OUR PRIME MINISTER DELIVERED A SPEECH at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, entitled "Principled and Pragmatic: Canada's Path" which centered upon what he called the “rupture” of our post-Cold War international order. The speech included a declaration that the traditional U.S.-led, rules-based international system is over, and "not coming back" and it urged middle powers like Canada, Australia, and Mexico, to form issues-based coalitions.
One of his main tenets was that countries should build “strength at home” and diversify their partnerships to avoid being subordinated by larger powers. While he did not name U.S. President Donald Trump directly, his speech was widely interpreted as a response to aggressive U.S. trade wars and threats to acquire Greenland.
He received a rare standing ovation at Davos but sparked a major diplomatic rift. President Trump subsequently revoked his invitation for our Prime Minister to participate on the Board of Peace, an international organization established by the U.S. President to promote global peacekeeping. This was a major blow to the standing of our country on the international stage, and one that rests with the Prime Minister himself.
The leader of Canada’s Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, released a statement – a sort of ‘reality check’ in response to the Davos speech – and below are the main points included in that statement.
What stood out probably the most was when our Prime Minister pointed out “the gaps between rhetoric and reality.” That is especially true here at home. If Liberal words and good intentions were tradeable commodities, Canada would already be the richest nation on earth. Unfortunately, after a decade of promises and grand speeches, Liberals have made our economy more costly and dependent than ever before.
In the last 12 months, things have only gotten worse in Canada: the deficit has doubled, food inflation is double that in the U.S., housing costs are the worst in the G7, and no pipelines for our natural resources have been approved. The military has massive recruiting and equipment shortfalls, and there is still no free trade between provinces, no crime laws passed, and the Prime Minister’s signature promise of negotiating a “win” with the U.S. is unfulfilled.
These unkept promises – which all followed grand speeches and announcements – make us especially vulnerable to the world’s dangers. The last five years have shown we can’t count on others. Our closest neighbour and largest trading partner, the United States, struck us with tariffs and questioned our sovereignty, however, we can’t control what they do.
It’s tempting to say our relationship with America is over forever, but here is the reality: We still live next door to the biggest economy and military the world has ever seen. We sell 20 times more to the U.S. than to China. One in 10 Canadian jobs rely directly and indirectly on trade with America. We must remember that our trade and security partnership with the United States is centuries-old and will outlast a single President.
All the same, as we hope for the best, it would be naive to assume that things will go back to exactly the way they were, as tariffs may be here to stay for the foreseeable future. None of that is an excuse for letting our guard down and repeating past mistakes by leaving Canada vulnerable to aggressive powers like China, which the Prime Minister himself called our “greatest threat” only months ago. My, how things have changed.
It was with irony that the Prime Minister quoted Vaclav Havel, one of the great heroes of the 20th century fight against totalitarian communism, less than a week after launching a ‘strategic partnership for a new world order’ with the Chinese communist regime – a partnership that includes ‘plans to deepen engagement on national security issues at senior levels.’ We cannot throw caution to the wind with a regime that kidnaps our citizens, steals our technology, interferes with our elections, and has a history of using trade as a tool of diplomatic warfare against us. If this is what the Prime Minister meant when he told the Davos crowd that he “is calibrating our relationships so their depth reflects our values,” then we should seriously question his values - and, frankly, his judgment.
We must focus on expanding our network of trade deals with more like-minded middle-power countries. In fact, we already have free trade deals with most middle powers, after the previous Conservative government negotiated agreements with a record 46 countries.
Given that we have these agreements already in place, what stops us from growing our trade with them now is not the trade barriers they impose on us, but the trade barriers we impose on ourselves. Legislation has made it impossible to approve projects or ship energy off our coasts. It takes 19 years to approve a mine. The Liberals created these laws and obstacles, and almost a year after taking office, the Prime Minister hasn’t removed a single law or bureaucracy, or approved a single pipeline.
The Prime Minister told the crowd in Davos that “a country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself, or defend itself has few options.” So, why can’t we? Just this week, Canada was declared the food inflation capital of the G7. Last year, Canadians who can’t feed themselves made a record 2 million visits to food banks every month – more than double the number from just 7 years ago – in a country with almost endless farming potential.
On the issue of Canadian sovereignty, we need a strong national defence. We don’t need anyone’s permission to have a strong, state-of-the-art military and defend ourselves. But can we even defend ourselves right now? The Prime Minister has talked a big game about building up our armed forces, but after nearly a year in office, he hasn’t even begun to deliver. It’s just more promises pushed down the road, and smoke and mirror budgets pushed out into the future. We currently have 300 full-time members of the military stationed in the Arctic, in a territory that is larger than most countries. We have the largest coastline in the world, and yet we have a regular naval force of just 8,400 personnel. A sovereign country must be able to defend its people and its territory.
So far, our Prime Minister is lucky to have been judged mostly by his rhetoric and his stated intentions, by the number of his trips and his meetings overseas - because nearly a year into his term, the rhetoric has changed, but reality has not. There is an illusion of purpose, but no results to back it up. We need to do things, not just say them. ‘Canada Strong’ can no longer be a slogan, nor ‘True North Strong and Free’ just a motto.
To paraphrase William Ernest Henley, we are the masters of our fate. We are the captains of our souls. It’s time we finally take the wheel – and steer Canada forward with purpose and resolve.”
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