Nelson: Elbows down, Canada, as Trump and Carney make nice over tariffs

Calgary Herald

5 hours ago

Tuck those elbows in Canada. We're pals again with Donald Trump's America.
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Yes, we can once more spend Januarys in Orlando or Phoenix without feeling guilty. We can even drink Budweiser beer. And next NHL season, there'll be no booing the Star Spangled Banner before games. Because, speaking of games, the Liberals have played an absolute gem.
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Before election night, new boss Mark Carney wrapped himself so tightly in the Maple Leaf it's a wonder he had the breath to thank voters for returning the Grits to power, a victory that looked next to impossible a few months earlier.
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Back then, Trump was busy insulting outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau, calling him the governor of Canada and talking about making this country a 51st state.
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We were not amused, especially when our biggest trading partner also announced a series of tariffs.
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Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was cast as a mini-me Trump, given his earlier hard-edged attacks on the failing Trudeau. That — along with the collapse of the NDP vote thanks to the stunningly inept performance of its then-leader Jagmeet Singh — led the Liberals to a remarkable turnaround victory.
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But that was then, this is now. The votes are counted and the pretence we're turning our backs on our somewhat rude southern neighbours can be ditched. It worked a treat.
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And as we saw during the U.S. president's brief appearance at this week's Kananaskis G7 summit, there's been a Chinook-sized thaw in Carney's Captain Canada routine regarding Trump and the U.S.
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All that guff about Canada forging a different path was ditched. Instead, Carney promised to work hand in hand with Trump, after gushing it was such a great honour welcoming him to Alberta.
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'This marks the 50th birthday of the G7, and the G7 is nothing without U.S. leadership,' said Carney, before praising Trump's personal leadership on issues such as geopolitics, the economy and technology. Remarkably, our prime minister didn't even blush.
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Of course, those paying attention understood Canada was already bending its knee before the Kananaskis meeting.
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First up was the Strong Borders Act, a proposed bill to crack down on drugs and weapons crossing the border, while toughening up immigration checks, areas Trump had repeatedly accused Canada of ignoring.
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That was followed by Carney's announcement that we'd increase defence spending to hit the magic two per cent of GDP mark, not in five years but in nine months. This, too, follows U.S. condemnation of our previously paltry contribution.