Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the Prime Time screen and media industry conference gala in Ottawa, on Jan. 29.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press
Donald J. Savoie is the author of Speaking Truth to Canadians About Their Public Service.
It is possible to group politicians into four types of participants: status-seeking, mission-driven, policy-makers, and pragmatists. Status-seeking participants are constantly on the lookout to gain visibility in the media; for them, it is not what they might do in government, but how they are viewed. Mission-driven participants have strongly held views, and they are in politics to serve a cause – think former environment minister Steven Guilbeault. Policy-making participants bring a strong level of expertise in a specific sector, such as Mark Carney. Pragmatist participants have strong political skills, and accept institutions as they are and play by their rules – politicians like Dominic LeBlanc.
Where does Donald Trump fit in these categories? No category can fully capture him, not even “status-seeking participant on steroids”. He is a “fact-free” political participant who sees institutions and their rules as unnecessary, or as a nuisance to be pushed aside in getting things done.
The fact-free participant is a new category in modern politics. It must be difficult for all other political participants to deal with a fact-free participant – and particularly difficult for policy-oriented participants, whose work is underpinned by facts, to understand what possibly motivates a fact-free political participant.
Read and watch Mark Carney's Davos speech at the World Economic Forum
In this context, Mr. Carney’s Davos speech last month was masterful. It served as a wake-up call to the international community about the emerging world order, and sent a message to Canada that it will be going through a difficult transition. Canada can no longer rely on its neighbour as a reliable economic partner. It has no choice but to pursue new markets. The speech made many Canadians apprehensive because finding new markets over two oceans is far easier said than done. They also know that Mr. Trump can hurt the Canadian economy at the stroke of a pen.
Mr. Trump’s reactions to the Carney speech made it clear that indeed, the old Canada-U.S. relations are not coming back. He never even tried to deal with the substance of the Carney presentation; he did what he does best and launched a series of personal attacks, calling our Prime Minister “Governor” and threatening a new round of tariffs. He also warned Canada against pursuing new markets, notably China, arguing that “the first thing they’re gonna do is say you’re not allowed to play ice hockey anymore.” Only a fact-free politician could come up with this line of reasoning.
That Mr. Trump is uneasy with Canada pursuing new markets, even as he imposes trade barriers on Canada and tries to cripple its auto industry, has wide implications for political sovereignty.
Having to deal with a fact-free President comes at a time when national economies are changing at a rapid rate, when Ottawa is dealing with a difficult fiscal situation, when the economically transformative power of AI is fast making its presence felt, and when national unity is back on the country’s political agenda. Together, they constitute a powerful brew that needs to be addressed.
Opinion: Carney may accept the world as it is, but we cannot accept Canada as it is
At Davos, Mr. Carney outlined a new road map for middle powers as the rules-based international order unravels. Canada also needs a new road map to grow its economy, protect its sovereignty and strengthen national unity. It may be too much to ask all political leaders to come together to deal with a looming crisis. But it should not be too much to ask them to leave partisan political manoeuvring for another day.
When Mr. Carney unveiled his cabinet last May, he described it as “purpose-built for this hinge moment.” That moment calls for politically courageous decisions. Government programs, including some that hold merit, need to be jettisoned to make way for other measures. Canada’s tax policy needs to be overhauled to encourage investments. New measures to improve productivity need to be introduced. And governments, notably the federal government, need to stick more to their constitutional lanes that they do at the moment.
Canadians should be asked to do their part, and they appear ready to do so. Among other pan-Canadian developments, provincial governments look increasingly determined to do away with interprovincial trade barriers, Canadians are turning away from U.S. products at grocery stores, and many Canadian businesses are looking overseas for new markets. The moment calls on the Prime Minister to give a Davos-type speech to Canadians to outline the challenges ahead, and what role they can play in meeting them.