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.

Karina Gould is a force to be reckoned with. If Liberal voters actually want a future that will reflect the best elements of the Trudeau era, they should vote Gould, writes Sheila Copps.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on March 3, 2025.

OTTAWA—Karina Gould, who I endorse for leader, blew everyone out of the water in the English Liberal leadership debate last week.

In her own words, repeatedly, she is not Conservative light.

Why is that important? Because contrary to the media crowning of Mark Carney, this is actually a race for the hearts and minds of Liberals.

Many Liberals are extremely happy with the legacy left by the team of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The list of accomplishments is long. Trudeau will be viewed as the most progressive prime minister in my lifetime.

Universal childcare, school food programs, dental care, reconciliation, educational parity for Indigenous children, real action on climate change, hiking seniors’ benefits, managing a pandemic with amongst the lowest death rates in the G7, heavy investments in mass transit as part of the fight against global warming, taking the lead in housing for the first time in 30 years, signing a health agreement that will force provinces finally to share critical data, the first ever gender-equal cabinet—I could go on, but you get my point.

For Liberals who believe that public life is a chance to do something for the betterment of all, Trudeau’s record has proven it in spades.

Of course, he was unpopular in the end, and his decision to leave was the right one. Anyone who has studied politics knows that three terms is the maximum in the modern age as politics is the only profession where the more experience you get the more people want to get rid of you. The only governments that extend beyond that are dictatorships where public money is spent to massage the image of the leader, and opponents are either jailed or murdered.

In that context, don’t be surprised to see a move to end the two-term limit imposed on American presidents. At the latest meeting of Conservative zealots in the United States, President Donald Trump’s pardoned friend Steve Bannon gave a speech promoting presidency for life status for Trump which ended in a Nazi salute.

Given the U.S. vote at the United Nations, refusing to condemn Russia for the illegal invasion of Ukraine, anything can happen.

Much of the two Liberal debates in French and English focussed on how to fight Trump, and the stormy seas ahead under his watch.

Chrystia Freeland positioned herself as the Trump-beater, and given that the American president has personally singled her out when attacking Canada, she has the credibility to back up that claim.

But this election is not just about Trump.

Carney has made it clear that he wants to move the party to the right, and he took some swings at the current government for too much spending.

That approach will definitely appeal to Conservatives who can’t support Pierre Poilievre’s “broken” vision of Canada.

But for Liberals to win the next election, they will need to draw the majority of their support from liberally minded New Democrats.

Recent polls focusing on the post-Trudeau Liberal surge have confirmed that the majority of the shift is coming from left-wing voters who are returning to the Liberals.

If they think the party has a Conservative-light leader, the door will open for Jagmeet Singh to reassert himself in the same way that Jack Layton did during the Orange Crush that almost brought the New Democrats to government.

So the election of a Liberal leader who is focused on moving to the right may not be the best bet for the party.

By all accounts, Gould was the clear debate winner in English, and had the greatest of ease in French.

It was obvious to all that Carney needs work in that department, and Freeland is also not as convincing in French.

By articulating a clear difference with Carney, Gould has managed to vault herself into a fray which previously included only the two so-called front-runners.

Gould is a force to be reckoned with. If Liberal voters actually want a future that will reflect the best elements of the Trudeau era, they should vote Gould.

That includes support for the carbon rebate, which was destroyed by Poilievre’s sloganeering.

Trudeau refused to spend any government money explaining what the program involved because early in his first term, he opted out of advertising. That was a dumb mistake which cost the Liberals dearly.

But the program itself is sound, and the fact that Gould defended it as vociferously as she did—while all others were running away—is another point in her favour.

She is a truly liberal Liberal.

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

A Quebec City high-speed rail connection to Toronto will do more to unite the country than simply a rail connection. It will get people moving in an east-west direction, which can only help strengthen the ties that bind us. We have Trump to thank for this wake-up call.

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

OTTAWA—Trump lemons may become Canada’s lemonade.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s high-speed electric rail announcement last week is one case in point.

The interest in high-speed rail has been percolating for years.

But it finally looks as though a consortium capable of completing the project will focus on linking Quebec City to Toronto.

