Trudeau never related to the business community so he couldn’t possibly be helpful in expanding international trade. In fact he messed it up by insisting on gender and climate requirements in any trade deal he discussed.
One doesn’t need a personal relationship to make country head contacts - being a country head yourself is sufficient.
As usual you make many good, well informed points.
The past ten years have been instructive in what not to do. The Trudeau government was in an enviable position when it started. Instead of taking an approach, like Norway has, to leverage the oil and gas assets in place to fund the transition to their ideology, they squandered it and have been essentially killing off the golden goose while going into enormous debt, that will have to be paid off at some point, to fund their programs.
Some how straightforward business cases for LNG, for customers that came begging to our doors, were rejected for expensive EV battery plants, which are already collapsing, and hydrogen fantasies.
I agree wholeheartedly that we are long overdue for a government that can prioritize what needs to be done (you have identified those in past articles) and, along with incentivizing the private sector, can do the more difficult work of implementing it, while not being constrained by progressive and climate policies.
I, like you, have no trust in Carney and his Liberals. Carney’s CV may be impressive, his accomplishments much less so. They are great on glad-handing and announcements but have failed spectacularly on implementation. Four years of him and Trump are unfathomable.
My biggest fear of Carney is his ideologic insistence on net zero. Anyone who takes just a peek at his past 15 years (or even more so if they dig in) will realize he is fully committed net zero and it colours everything he does. His career revolves around it.
Believing that he suddenly sees the light regarding leveraging Canada's oil, gas and mineral wealth takes a religious leap of faith. I have no belief this leopard has changed his spots, nor that the inept crew behind him who are the same cast that's led us to this place of economic disrepair and social turmoil will be any more effective than the last ten years.
Alas, we'll see what happens when the smoke clears and where from here.
Your US fan again here, PC. Again I see our problems the same in the US and Canada. To me, most obvious in common were years of no meaningful positive action, priority on meaningless gesture topics. In the US, we’ve had a revolt that Trump inspired. Sadly, his solutions will be destructive in a different way. I had hoped for the revolt but had also hoped for a leader more measured in there approach and demeanor. Seems PP could be the right solution for Canada but maybe unable to inspire the revolt. Good luck!
Great morning read as always. Thank you. I do wonder, however, the role the private sector versus government plays in exploiting the already-in-place trade agreements. Have “we” not been lazy to continue focus selling to the US, given the proximity and ease to do so. Maybe what we need is a Canadian sales force to sell our wears to those trade partners with whom we have these great agreements. Perhaps you and I should dust off our old sales shoes and source decks and hit the road …
Thanks, Michael. Agreed. Government has much to answer for but so do we. And our laziness in trade has been part of that. As for exploiting CETA and CPTPP, government still has a hand in facilitation, and the customs and taxation elements can be more challenging than working across our southern border.
Excellent once again. I’m terrified that so many have jumped back on the liberal bandwagon that our country is in for another four years of this madness. You couldn’t have said it better. A lot of voters just see pictures and read the captions not delving further into the facts, especially if they’re reading MSM news.
It would seem that you are less Pragmatic and more Conservative as opposed to Liberal, NDP, Independent, Bloc Québécois or Green. You suggest “the government doesn’t care”, we are gullible, I presume that includes you. If tRump is such a bloviating nitwit as you suggest, who might you turn to for help in dealing with Donald, I have my doubts it is Pierre Poilievre. RESPECT, it is certainly not coming from south of the border, where very few people even know what the Administration is attempting to do to us and them. We are not the 51st state, Justin and Mark Carney are the Prime Minister and NOT a governor, the minerals, the Arctic and raw materials, hydro electric belong to Canada. So what doors can you open? Danielle Smith is gifting Alberta’s fossil fuel to the Americans, if she is truly on board with the rest of Canada, she should have shown up in person for PM Carney’s meeting with the Premiers and being less dictatorial and really be handing Donald an issue to deal with. Oh yes, I am impressed by your insight as to the “Four Great” trade relationships you point out and would think you would be helping to address how they might be improved. As a final note I perceive you have a certain political tattoo, I express myself as a “swing voter”,prefer to vote the person as opposed to the party and Pierre is not the guy.
Thanks for the comments, Bob. Lots packed in there so can't respond to it all but will comment as follows, as covered in past articles and responses to readers who've read my work the past couple years.
I am a member of no party and consider myself non-partisan and until recently wrote more on policy than politics including the challenges of naming where we all land on the spectrum given its warping over the past years. I will continue critiquing policy despite whomever is in office, including if the Conservatives are in power. And I still critique Conservative positions even leading into an election, as I did last week. But let's keep in mind they are an opposition party so there is less on which to hold them to account at present.
