It’s been a while since we had a federal government that would side with Saskatchewan over Ontario but the new trade deal with China suggests that we have arrived at that point. The mood for change is strong.
In the wake of the announcements regarding tariffs on canola and Chinese-made electric vehicles, Ontario’s Doug Ford railed it was bad for workers and the auto industry just as Scott Moe was saying it was good for trade and for Western Canada’s ag and food sector.
As the world digests Mark Carney’s New World Order comments in his Chinese news conference there will be plenty of international discussion about the shape of future trading patterns in a Trump tariff environment. For Canada, we will have two conversations: one about how we fit into a changing world as a trading nation but also how we function as a country.
Domestically, East-West tension is rising. Separatism is in ascension. Provincial rights versus national interests are testing the fabric of the country. All of this has seasoned politicians throwing in the towel, Quebec’s premier being the latest.