The original idea called for a rail line from Windsor to Quebec City. That makes the most sense as the population from Toronto to Windsor can support a rail service with more certainty than the route from Quebec City to Montreal.

Trudeau’s announcement in the dying days of his administration will be a legacy in the same way that Sir John A. Macdonald is recognized as the builder of Canada’s first cross-country rail service.

The project has been made that much more important in the current climate of economic fear created by American President Donald Trump.

It is not just the ridiculous statements made by the American president. His aggressive, illegal ruminations about taking over our country have been met with very little objection from our American friends and neighbours.

It is commonplace to hear that Canada and the United States share friends and, in many cases, family, given our proximity and open border.

So most Canadians were flummoxed when the president’s comments were not repudiated by American opinion leaders.

Lawrence Martin wrote a column in The Globe and Mail, riffing off the original Gone with the Wind film with his claim that “Quite frankly Canada, we don’t give a damn.”

His perspective, shared by many, was an expression of disappointment in America’s silence on tariffs and the unwanted annexation invitation.

Europeans weren’t paying much attention until U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance delivered a shocker of a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Valentine’s Day.

Vance’s claim that European democracy and free speech are backsliding was seen as an ideological declaration of war against former allies.

Europe obviously won’t get any help from the Americans if Russia decides to extend its war to other parts of eastern Europe.

Canada needs to join a European-led military response. We also need to strengthen our interprovincial relations.

That is where the train comes in. More Quebecers travelling to Ontario and vice-versa will accelerate internal integration.

Trudeau is the first prime minister to invest heavily in mass transit at the local level in communities across the country.

A move toward rapid, electrified transportation is one element that will accelerate links between Ontario and Quebec.

Existing barriers were specifically designed by governments to protect home advantage. They serve to limit the growth of economies in other provinces, and protect jobs in their own jurisdictions.

For every barrier that is eliminated, there will be some whose provincial economic interests will seek to stymie integration.

Trains are not the only investment to link regions.

It is time for a transnational pipeline to get western oil to eastern markets.

If we want to call ourselves a country, we have to be prepared to make changes to protectionist provincial laws that pit one region against another.

A Quebec City connection to Toronto will do more to unite the country than simply a rail connection.

It will get people moving in an east-west direction, which can only help strengthen the ties that bind us.

We have Trump to thank for this wakeup call, as the United States has set itself up as an isolationist bully with a predilection for dictators.

Vance met with a right-wing German opposition leader after his blistering attack on existing governments prompted the security summit chair to break down in tears during his closing address.

The initial audience response was a mixture of disbelief and incomprehension. But Europe has finally awoken to the dangers of Trumpism.

We can expect similar attacks as long as Trump is in office.

Global institutions that have helped shape world health, justice, and economic policy hold no sway with Trump.

He has already moved to eliminate American participation in the World Health Organization, and has issued sanctions against the International Criminal Court.

While the Canadian government tackles the issues outlined by the White House to avoid tariffs, there is zero certainty that this will result in more Canada-U.S. co-operation.

We can expect the contrary. The only thing that will stop Trump is if he sees that his erratic leadership results in a downward stock market trajectory.

The World Trade Organization warned us last week that tariff wars could trigger a global recession.

For Trump, money talks.

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

Donald Trump keeps saying that Canada will be better off, with a better health-care system, better jobs and a better economy if it joins the United States.

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

OTTAWA—Sixty years have passed since Canada broke from British tradition to adopt a unique flag.

The distinctive red Maple Leaf is now recognized around the world as a symbol of Canada, but it was a much more divisive debate six decades ago.

With the exception of U.S. President Donald Trump, most people see our flag as a symbol of freedom and diversity. It often adorns backpacks of young travellers as a flag that is welcomed everywhere.

It wasn’t always so. In 1965, the Progressive Conservatives thought the adoption of a new flag was an insult to those who fought in two world wars under the unofficial national Red Ensign. The ensign included a smaller union jack and a Canadian coat of arms.

Former prime minister John Diefenbaker made it his personal mission to fight the flag.

Prime minister Lester Pearson preferred another design, which included three red flags attached by a stem with a blue border. The original designer of the flag, Mount Allison University historian George Stanley, received death threats.

