'A wake-up call': Stephen Harper says he advised Carney team to look outside U.S. for trade growth
OTTAWA — Former prime minister Stephen Harper said Monday he's urging Ottawa to find new trading partners outside the United States.
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'I think it's fair to say I'm probably the most pro-American prime minister in Canadian history,' Harper told Canadian and American legislators gathered for the annual Midwestern Legislative Conference meeting in Saskatoon.
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'We've got to get something short-term worked out with the Trump administration. But this really is a wake-up call for this country to truly diversify its trade export markets.
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'Just because we have that geographic proximity does not justify the degree of dependence that we have on a single market.'
Harper said he was approached by the government two weeks ago for advice on dealing with U.S. trade policy.
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The Canadian Press has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney's office whether it approached the former Conservative prime minister for advice but has not yet received a response.
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Harper told the conference that Canada should no longer rely on Washington for its security.
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'While the border is a shared responsibility, let's make sure we spend a lot more on defence so that we can be independently responsible for our own land, seas and skies, independent of the United States,' he said.
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Harper said that anyone who had asked for his trade advice a year ago would have been urged to deepen economic and security ties with Canada's southern neighbour.
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'However, when the government did actually ask me a few weeks ago, my advice was the opposite,' he said.
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Harper said that while Washington is using a failed economic policy of pursuing economic growth through tariffs, the U.S. still needs trading partners.
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'We just cannot be in a position in the future where we can be threatened in this way and not have that leverage,' he said.
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'The current government does, you know, get it better than their predecessors.'
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He said he hopes Americans recognize that they can't take their international allies and trading partners for granted.
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'I really do hope that a realization seeps into the United States,' he told the crowd of American lawmakers.
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Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
'Leave the oil in the ground': Same debates, different country
Guyana, a country of roughly one million people perched on the northeastern corner of South America, is one of the world's fastest growing economies thanks to a super-charged nation-building project: the accelerated development of gigantic offshore oil fields. In just six years, one of the continent's poorest nations has emerged as the world's newest petrostate. The discovery, though, has enraged Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and revived his government's claims to Guyanese territory in a century-old boundary dispute. These issues of nation-building and sovereignty are familiar to Canadians, so I wanted to talk with a wise Guyanese colleague about their moment, as we contemplate ours. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Selwin Asafa George, a 52-year-old entrepreneur, is remarkably thoughtful about what it's going to take for Guyana to embrace this movement towards prosperity, without losing its soul in the process. While the catalyst for accelerating nation-building in our respective countries differs, there is something for Canadians in Guyana's journey. 'This is our moment in the sun,' Selwin readily acknowledges when we virtually connect. Guyanese by birth, Selwin worked as an investment banker in New York City, studied at New York University and then Harvard's Kennedy School of Public Policy, before returning to Guyana in 2005 to take care of the family business. A mid-size enterprise employing over 150 locals, W&T George and Company holds several franchises in the food services and hospitality sector, and owns a portfolio of commercial real estate in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, as well as prime land outside the capital. 'There have been locals suggesting we leave the oil in the ground,' Selwin shares, with a smirk. 'And there have been very influential locals who have at least said to slow the rate at which we are extracting the oil, to give use a better chance, a better deal, to give us time.' Familiar sentiments to an Albertan like me. In Canada, I explain, First Nations remain divided on the merits of some of the nation-building projects pitched by provincial premiers, including, for example, the mining of critical minerals in northern Ontario's Ring of Fire. And despite the obvious need to become less reliant on a single market for Canada's oil — America — the green lobby is unrelenting in its push against the construction of export pipelines to tidewater. In the last decade, I tell Selwin, advocacy campaigns have sucked the energy out of many projects. It's different in Guyana, Selwin reports: 'Where you have strong economic interests, that will prevail.' Between Exxon and Chevron, American companies 'now control the majority of Guyana's oil output … so it's heavily in the interest of the U.S. to protect their economic interests.' (Exxon, operator and owner of 45 per cent of Guyana's Stabroek block, forecasts its output there to nearly double to 1.3 million bpd by the end of 2027. And Chevron now owns 30 per cent of the block.) There's no denying Canada is economically tied to America's hip, yet this conversation with Selwin is a reminder of the choices Canada retains. Foreign companies do invest in Canada's extractive sectors, but domestic ownership remains strong and influential. And while Canadians are struggling to define First Nations treaty rights within Confederation, we don't have another nation actually challenging our sovereignty. Venezuela is actively disputing Guyana's control over the Essequibo region, territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's landmass and includes oil and other resources. 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How many Canadians know oilsands projects contribute roughly 3 per cent of our country's total GDP? How many Canadians understand the mechanics of equalization payments, how wealth is transferred from have to have-not provinces to ensure non-renewable resource bounty is shared? Ultimately, a sovereign wealth fund was created in Guyana but, Selwin reports, the funds have largely been squandered. He did the math at the end of 2024, to see what the outcome could have been if the government of Guyana had heeded his advice. (He's a former investment banker, so his calculations are credible.) The fund would likely have grown to roughly $1.5 billion, he estimates, the equivalent of US$50,000 to $60,000 for every Guyanese citizen, and would continue to grow quickly, he adds. Selwin is encouraging leaders in Guyana to focus not just on the building of physical infrastructure, but on the building of a culture of productivity in the country as well. What's that, I ask. 'That's culture where it's not just about the pay,' he says, it's culture that 'respects the dignity of being productive.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
