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.

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.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on December 9, 2024.

OTTAWA—While governments are focusing on gender designation in sport, women are just making it happen.

Charge Ottawa opened the second season last week with a three-two victory over the Toronto Sceptres at TD Place.

The game started a new season with a new name.

The league launched last year without team names, and fans were thrilled with the Charge new look.

Season ticket holders were snapping up merchandise while fans in the thousands arrived to witness the season opener for the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government passed three bills last week limiting transgender rights.

One bill is designed to prohibit transgender pronoun choices by minors, another restricts transgender access to human rights support.

The third is a sport bill. The Fairness and Safety in Sport Act is designed to require school boards, educational institutions and provincial sports organizations to develop policies to “protect the integrity of female athletic competitions by ensuring women and girls have the opportunity to compete in biological female-only divisions.”

The law will also require parents to opt in to education on transgender issues. Current law requires parents to opt out. The burdensome requirements for opting in include informing parents one month in advance and offering alternative education for children who do not get gender sex education.

The law will also limit educational material and lesson plans on sexual orientation and gender identity, potentially erasing same-sex families from the curriculum.

Opponents say the proposals go against research that proves sexual education reduces the number of unwanted pregnancies, sexually-transmitted diseases and unchecked child abuse.

Puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy would be illegal for children under the age of 16. Youth aged 16 to 17 would require parental consent for such therapies.

Some bill opponents say the prohibition would be particularly challenging for adolescents trying to avoid puberty that is not aligned with their sexual identity.

Equality groups are vowing to fight the Alberta legislation as they have enjoined legal challenges against similar changes to law and policy in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

The Canadian Medical Association, the Alberta Medical Association, and the Canadian Paediatric Society oppose the medical limitations in the legislation.

The Alberta changes go beyond those introduced by New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

The New Brunswick government that introduced a prohibitive transgender law was defeated recently while the Saskatchewan government faced a steep drop in its recent election support.

For years, governments have used their power to keep women out of sport, even when female athletic prowess would have meant they could participate equally in men’s sport.

Some say the sport changes are just another example of government weakening laws that protect athletes from harassment and bullying.

Meanwhile, girls and women are just doing it.

From the PWHL to the wildly popular American-based Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), professional sports has opened a new venue for girls who want to make a career of their sport of choice.

The WNBA, which has been operating for almost 30 years, has 13 teams and is the premier women’s pro team globally. Two more teams will join the league next year and their televised games are very popular.

The world of tennis is also changing as the issue of pay equality has been addressed between the genders. Last year, the Women’s Tennis Association approved a plan to achieve pay equity by 2033. Part of that proposal means that gender payments for non-Grand Slam 1,000 and 500-level tournaments will be equal in 2027.

Governments have ignored their potential role in pay equity although former federal sport minister Pascale St-Onge moved quickly to stem sexual harassment in sport, suspending world junior hockey financial support while the issue of sexual assault was addressed.

Smith could be focusing her government’s attention on equality for women and girls in sport. Instead, she is catering to a small minority that is interested in stamping out understanding or support for those who choose to change their gender.

By targeting her attention on reducing support for adolescents struggling with gender identity issues, Smith will shore up support with ultra-conservative members of her caucus.

But she opens the door to a revolt by ordinary Albertans who believe there are other health issues far more important than what pronoun is used to identify non-binary students in the classroom.

Naheed Nenshi and opposition New Democrats are hoping the legislation will provoke the same reaction from Albertans that New Brunswickers expressed at the polls when they dumped the Blaine Higgs Progressive Conservative government.

Only time will tell.

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

Just last week, the Liberals and the New Democrats both launched their environmental platforms. But analysis of those platforms did not even manage to make the front page of most newspapers.

OTTAWA—Former prime minister Kim Campbell once said an election is no time to discuss policy.

Her party went on to face a historic defeat, saving only two seats in the House of Commons.

In this election, Campbell’s viewpoint seems to be shared by some journalists on the campaign trail.

Just last week, the Liberals and the New Democrats both launched their environmental platforms. But analysis of those platforms did not even manage to make the front page of most newspapers.

Instead, The Globe and Mail chose to print a front-page story allegedly exposing insider details of why a former Liberal Member of Parliament was not re-offering.

The piece, by the same journalist who broke Jody Wilson-Raybould’s story, reflected a similar message. Strong woman, who would not defend the PM, are allegedly shown the door.

Delving deeper into the details, the MP claimed that all three colleagues in ridings neighbouring her own had been bullying her. She claimed intimidation and harassment starting in 2016.

She also showed The Globe the screenshot of a text conversation with Montreal Minister Mélanie Joly. She said the minister called to ask why she wasn’t supporting the prime minister when his feminist credentials were under attack by media during the SNC-Lavalin case.

Presumably The Globe published the piece on the front page because editors believe this “Liberal woman as victim of Trudeau” narrative was relevant.

But voters are smart enough to make decisions based on current issues, not on fake personality politics.

That explains why Justin Trudeau’s Liberals did not lose ground following the revelations that he costumed himself in blackface and brownface on more than one occasion 20 years ago.

Media blackface coverage dominated the airwaves in Canada and around the world for a week. Trudeau tackled the issue head on, with a town hall meeting in Saskatchewan on the evening after the revelations. He also apologized immediately and appeared to genuinely understand the gravity of his childish actions.

It was a shocking news story. But the notion that somehow Trudeau is a racist did not ring true.

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi put it best in an op-ed he wrote for The Washington Post. “He should be judged on the totality of his record and whether Canadians believe in his ability to do good in the future.”