The Tories voted for the single maple leaf design, thinking Liberals would support the tri-leaf version that was called the Pearson Pennant. Instead, Liberals also supported the single Maple Leaf, and an all-party committee voted 15-0 in favour of the Stanley-designed flag that was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College in Kingston.

While the world may have embraced it, even modern-day Conservative governments have not been so celebratory.

On the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the flag, then-Canadian heritage minister Conservative Shelly Glover refused to organize a celebration of the event.

While local flag-raisings took place across the country, the only official national celebration was held by then-governor general David Johnston.

Current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has taken a more celebratory approach to the flag.

In Tory advertisements, Poilievre is often seen walking in a field under the shadow of a huge Canadian flag.

The use of the flag as a symbol adopted by anti-vax truckers has now made its display permissible for all political stripes.

Trump recently communicated his message of economic domination by tweeting a photograph of himself standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag flying proudly behind him.

And five living Canadian prime ministers called on all Canadians to fly our flag on the anniversary date as a message to Trump that our country has no intention of becoming America’s 51st state.

In a joint letter signed by former prime ministers Stephen Harper, Joe Clark, Paul Martin, Kim Campbell, and Jean Chrétien, the leaders called on Canadians to fly the flag this past Saturday to answer the “threats and insults from Donald Trump.”

And while in Brussels attending a meeting with European leaders, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it very clear that there’s “not a snowball’s chance in hell” of Canada joining the United States.

He’s enlisting the support of international partners, including the European Union, as most states have been strangely silent on Trump’s annexation comments.

Europeans are listening now because Trump has been threatening them with tariffs, as well.

The Danish government has reacted to Trump’s announcement that he would like to take over Greenland. As well as threatening retaliatory tariffs on Ozempic, Denmark’s biggest export to the U.S., some Danes have launched a petition to buy California.

While all Canadians are now uniting behind the flag, the Trump threat may also serve to be a catalyst for breaking down interprovincial barriers.

If we can build a pipeline to send Alberta crude for refining in Illinois and Texas, surely, we can do the same for eastern Canada.

So when we have been delivered lemons by Trump, we need to make lemonade. And we need to start recognizing the great benefits that come with life under the Canadian flag.

Poilievre’s message that Canada is broken now needs reworking, and he was slated to deliver a major pivotal speech this past weekend.

His message will need massaging because the idea that Canada is broken plays right into the hands of Trump, who plans to crush our country economically.

Trump keeps saying that Canada will be better off, with a better health-care system, better jobs and a better economy if we join the U.S.

He also revealed earlier last week that when it comes to takeover of foreign lands, he believes he has the legal right to “take over the Gaza Strip and occupy it.”

Insert “Canada,” and we have an idea of what might be coming.

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.

As the world braces for more global freeze-outs prompted by Donald Trump, remember one thing: Canada knows how to survive the cold.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 27, 2025.

OTTAWA—A blanket of cold air covered the continent as the United States of America ushered in an oligarchy under the leadership of its new President Donald Trump.

It was the coldest day on record in the history of American presidential inaugurations. But the frigidity wasn’t only caused by temperature.

It reflected the mood of almost half of the nation, those dreading the return of President Trump to the White House.

Former first lady Michelle Obama expressed her disgust by simply refusing to attend the inauguration. She joined with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who posted the reasons for her boycott on Instagram: “Let me make myself clear: I don’t celebrate rapists so no, l’m not going to the inauguration.”

Others were present in strange garb or body language. Senator Bernie Sanders sat with his arms crossed, scowling at Trump.

Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, wore his customary shorts and hoodie to the event. At 6 foot 8 inches tall, Fetterman could not be missed.

Nor did anyone miss the breasts bared by Jeff Bezos’ fiancé, Lauren Sanchez. Seated in front of Robert Kennedy Jr., when Sanchez doffed her jacket, he could not keep his eyes off them. Mark Zuckerberg was caught ogling, as well.

And then there was the second-tier invitee list, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose assigned seat was so far out in the cold that she gave it up, opting instead to watch the ceremony from the warmth of the Canadian Embassy across from Capitol Hill.