Ottawa Citizen
an hour ago
- Ottawa Citizen
'Leave the oil in the ground': Same debates, different country
Article content It's different in Guyana, Selwin reports: 'Where you have strong economic interests, that will prevail.' Between Exxon and Chevron, American companies 'now control the majority of Guyana's oil output … so it's heavily in the interest of the U.S. to protect their economic interests.' Article content (Exxon, operator and owner of 45 per cent of Guyana's Stabroek block, forecasts its output there to nearly double to 1.3 million bpd by the end of 2027. And Chevron now owns 30 per cent of the block.) Article content There's no denying Canada is economically tied to America's hip, yet this conversation with Selwin is a reminder of the choices Canada retains. Article content Foreign companies do invest in Canada's extractive sectors, but domestic ownership remains strong and influential. And while Canadians are struggling to define First Nations treaty rights within Confederation, we don't have another nation actually challenging our sovereignty. Venezuela is actively disputing Guyana's control over the Essequibo region, territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's landmass and includes oil and other resources. Article content Article content Selwin has thought deeply about the issues that bubble in nation-building endeavours and he's savvy enough to know what's negotiable. Right now, he's especially focused on one question: Who benefits from Guyana's resource windfall? Article content After the first significant oil discovery in offshore Guyana was made by ExxonMobil, Selwin argued his country should adopt something similar to the Alaska sovereign wealth fund model. Article content 'I believe it is critical that the public remains vigilant,' Selwin wrote then in a Guyanese newspaper, 'and so I urge that we go the path of Alaska by adopting a model of dividends for all. The introduction of the Alaska model of paying dividends to every Alaskan from their oil and gas resources would work wonders to strengthen the good governance model and ensure an engaged populace.' Article content Article content How many Canadians know oilsands projects contribute roughly 3 per cent of our country's total GDP? How many Canadians understand the mechanics of equalization payments, how wealth is transferred from have to have-not provinces to ensure non-renewable resource bounty is shared? Article content Ultimately, a sovereign wealth fund was created in Guyana but, Selwin reports, the funds have largely been squandered. He did the math at the end of 2024, to see what the outcome could have been if the government of Guyana had heeded his advice. (He's a former investment banker, so his calculations are credible.) The fund would likely have grown to roughly $1.5 billion, he estimates, the equivalent of US$50,000 to $60,000 for every Guyanese citizen, and would continue to grow quickly, he adds. Article content Selwin is encouraging leaders in Guyana to focus not just on the building of physical infrastructure, but on the building of a culture of productivity in the country as well. Article content What's that, I ask. 'That's culture where it's not just about the pay,' he says, it's culture that 'respects the dignity of being productive.'
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
'Leave the oil in the ground': Same debates, different country
Article content It's different in Guyana, Selwin reports: 'Where you have strong economic interests, that will prevail.' Between Exxon and Chevron, American companies 'now control the majority of Guyana's oil output … so it's heavily in the interest of the U.S. to protect their economic interests.' Article content (Exxon, operator and owner of 45 per cent of Guyana's Stabroek block, forecasts its output there to nearly double to 1.3 million bpd by the end of 2027. And Chevron now owns 30 per cent of the block.) Article content There's no denying Canada is economically tied to America's hip, yet this conversation with Selwin is a reminder of the choices Canada retains. Article content Foreign companies do invest in Canada's extractive sectors, but domestic ownership remains strong and influential. And while Canadians are struggling to define First Nations treaty rights within Confederation, we don't have another nation actually challenging our sovereignty. Venezuela is actively disputing Guyana's control over the Essequibo region, territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's landmass and includes oil and other resources. Article content Article content Selwin has thought deeply about the issues that bubble in nation-building endeavours and he's savvy enough to know what's negotiable. Right now, he's especially focused on one question: Who benefits from Guyana's resource windfall? Article content After the first significant oil discovery in offshore Guyana was made by ExxonMobil, Selwin argued his country should adopt something similar to the Alaska sovereign wealth fund model. Article content 'I believe it is critical that the public remains vigilant,' Selwin wrote then in a Guyanese newspaper, 'and so I urge that we go the path of Alaska by adopting a model of dividends for all. The introduction of the Alaska model of paying dividends to every Alaskan from their oil and gas resources would work wonders to strengthen the good governance model and ensure an engaged populace.' Article content Article content How many Canadians know oilsands projects contribute roughly 3 per cent of our country's total GDP? How many Canadians understand the mechanics of equalization payments, how wealth is transferred from have to have-not provinces to ensure non-renewable resource bounty is shared? Article content Ultimately, a sovereign wealth fund was created in Guyana but, Selwin reports, the funds have largely been squandered. He did the math at the end of 2024, to see what the outcome could have been if the government of Guyana had heeded his advice. (He's a former investment banker, so his calculations are credible.) The fund would likely have grown to roughly $1.5 billion, he estimates, the equivalent of US$50,000 to $60,000 for every Guyanese citizen, and would continue to grow quickly, he adds. Article content Selwin is encouraging leaders in Guyana to focus not just on the building of physical infrastructure, but on the building of a culture of productivity in the country as well. Article content What's that, I ask. 'That's culture where it's not just about the pay,' he says, it's culture that 'respects the dignity of being productive.'
