, not because of her constitutional knowledge, but rather because of her religious beliefs. It is well known that Barrett is opposed to abortion and has already spoken out against the legal decision of Roe versus Wade that provides the basis for legal abortions in the United States. Barrett refused to be pinned down on the matter during the Senate hearings, but she has previously joined groups and signed petitions opposing all abortions.

That runs counter to the view of the majority of Americans, but aligns with the core of religious zealots who have lined up to re-elect Trump.

The fact that Trump still garners 42 per cent support just two weeks before the vote is a reflection, not just of the president, but of the state of politics in the United States.

The fact that no moderate Republicans have crossed the floor to vote with the Democrats and block the Barrett nomination is a further signal of how powerful the religious right has become in the last number of years.

Senator Lindsay Graham, in a dead heat in his own bid for re-election, has flipped his opposition to the early nomination and is now leading the charge to see her confirmed before the November 3 election day.

All that to say that even after Trump is no longer the president, the cleavage between Canadian and American viewpoints is growing.

Only 22 per cent of Canadians surveyed believe that Canada is getting more like the United States. For the first time since the question has been asked, more Canadians felt our country is becoming less like America. Thirty-five per cent of those polled held that view this year, compared with only nine per cent back in 2001.

The trend lines are definitely continuing as Canada and the United States go in distinctly different directions.

In addition to the Trump effect, Canadians referenced American racial unrest and its inept response to COVID 19 as reasons why they believe the two countries are growing apart.

Canadians continue to view our American neighbour with growing indifference. Some are even openly hostile.

Even if Trump is defeated on Nov. 3, and that is by no means a certainty, the differences that mark our two countries will only continue to grow.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.