Considering her claim that she saved Canada from tariffs—at least until Feb. 1—Smith should at least have been designated closer viewing.

Instead, she was forced to join the majority of 220,000 invitees who were politely disinvited when the event was moved indoors because of the cold weather warnings.

The president said he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and encouraged those with tickets to go elsewhere.

Smith must have felt more cold air blowing at the Canadian reception, since she is the only premier to have publicly gone rogue in refusing to join all other provincial and territorial leaders in a Team Canada approach to the Trump threat of tariffs.

And while she worked with failed Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary to access the president, Arlene Dickinson joined Trudeau’s Team Canada tariff advisers, and promptly called out her Dragon’s Den foe for “negotiating against us.”

After consistently trashing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Team Canada’s approach, Smith had the nerve to suggest that we should achieve our objectives through “diplomacy rather than bravado, bluster, and escalation.”

Talk about a bull in a china shop.

Smith went on bended knee to Trump in an effort to negotiate a carve-out for her own province. She didn’t care much about what damage tariffs could do in other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, Trump marked his first day in office with executive orders on everything, including pardons for the instigators of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots that killed five police officers and injured 140 people. He also ordered that non-binary people cannot be identified as such.

Trump also plans to prevent those transitioning from one gender to another from revising their identity on official federal documents.

He also issued a slew of anti-immigrant edicts, including an unconstitutional decision to deny citizenship to American-born children of undocumented migrants.

Many of these executive orders will not pass legal muster, but they certainly sent a chill through throughout the world.

His decision to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord were the most notable, but he also eliminated security clearances for federal investigative officers, effectively preventing them from doing their jobs.

Trump also put all diversity, equity, and inclusion federal employees on paid leave, while he tasked agencies with drawing up methods to fire them.

Most egregiously, in a speech designed to lay out his vision for the next four years, Trump was silent on housing, health care, wealth gaps and cost-of-living concerns.

In a post-Trump analysis, Sanders pointed out that three people on Trump’s inaugural guest list make more money than half of all residents in the U.S.

Sanders also said that those three invitees—Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos—saw their wealth increase by more than $233-billion since Trump’s election.

The oligarchy predicted by former president Jimmy Carter has taken root in Washington, D.C.

As the world braces for more global freeze-outs prompted by President Trump, remember one thing: Canada knows how to survive the cold.

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

Karina Gould may not have the same Bay Street credibility as Mark Carney, but she resonates big with Main Street.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 15, 2025.

OTTAWA–Why Karina Gould? That’s the question friends posed when I gave a couple of television interviews promoting her as the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

At press time, Gould had not yet announced, but her team was putting together a campaign to create a fighting chance in this shortened race to name the next prime minister of Canada. Gould has already recruited more than a dozen caucus members.

Not overwhelming, but considering her campaign only started a week ago, it is a good start.

Mark Carney has been running for the job for years. Press reports say he has about 30 MPs on his team. That number should be twice as large if Carney’s support is as wide and deep as the media keep claiming.

On just about every network, including his American pre-campaign interview on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, Carney is constantly presented as the almost certain winner of the upcoming race.

Resisting that pull may be difficult, but many Liberals would like to support a leader who’s in it for the long haul.

Does anyone really think that Carney—who declined offers of more than one nomination in the last election—will stick around if the party ends up in third-party status? The answer is no.  

Liberals need a leader who will appeal to young people. Gould is the most appealing to that cohort because she reflects their values and energy. Gould has managed multiple cabinet portfolios with energy and savvy.  

A superb communicator in multiple languages, Gould negotiated Canada’s national childcare via multiple provincial agreements. While child care is seen as crucial for Canadians, Gould is being critiqued internally by those who say motherhood is a reason not to vote for her.

Before we dismiss misogyny’s role in leadership, we cannot forget what happened to the Kamala Harris vote in the United States. She lost the presidency because American men voted against her. Had the election been determined only by women, Harris would have won. 

No one asked Justin Trudeau if he could manage both politics and a young family when he ran for office at age 36 back in 2008. Instead, his youth and a campaign that included cannabis legalization managed to ignite the attention of a new generation.

Gould has been generating much interest with young people. She also has support from senior Liberals who have supported the party for decades.

