Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre speaks with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa in September, 2025.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
John Ibbitson is a media fellow at the Fraser Institute and a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
The Liberals and Conservatives offered completely different responses to the Trump administration’s abduction of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
Those responses reflect the world view of each party. For Conservatives, foreign policy is rooted in values; for Liberals, in interests.
On Saturday morning, not long after word arrived that American special forces had captured and abducted Mr. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement on X. “Congratulations to President Trump on successfully arresting narcoterrorist and socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, who should live out his days in prison.”
For Mr. Poilievre, the matter is personal. His wife Anaida came to Canada with her family from Venezuela when she was eight.
But his statement also conformed with decades of values-based Conservative foreign policy. As prime minister, Stephen Harper criticized China’s record on human rights, saying Canadians expect their government to defend Canadian values. “They don’t want us to sell that out to the almighty dollar,” he maintained, though he later trimmed his sails when industry leaders complained that the prime minister’s hostility to Beijing was costing them business.
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Then-foreign affairs minister John Baird stood with pro-democracy protesters in Kyiv in 2013, and Mr. Harper led the charge to expel Russia from the G8 over Vladimir Putin’s occupation of Crimea, making it the G7.
On Mr. Harper’s watch, Canada was a leader in the mission to overthrow Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and held the line against the Taliban in Kandahar.
Mr. Poilievre’s statement also reflects the attitude of those Conservative supporters who also embrace Mr. Trump’s MAGA movement. But at root, the Conservatives are expressing their values by cheering the overthrow of one of the hemisphere’s least attractive dictators.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement came later in the day and said virtually nothing: Canada “welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.” What opportunity? By whose hand? “Canada calls on all parties to respect international law. We stand by the Venezuelan people’s sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society.” Carefully crafted gibberish.
That gibberish echoed the meaningless utterances of Canada’s European allies. European Union President Ursula von der Leyen: “We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer: “The U.K. government will discuss the evolving situation with U.S. counterparts in the days ahead.” Initially, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that “the military operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro violates the principle of non-resort to force that underpins international law.” But President Emmanuel Macron later dialled things down, posting on X that Venezuelans “can only rejoice” at Mr. Maduro’s departure and that “the upcoming transition must be peaceful, democratic, and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people.” Gibberish.
Clearly, Mr. Carney and many of his European counterparts were determined not to anger the American President, and with good reason. The new Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine asserts the right of the United States to intervene anywhere in the Western Hemisphere where its interests are at stake, and Saturday’s actions demonstrate that the administration means what it says.
In the case of Venezuela, the Americans accused Mr. Maduro of exporting drugs to the U.S., though Mr. Trump made it clear during his news conference on Saturday that his real intent was to secure control over the country’s oil reserves.
Mexico also has oil reserves, and also exports narcotics. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is “very frightened of the cartels,” Mr. Trump told Fox News on Saturday. “They’re running Mexico.” Drugs “come in through the southern border, mostly the southern border. A lot, plenty, come in through Canada, too, by the way, in case you don’t know.” You can be certain that the Prime Minister’s Office took careful note.
The PMO must also have noted two posts from Katie Miller, wife of senior presidential aide Stephen Miller. One showed the American flag superimposed over Greenland, with the word, “SOON.” In another, in reference to expected American access to Venezuelan oil, she wrote: “The U.S. doesn’t need anything from Canada. Free trade is over.”
The Liberal government is anxious to do or say nothing that will offend the Trump administration, as Ottawa prepares to defend the vital Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement. Rightly or wrongly, in responding to the American strike on Venezuela, Mr. Carney spoke softly and carried no stick. Rightly or wrongly, Conservatives cheered Mr. Trump on.
Values versus interests. Canadians will decide which they prefer.