Thoughts on the Liberal Party of Canada

 The Liberal Party of Canada is a very top-down organisation.  This has been a source of much of their troubles.  There's no room for calling out the leader, or for a minister to exercise their own authority outside of the leader's preferences.  Especially when the leader's plan goes against the better judgement or ethics of the minister. The idea that a minister can only get their concerns addressed if they very publicly quit - from Jody Wilson-Raybould to Jane Philpott to Christia Freeland.  This problem isn't unique to the Liberals:  it was also noticeable with the PMO as run by Harper.  But it's a problem that should be addressed.  We need institutions that allow people of conscience to meaningfully push back when given instructions they know to be wrong.

Another problem is to find a way to challenge the leader or at least hold him/her responsible for their actions.  Some parties have at least a requirement for an annual (or other frequency) of leadership review.  If the Liberals had this process, they may have found a way to get Trudeau to back down without a full-on caucus revolt.

Are any of the candidates looking at options to reform the organisation of the LPC, or are they simply going to perpetuate the system, simply with themselves playing king of the hill, until someone comes along to topple them in turn?

Thoughts on Donald Trump

Donald Trump is not our friend.  He is a predator and will take whatever he can get.  We need to recognise that he doesn't care about us.  He doesn't want our friendship, and when he talks of "51st State", he has no interest in what Canada can provide to the US, only what will come to him, personally.  The only "benefits" he proposes to Canadians are that we would evade the tariffs he is proposing, not that we would gain benefits of US citizenship or other benefits from a closer relationship.

When he threatens a 25% tariff on anything coming from Canada, he doesn't care about the impact on Canadians or even on Americans who buy stuff from Canada.  There is a real need to set our own egos aside and recognise that it's not about us.  The real question is 'what does Trump want?' and 'what does he think this will get HIM?'

In order to respond to Trump's approach, we've seen Canadian politicians respond with everything from dollar for dollar retaliatory tariffs, threats to cut off sales of Canadian products to the US to rolling over and either giving him what he wants or even implying that rule from Washington DC would be better than having our own government in Ottawa.

For me, it is significant that during the election campaign, Trump spoke about universal tariffs of 10% on all products being sold to the US, and mentioned China specifically. He only started talking about 25% tariffs on Canada AFTER he was elected.  He only started talking annexation of Canada AFTER meeting with Trudeau in late November.  He doesn't have a mandate from the US electorate for annexing Canada, Greenland or Panama. 

Another thing is that his approach is hostile.  He will impose the 25% tariff, and then negotiate.  It's like walking up to someone, kicking them in the 'nads, and then saying, let's talk.   His complaints are not connected to any facts that can be confirmed - Canada is not a significant source of drugs or illegal immigrants to the US, and in addition, there was an immediate pledge by Trudeau to improve border security.  This had no impact on Trump's position, and since then he has doubled down on his annexation talk.  Being nice in response to his threats is not showing any positive results for Canada. The trade imbalance is much smaller than he claims, but it basically comes down to Canadians selling stuff that the Americans want to buy, and vice-versa.  Let's talk about that imbalance, but remember that Trump signed the CUSMA.  His proposed tariffs violate that agreement, so he is proposing to break his own deal.  And it's due for review in 2026 anyway! 

We need our government to be firm.  Canada's sovereignty is not open to negotiation.  Any tariffs will be matched with countervailing measures, including counter-tariffs, and possible escalation to include cutting off of categories of exports such as energy, critical minerals or other materials.  

We do have a federal election pending in Canada before the end of 2025.  If a party wishes to run on a platform of joining the US, that might be interesting, and if that's an election issue, the resulting government would have a clear mandate on the matter. OK, maybe that suggestion is a bit facetious, but certainly I want to see Canada's response to Trump be an election issue.  Canada's next PM should come out of the election with a clear mandate to either stand up to Trump's aggression, or roll over if that's what the electorate chooses.