Unlike some colleagues, Gould reaches out regularly to party elders, seeking their advice and wisdom while other leadership candidates have either ignored them or publicly denigrated them. 

Party faithful remember the very off-putting negative response of Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland when former prime minister Jean Chrétien offered to go to China to negotiate a solution to the extradition of Meng Wanzhou to the United States.  

Freeland scorned his offer, and ended up with a protracted fight with China that cost our country economically and politically. But Freeland’s high profile during the Trudeau years have set her up as an obvious runner-up to Carney’s stardom.

Neither Carney nor Freeland have Gould’s likability factor. Parties make decisions based on whom they think can win. Canadians make decisions on the emotional feel they get from a politician. Is that person someone you would like to have a beer with? Kim Campbell was elected Progressive Conservative leader and prime minister because she was seen to be the best choice to rebuild her party in the post-Brian Mulroney era.  

It turned out to be a terrible decision that left the Tories reduced to two seats in a Liberal majority government in 1993. Today, Liberals have little time to judge the emotional IQ of each of the candidates.  

But when it comes to support from young people, reaching out to party faithful, and a commitment to the long-term rebuilding process, Gould is our best bet. 

The first question at any leadership debate should be, “If the Liberals lose the next election, are you willing to remain as leader?” The second question should be, “How can we recapture the dynamic wave of support by young people that carried Trudeau to power in 2015?”

The answer to both questions is Gould studied Latin American and Caribbean studies at McGill and philosophy at Oxford and who worked for the Organization of American States on migration.

She learned Spanish while volunteering at a Latin American orphanage. Gould may not have the same Bay Street credibility as Carney, but she resonates big with Main Street.

Correction: This column originally incorrectly reported that Karina Gould is a lawyer. She is not, and the column was updated at 8:09 a.m. on Jan. 16.

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 December 23, 2024.

OTTAWA—Politics 101: Do not fire your most senior minister by Zoom.

And if a firing is in the works, be prepared for all eventualities, including a resignation.

At the Liberal Christmas gathering last week, senior ministers and MPs were privately shaking their heads at the incompetent way the deputy prime minister and finance minister was terminated.

They also wondered exactly what the prime minister’s office was doing on the weekend to prevent expected fallout from the Chrystia Freeland departure.

Chief of Staff Katie Telford was busy posting on social media, but not about politics. “We got away and spent a holiday season weekend in New York City! It was the best. We saw the lights, some stars (on stage!) and did a lot of walking and talking. Thanks to those who tried to minimize the phone calls….”

Lovely for her family. Not so lovely for the country.

The chief of staff should have realized that after her boss fired Chrystia Freeland, there would be pushback from the minister. Freeland is not the first finance minister to be fired, nor will she be the last.

With zero prime ministerial strategy, Freeland was able to pen her version of the exit, seizing the narrative, and dealing a deadly blow to Trudeau’s future. The Prime Minister’s Office is solely responsible for the crisis.

When then-prime minister Jean Chrétien fired Paul Martin from the finance portfolio, the move actually averted a major financial crisis.

At the time, Martin and his caucus supporters were working internally to force Chrétien’s resignation.

The two had run against each other for the top job, and Martin kept his leadership ambition active by taking over the party apparatus, including the installation of a party president who spent most of his time attacking the leader.

But Chrétien was not about to be moved, and to be fair, his personal popularity and polling numbers were robust enough that most of the caucus did not join in moves to destabilize his leadership.

Martin was getting impatient, and so his team hatched a plan to announce his resignation as finance minister at a Montreal meeting of the International Monetary Conference, including senior global banking officials and finance ministers in June 2002.

His intention was to drop the financial bomb on the world, and cause a run on the Canadian dollar to force the prime minister out.

Chretien got wind of the plot on a Saturday when a truck was seen at the department of finance exporting shredded documents from the minister’s office.

Chretien’s riposte was to get ahead of the Martin narrative, and to fire him.

Martin was informed that Sunday that he was fired, and he expressed absolute surprise at the decision.

But, in the end, the Monday meeting was chaired by newly-minted finance minister John Manley, whose fiscal rectitude and legal tax experience calmed international waters.