Given the state of our political spectrum presently, my own worldview and policy choices certainly have me "right" of whatever mushy "center" exists. But only a handful of years ago I would have been called a "centrist". I didn't move, but the spectrum certainly did.
In this election I am, indeed, openly supporting the Conservatives, the party and their leader for the countless reasons I cover in my writing - vision, policy and desired direction.
I have no trust in the Liberals given their policies, demonstrated outcomes and terrible judgement of the past decade. Their overnight conversions on countless issues causes me to trust them even less.
Being pragmatic and conservative or Conservative are not mutually exclusive by any means.
Essentially the vote will come down to who believes the Climate Cult Hoax, and who does not believe. Who fell for the great plandemic and who didn't. Who is comfortable under authoritarian rule, and who is not. Marxism vs Capitalism.
Very good and well explained. We have a media that is more Pravda than it is Substack. Will Canadians be hoodwinked by the propaganda? Meanwhile Pat King is to be dragged through the courts again by the very government that Carney heads up. Let that be a warning.
So, Pragmatic, are you??? PP, (the angry man who's never had a real job other than as a Telus phone harassment agent) is your choice for PM?? ..,PP, who posed for photo ops with the anarchists who shut down border crossings & disrupted life in Ottawa for weeks?? No thanks. My wife and I are in our mid 70's ...a retired equipment operator & social worker ...and we'll be voting for Mark Carney. Thankfully, we still have a democracy, unlike our neighbours to the south....
Hi Greg. Seems we see a few things differently. But it also seems evident you care for our country and its ongoing wellbeing, as I do very passionately.
Indeed part of a democracy is that we have the option to vote for the choice we believe will best get us there.
Whatever happens, I will be cheering on Canada while critiquing and making recommendations to whatever government is in place, as I do regularly in these pages.
Oh Greg, you need to get out more! Anarchists - really? It seems apparent to me that you didn't get out to really see what was going on in Ottawa a few years ago; however, you bought the mainstream's version of what they wanted you to see and hear. If you read a little deeper into Carney you might be as angry and alarmed as you are about Pierre P.
Excellent article with useful data.
Trudeau never related to the business community so he couldn’t possibly be helpful in expanding international trade. In fact he messed it up by insisting on gender and climate requirements in any trade deal he discussed.
One doesn’t need a personal relationship to make country head contacts - being a country head yourself is sufficient.
Thanks, Ron. I agree completely with your comments.
As usual you make many good, well informed points.
The past ten years have been instructive in what not to do. The Trudeau government was in an enviable position when it started. Instead of taking an approach, like Norway has, to leverage the oil and gas assets in place to fund the transition to their ideology, they squandered it and have been essentially killing off the golden goose while going into enormous debt, that will have to be paid off at some point, to fund their programs.
Some how straightforward business cases for LNG, for customers that came begging to our doors, were rejected for expensive EV battery plants, which are already collapsing, and hydrogen fantasies.
I agree wholeheartedly that we are long overdue for a government that can prioritize what needs to be done (you have identified those in past articles) and, along with incentivizing the private sector, can do the more difficult work of implementing it, while not being constrained by progressive and climate policies.
I, like you, have no trust in Carney and his Liberals. Carney’s CV may be impressive, his accomplishments much less so. They are great on glad-handing and announcements but have failed spectacularly on implementation. Four years of him and Trump are unfathomable.
Thanks, Brian. Excellent observations.
My biggest fear of Carney is his ideologic insistence on net zero. Anyone who takes just a peek at his past 15 years (or even more so if they dig in) will realize he is fully committed net zero and it colours everything he does. His career revolves around it.
Believing that he suddenly sees the light regarding leveraging Canada's oil, gas and mineral wealth takes a religious leap of faith. I have no belief this leopard has changed his spots, nor that the inept crew behind him who are the same cast that's led us to this place of economic disrepair and social turmoil will be any more effective than the last ten years.
Alas, we'll see what happens when the smoke clears and where from here.
Excellent article before a very important election. We will see if Canadians are capable of critical thinking. Thank you.
Thanks, Paul. I'll cross my fingers but won't hold my breath.
Excellent. Dead on accurate.
Thank you, Joel.
Your US fan again here, PC. Again I see our problems the same in the US and Canada. To me, most obvious in common were years of no meaningful positive action, priority on meaningless gesture topics. In the US, we’ve had a revolt that Trump inspired. Sadly, his solutions will be destructive in a different way. I had hoped for the revolt but had also hoped for a leader more measured in there approach and demeanor. Seems PP could be the right solution for Canada but maybe unable to inspire the revolt. Good luck!
Thanks, Alan. Always great to hear from you with your perspective from southside.
