Against all odds, Mark Carney secured another victory for Canada’s Liberal Party tonight. Though it appears that they were denied a majority government, they have a strong minority and Carney has a chance to govern.
He is certainly facing unprecedented challenges and he is not shy about them. Here are a few notable highlights, statements that, frankly, I never thought I’d hear a Canadian prime minister utter [emphasis mine]:
As I’ve been warned, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, that will never ever happen.
Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The system of open global trade anchored by the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that well not perfect has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades, is over.
But it’s also our new reality.
We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves and above all we have to take care of each other.
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When I sit down with President Trump, it will be to discuss the future economic and security relationship between two sovereign nations. And it will be with our full knowledge that we have many, many other options than the United States to build prosperity for all Canadians.
[…]
We will strengthen our relations with reliable partners in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.We will chart a new path forward because this is Canada and we decide what happens here.
Yes, this is our immediate future here in Canada. And yes, I think Carney is the right person at the right time. In fact, now that the election is over, I wonder: perhaps he’ll be able to pull a rabbit out of his magic banker’s hat and even work with the Conservative Party. Not sure if it is possible but he is better suited to find common ground than just about anyone. And unity is what Canada needs more than anything in these challenging times ahead.