Martin’s attempted coup was foiled by the Prime Minister’s Office. As soon as they got wind of the shredders at Finance, instead of waiting, they elevated it to a firing offence.

Chinese military general Sun Tzu is said to be the originator of the proverb “keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

It is the job of the prime minister’s inner circle to keep enemies close. In the case of Freeland, she had been one of Trudeau’s most loyal defenders, so her visceral and very public reaction to the firing could have been predicted.

Caucus members know that Freeland was previously viewed by the PMO as a potential future replacement for Trudeau.

Other ministers are now wondering if the prime minister could treat the most senior minister this way, what could happen to them?

As soon as the proposed cabinet shuffle occurs, there will be more public declarations from those who have been passed up for the top jobs.

What should have been a year-end celebration of some big wins on the social policy and housing fronts is instead a crisis of unprecedented proportions inflicted by the incompetency of the prime minister’s inner circle.

At one time, several caucus members called for the firing of the chief of staff. That call went unheeded.

It took more than two years for caucus to convince the PMO that the government needed to support its climate change strategy with paid advertising.

PMO’s refusal to brief caucus or seek ministerial advice before promoting issues like the ill-conceived GST holiday created this crisis.

Trudeau will pay the price for an inner circle that has lost its way.

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 December 16, 2024.

OTTAWA—The most popular guessing game in Ottawa these days is how to stare down a bully.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump lost no time in poking fun at his favourite punching bag, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, by posting a social media message suggesting it was great having dinner with “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we continue our in depth talks on tariffs and trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford had a soft response: “I am sure not thinking of Justin Trudeau at midnight so if he is thinking of Justin at midnight, it’s probably a good relationship.”

It wasn’t the first crack that Trump has taken at Canada recently. After the prime minister met him at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said in an interview on Meet the Press that Canada could become the 51st state.

“We’re subsidizing Canada to the tune of over $100-billion a year … if we are going to subsidize them, why not become a state?”

Trump’s comments on subsidies are incorrect. He is referring to a trade imbalance between Canada and the United States, largely driven by the sale of Canadian electricity and gas to the U.S. If those sales are cancelled—which is the rationale behind imposing a tariff on incoming goods—much of America’s manufacturing production would be stalled due to lack of energy.

The U.S. needs Canada’s energy, and it also needs our water. We are sitting on 20 per cent of the world’s supply of fresh water while several states in the U.S. are suffering from a water shortage.

So Canada has some cards to play in this tit-for-tat verbal slugfest. Trudeau is getting lots of advice on how to deal with it.

Peter Donolo, former communications advisor to then-prime minister Jean Chrétien, told the CBC last week Trudeau should stand tough.

“It isn’t the first time in Canadian history that the possibility of a union with the United States has been on the table. It’s a mistake to laugh it off … this is an insult to Canada. This is the guy’s [Trump] MO …. we have had 150 years as an independent country … what starts off as a joke is a seed planted … our leaders should push back and not make light of it. … given Donald Trump’s own history of lawlessness … when we let Trump get away with stuff … all he does is do it again harder.”

Donolo also referred to past Canada-U.S. relations, from the charm offensive then-prime minister Brian Mulroney used on then-president George Bush, to Chrétien’s decision to refuse the American invitation to join the invasion of Iraq.

He characterized the two as the suck-up versus the stand-up approach.

Donolo also decried provincial premiers for “sucking up” to Trump, specifically citing the premiers of Quebec and Alberta: “history proves that when you cave to a strongman all it does is whet his appetite for more.”

Provincial premiers are supposed to be working with the prime minister on a united strategy to dampen Trump’s appetite for tariffs. But Donolo’s point is that if the country looks like it is running scared, Trump is the kind of bully who will simply increase tariffs and put more pressure on the Canadian economy.

The U.S. president-elect’s instability is something Canadians will have to learn to live with. But we certainly cannot allow ourselves to be bullied into submission by denying our status as an independent country.

Statistics came out last week showing that the U.S. has the highest health care costs in the world. Meanwhile, our nation has been able to shape a system where every Canadian who is sick can go to the hospital with no fear of being turned away because of money.