Just watched this …
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHeuNUQi3PA/?igsh=dDVkZW5tc2JwcjI5
Great morning read as always. Thank you. I do wonder, however, the role the private sector versus government plays in exploiting the already-in-place trade agreements. Have “we” not been lazy to continue focus selling to the US, given the proximity and ease to do so. Maybe what we need is a Canadian sales force to sell our wears to those trade partners with whom we have these great agreements. Perhaps you and I should dust off our old sales shoes and source decks and hit the road …
Thanks, Michael. Agreed. Government has much to answer for but so do we. And our laziness in trade has been part of that. As for exploiting CETA and CPTPP, government still has a hand in facilitation, and the customs and taxation elements can be more challenging than working across our southern border.
Oh - and I will stay happily retired.
Excellent once again. I’m terrified that so many have jumped back on the liberal bandwagon that our country is in for another four years of this madness. You couldn’t have said it better. A lot of voters just see pictures and read the captions not delving further into the facts, especially if they’re reading MSM news.
Thanks, Lucia. This all reminds me of the joke - "Doctor, it hurts when I do this". "Well, then stop doing it".
It would seem that you are less Pragmatic and more Conservative as opposed to Liberal, NDP, Independent, Bloc Québécois or Green. You suggest “the government doesn’t care”, we are gullible, I presume that includes you. If tRump is such a bloviating nitwit as you suggest, who might you turn to for help in dealing with Donald, I have my doubts it is Pierre Poilievre. RESPECT, it is certainly not coming from south of the border, where very few people even know what the Administration is attempting to do to us and them. We are not the 51st state, Justin and Mark Carney are the Prime Minister and NOT a governor, the minerals, the Arctic and raw materials, hydro electric belong to Canada. So what doors can you open? Danielle Smith is gifting Alberta’s fossil fuel to the Americans, if she is truly on board with the rest of Canada, she should have shown up in person for PM Carney’s meeting with the Premiers and being less dictatorial and really be handing Donald an issue to deal with. Oh yes, I am impressed by your insight as to the “Four Great” trade relationships you point out and would think you would be helping to address how they might be improved. As a final note I perceive you have a certain political tattoo, I express myself as a “swing voter”,prefer to vote the person as opposed to the party and Pierre is not the guy.
Thanks for the comments, Bob. Lots packed in there so can't respond to it all but will comment as follows, as covered in past articles and responses to readers who've read my work the past couple years.
I am a member of no party and consider myself non-partisan and until recently wrote more on policy than politics including the challenges of naming where we all land on the spectrum given its warping over the past years. I will continue critiquing policy despite whomever is in office, including if the Conservatives are in power. And I still critique Conservative positions even leading into an election, as I did last week. But let's keep in mind they are an opposition party so there is less on which to hold them to account at present.
Given the state of our political spectrum presently, my own worldview and policy choices certainly have me "right" of whatever mushy "center" exists. But only a handful of years ago I would have been called a "centrist". I didn't move, but the spectrum certainly did.
In this election I am, indeed, openly supporting the Conservatives, the party and their leader for the countless reasons I cover in my writing - vision, policy and desired direction.
I have no trust in the Liberals given their policies, demonstrated outcomes and terrible judgement of the past decade. Their overnight conversions on countless issues causes me to trust them even less.
Being pragmatic and conservative or Conservative are not mutually exclusive by any means.
Essentially the vote will come down to who believes the Climate Cult Hoax, and who does not believe. Who fell for the great plandemic and who didn't. Who is comfortable under authoritarian rule, and who is not. Marxism vs Capitalism.
Best of luck Comrade.
Very good and well explained. We have a media that is more Pravda than it is Substack. Will Canadians be hoodwinked by the propaganda? Meanwhile Pat King is to be dragged through the courts again by the very government that Carney heads up. Let that be a warning.
Be interested to see your take on the Danielle Smith bowshot on the liberal oil industry embargoes and Carney's Net Zero pedigree.
So, Pragmatic, are you??? PP, (the angry man who's never had a real job other than as a Telus phone harassment agent) is your choice for PM?? ..,PP, who posed for photo ops with the anarchists who shut down border crossings & disrupted life in Ottawa for weeks?? No thanks. My wife and I are in our mid 70's ...a retired equipment operator & social worker ...and we'll be voting for Mark Carney. Thankfully, we still have a democracy, unlike our neighbours to the south....
Hi Greg. Seems we see a few things differently. But it also seems evident you care for our country and its ongoing wellbeing, as I do very passionately.
Indeed part of a democracy is that we have the option to vote for the choice we believe will best get us there.
Whatever happens, I will be cheering on Canada while critiquing and making recommendations to whatever government is in place, as I do regularly in these pages.
Oh Greg, you need to get out more! Anarchists - really? It seems apparent to me that you didn't get out to really see what was going on in Ottawa a few years ago; however, you bought the mainstream's version of what they wanted you to see and hear. If you read a little deeper into Carney you might be as angry and alarmed as you are about Pierre P.