When Trudeau demoted Wilson-Raybould, he was accused of being a fake feminist. Nothing could be further from the truth.

He was the first prime minister in the history of the country to deliver a gender equal cabinet. Andrew Scheer has refused to commit to doing the same, if he forms government while NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has committed to a gender equal cabinet in the unlikely event of a New Democratic Party victory.

Journalists attacking Trudeau’s feminist credentials in the Wilson-Raybould case included so many misogynists that the claim was obviously fake news. When the sexist Sun chain decried misogyny, women laughed.

Differing viewpoints on the use of the deferred prosecution agreement has nothing to do with sexism.

So attacks on Trudeau required caucus and cabinet women to come forward and set the record straight. That is how politics works.

There are many strong women in Trudeau’s caucus and cabinet.

The decision of Wilson-Raybould to quit the cabinet had nothing to do with feminism or sexism.

Although the minister was upset to lose her “dream job” as attorney general, she accepted another ministerial post in veterans affairs. She even tried to remain in caucus, all the while secretly taping conversations and breaching the trust of all those who served with her on the team.

When you are part of caucus, you don’t screenshot internal texts and you don’t secretly tape conversations. You trust each other and work as a team.

As a minister, you do not write copious notes about cabinet conversations because they are supposed to be confidential discussions between trusted colleagues. This is the normal functioning of a healthy political team.

In an election campaign, the public is not focused on the internal machinations of a caucus. They are interested in what policies differentiate the political parties.

On Sept. 27, thousands of young people gathered in a huge strike in Montreal with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Young Canadians want to know what the parties are doing to confront the climate crisis that, if unchecked, will destroy their futures.

Trudeau, who has actually submitted a substantive climate plan, joined the young people in this march.

Scheer took a pass. That is real news.

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 November 5, 2018.

OTTAWA—A Calgary Winter Olympic bid plebiscite next week is only the first hurdle in the city’s potential 2026 hosting bid.

Whether Calgarians want to cough up cash in lean times remains to be seen. Even the majority of city council opposes the bid, although an eight-hour long debate did not yield enough opposition to kill it.

Council voted 8-7 to end the bid but rules required a two-thirds majority to reverse a previous positive council decision. The chair of the bid committee, councillor Evan Woolley, was a key opponent of hosting the games, claiming a new trilateral financial agreement prompted more questions than answers.

Olympic supporters jammed council chambers with noisy chants in support of the bid. But the social media told another story.

Many were griping online that those who would be footing the bill could not make their voices heard because the meeting was held during normal working hours.

But Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, a vocal bid supporter, made a compelling financial case as to why citizens should support the bid.

“This is an incredibly good deal. After all that sausage-making, the sausage that came out of it is amazing.” Nenshi said the investment yield a ten-to-one return in capital improvements to public facilities that will remain long after the games. He said the city was already going to spend $350-million on McMahon stadium and field house upgrades. The increased bill of $40-million would result in a $4-billion dollar Olympic investment.

But even if the Nov. 13 plebiscite passes muster, the biggest hurdle is convincing the world that a single city should host the games twice in a period of less than forty years.

Add that to the fact that Canada hosted winter games in Vancouver-Whistler less than 10 years ago, sympathy at the International Olympic Committee may not be in Calgary’s court. At this point, there are competing bids from Sweden and Italy, both of which appear to have fewer naysayers.

City dissent, while not unusual in Canadian pre-game bids, will also affect the level of support that can be expected at the International Olympic Committee. These international decision-makers are nothing if not political. And if it looks as though local opposition is building, the IOC may simply not want to take the risk.

But if Calgary is successful, the struggling city will enjoy more than an economic rebound.

The last time Calgary hosted the games was 1988. By all accounts, the event was a smashing success. It left Calgary with a sports legacy that is still paying dividends. Athletes from all over Canada move to the city to take advantage of the national training centre that was developed as a legacy from the games. Many of the historic number of medals that Canada garnered in 2010 were a direct result of the national sport legacy spawned in Calgary.

The city has also been an incubator for retiring athletes to embark on new careers, building on their Olympic prowess.

Nenshi is right about the unequalled federal and provincial investment levels the games would bring.

The city is required to pay a cash contribution and offer up some in-kind investment but the bulk of the financial strain will be borne by the federal government, shared in half measure by the province.

The IOC has also promised to provide more than $1-billion in financial incentives, so struggling cities can afford to bid on the games.

The federal government reworked a pre-existing funding agreement that required a 50-50 between the federal government and provincial and local authorities. New rules require the city to be responsible for any deficit.

A cost-cutting agreement tabled on the eve of the council vote last Wednesday, shaved $125-million off the initial $3-billion public funding estimate. Savings in security and housing construction were cited. The total bill is estimated to be $5.2-million.

But question still looming large even after the council vote, is a city pledge to buy an insurance policy to cover up to $200-million in cost overruns. City management warned that it is unclear whether an overrun insurance policy is even available.

All in all, it leaves Calgarians have a lot to consider when they go to the polls next week.

Chances are the ayes will have it. Games organizers have mobilized strong business support and everyone knows that Calgary needs an economic boost.

But even if citizens swallow the uncertainty and vote to host the games, the road to 2026 will be very long indeed.

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

How else to celebrate the stampede than with @nenshi a great Canadian. Thanks for your support for @DESIGNSUMMITMTL pic.twitter.com/8EThB6bDvS

— Hon. Sheila Copps (@Sheila_Copps) July 13, 2017