Canada’s level of gun violence is seven times lower than that of America’s. And while the Canadian government has just introduced legislation to further reduce assault rifle access, the U.S. cannot seem to get past its obsession with second amendment gun-toting rights adopted almost 250 years ago.

The gun-toting path chosen by Americans for their own country is definitely not one that Canadians would follow.

We will not be bullied into denying our identity, nor should our leaders be trying to assuage the ignorant comments of the American president.

Trump’s backhanded denial of Canada’s existence as a country is no joke.

And we need to push back—hard.

That is the only language that a bully will understand.

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 December 2, 2024.

OTTAWA—Doug Ford is talking tough against Donald Trump.

He knows it is good politics. Canadians are extremely upset about the possibility that our economy will be bludgeoned by a bully.

As premier, Ford is in a position to talk tough and face few of the repercussions that would rain upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau if he were to say the same thing.

Ford also took a nasty shot at Mexico, demanding they be turfed from the North American Free Trade agreement for allowing Chinese auto production into their country.

Ford has a point, and the new Mexican government may have to rethink the trade policy.

Trudeau must proceed cautiously because the reported animus that Trump feels for him could cost our country dearly.

Canadians are in for a rough ride as Trump also knows that most Canadians do not like him. He is a man who needs to be loved.

Ever since the president-elect won a majority, news from south of the border is nothing short of cringe-worthy.

Putting an anti-vaxxer in charge of health policy, especially one as crazy as Robert Kennedy, is nothing short of deadly.

Kennedy has promised to ban fluoride in all American water systems. Democratic state governors are already lining up to block any federal edicts that infringe on their jurisdiction.

Hulk Hogan is publicly ruminating that he will be given a senior position on the Trump team. An alleged sex philanderer had to drop out as Trump’s pick for attorney general.

Ford attacked Trump for claiming illegal drugs and migrants were coming from Canada. Instead, according to Ford, Canada is the recipient of illegal guns and drugs coming north.

Trudeau is working with premiers on a joint approach to the Trump threat to impose an immediate 25 per cent tariff on all goods entering from Canada on the day he is sworn in.

While Trudeau and Ford may be working together on that issue, they are going to be at political odds in upcoming elections.

Ford has already made noises about moving to the polls early, and his advertising strategy seems to confirm that intention.

His government is running non-stop messaging on radio and television to explain the strength of the Ontario economy. One of the reasons is the move to electrification of vehicles.

At the same time as government ads are lauding the new investments (made in tandem with the federal government), Ford’s party ads are designed to trash Trudeau’s price on pollution.

Trudeau’s fight against global warming is one of the reasons the federal government has invested heavily in alternative energies, and public transit.

In Ford’s party ads, the premier takes all the credit for these investments, when in reality, the push came from the feds.

Ford is intending to run his campaign against Trudeau.

Meanwhile, Trudeau continues to make announcements about good public policy with zero supportive government advertising. It is almost as though Trudeau wants to lose the next election.

In the past week, Ontario became the third province to join the federal government’s plan for a national school food program.

Newfoundland was the first to sign on to the national initiative, followed by Manitoba and now Ontario.

But while the announcement was well-received in each province, there is been little change in the poll numbers for the federal Liberals.

That is partly because of the unpopularity of the prime minister, but it is also because the government has not spent any real money explaining why helping children’s nutrition in schools will lead to stronger communities.

The only federal ad I saw last week was a vague reference to how our banking investments are covered by a government agency known as the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation.

For some reason, some idiot in federal advertising thinks the inner workings of CDIC are more important than telling Canadians about the new school food program.

The other recent huge-ticket item was a GST pre-Christmas holiday on some items and a $250 bonus for workers with incomes under $150,000. The Liberals have since split the bill and separated the GST break from the $250 cheques which will be sent to most working Canadians in the spring.

How did that giveaway work for the government?

With zero advertising to support the initiative, what made the news was that those who did not work were upset about being left out. What was supposed to be a gateway to a positive story is now more bad Liberal news.

The New Democrats now say they won’t support the program unless it is expanded.

This multi-billion-dollar announcement should have been launched in tandem with a national advertising campaign.

Why not follow Doug Ford.

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