Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “forward guidance” videos have proven adept at fostering populist tactics in the services of mainstream politics.
Voters across the western world have been drawn to conspiracy theories and demagogues because they fear that nobody is in control. In this series of videos, Carney has presented a calm, reassuring face to the world, telling Canadians that their “improbable country” will “pivot and prosper” in the face of the trade war with the Americans.
Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre delivered a pro-free trade message to millions of Americans watching morning television Thursday, urging Canada and the United States to return to the negotiating table and declining to criticize Prime Minister Mark Carney while appearing in the U.S.
Asked by the hosts of CNBC’s Squawk Box whether Carney was acting in good faith in trade negotiations with the United States, Poilievre said he would not attack the prime minister while abroad.
“Look, I’m not going to attack my prime minister on foreign soil. It’s just not something I’m going to do,” Poilievre said.
I’d be fine with this if Carney was actually Canada’s PM and not Brookfield’s – Xi’s PM.
A new poll from Build Canada suggests Canadians in the “elbows up” category when it comes to the ongoing trade war with the United States have put their brains on park.
It found that while 75% of Canadians surveyed want Prime Minister Mark Carney to hold firm in the ongoing trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump, most simultaneously reject higher taxes, higher household unemployment and higher financial losses in retirement as potential consequences of that strategy.
This is an evisceration.
h/t Surele Surele
NDP Leader Avi Lewis opened three days of meetings with his parliamentary caucus accusing the Carney government of forgetting ordinary Canadians.
“The prime minister, who still enjoys considerable support, at the negotiating table has nonetheless pursued a very specific policy, which is that if you’re a powerful corporation in Canada, you go to the front of line.”
Lewis and his five NDP MPs met Tuesday in Toronto with union leaders, affordable housing advocates and leaders from the city’s food banks.
I agree with Avi. Shoot me!
Canada’s finance minister says Canada has a “golden opportunity in front of us” as the trade war with the United States continues to escalate.
François-Philippe Champagne told reporters Wednesday that while the federal government did not want to engage in a back-and-forth with their U.S. counterparts, they will “do what’s right for Canada.”
Meanwhile, a source close to the trade negotiations told CTV News that Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc was given a heads-up Tuesday by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer before U.S. President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders that banned and imposed new tariffs on certain Canadian products.
Economists are warning that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “dollar-for-dollar” tariff strategy could mean some economic pain for the Great White North, but Canadians are so frustrated with the Trump administration they support the move anyway.
Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs of 15% to 50% that took effect on Tuesday and will impact hundreds of U.S. goods, including paper, steel, aluminum, furniture, as well as cheese and seafood. The levies were in response to a breakdown of trade talks between the countries and the Trump administration’s piling on of tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods earlier this summer.
Prime Minister Mark Carney released a new fireside chat — and it has gotten mixed reviews.
His “Forward Guidance” videos are what he has referred to as “a practice” he developed from his days as Governor of the Bank of Canada.
The petite Canadian Prime Minister and global banker ordinaire is back on his nation’s airwaves, in what might be interpreted as the Syrupean ‘Je vous salue Marie’ version of our political Hail Mary. Only the little fellow has thought to use a little literary license and weave in some…uh…oh, let’s be kind about this and call them ‘revised’ origin stories about Canada’s founding to heighten the dramatic effect.
The Elitist Media evening news continue their mission on trade, acting as spokespeople for the Canadian prime minister instead of reporting the full scope of US-Canada relations that led to the breakdown at the negotiating table. Over the weekend and through today, an alarming omission emerges.
The tariff war is on. The Trump administration hit us unjustifiably with tariffs, and, as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on the weekend, “All Canadians stand united in denouncing the president’s unacceptable tweets, trolling and tariffs…”
Trump’s tariffs, and our response, are going to hurt a lot of Canadians and Americans. The fight is mutually detrimental and will leave lasting scars of distrust between many Canadians and many Americans, which will take years to heal – if they ever do.
Carney kiboshed the negotiations because he wanted Chinese steel in Canadian manufactured trucks. Think about that.
Canada should take the hint.
On the eve of his decision this summer not to permanently extend CUSMA by another decade, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated a point he had made back in January 2025: “We don’t need their oil and gas.”
As 100 per cent of America’s natural-gas imports come from Canada (worth about $12 billion per year, all figures USD), along with 63 per cent ($125 billion per year) of its crude oil imports, our CUSMA negotiating team likely dismissed Trump’s comments as negotiating bluster.
Carney is not on Canada’s side.
The Canada–U.S. trade dispute has crossed another threshold. What began with tariffs moved to counter-tariffs and has now reached outright import bans on both sides of the border. The economic pain is no longer theoretical.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned Canadians that reducing our dependence on the United States will come at a cost. At least he was honest. But Canadians deserve to know how much pain, who will bear it and what economic outcome their sacrifice is expected to purchase.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Canada is to blame for Washington’s decision to escalate the trade war with its northern neighbour.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed new executive orders, ramping up retaliation after Canada imposed its latest set of counter duties on the United States.
The five new orders, which will take effect later this month, will completely bar imports of certain Canadian goods, including motorcycles, some dairy products and alcoholic beverages.
Today, Ambassador Greer issued a statement after President Trump exercised his authority under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to ban certain Canadian products from entering the U.S. market and modify the scope of the July 20 actions to offset the burden or disadvantage on…
— United States Trade Representative (@USTradeRep) September 9, 2026
I believe Greer over Carney hands down.
Prime Minister Mark Carney warns there will be a “cost” and tough times ahead to chart a new economic course as a result of the trade rupture with Donald Trump’s America.
“There’s always a cost to action, but it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still,” said Carney on a taped 15-minute speech with no media availability.
The Carney government wants to double Canada’s exports to countries other than the United States by 2035 to help reduce dependence on the U.S. market and deepen Canadian trade and commercial ties with other economies. The idea commands significant public support. Canada faces a volatile mercantilist president determined to dismantle much of the architecture governing the global economy and upend America’s longstanding trade relationships.
