Anthony Koch: At G7, Carney has his elbows way down for Trump
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Let's dispense with the polite fiction: Carney never meant what he said. The campaign rhetoric wasn't just exaggerated, it was fabricated. There was no principled foreign policy vision, no doctrine of Canadian independence. It was anti-American cosplay, staged for a segment of the electorate that wanted to feel morally superior to our southern neighbours without having to actually think seriously about Canada's strategic position in the world.
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And here's the truly galling part: voters didn't mind. Not really. Carney's flip-flop hasn't cost him much because many of the people who cheered his fiery condemnations of Trump didn't actually care if he followed through. For a certain kind of upper-middle-class Canadian Liberal, politics isn't about outcomes, it's about vibes. It's about feeling right, looking progressive, and imagining yourself on the right side of history while outsourcing all your material security to American economic and military power.
These are the same voters who nodded along when Carney spoke about 'de-risking' our relationship with the United States, who applauded when he warned of creeping authoritarianism from Washington. And now they nod along just as enthusiastically when he floats ideas for joint continental defence initiatives, shared strategic supply chains, and deeper financial integration. They are not engaged citizens. They are consumers of political affect — buying whatever narrative makes them feel smart and virtuous in the moment.
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But the consequences of this self-indulgent politics are real. By campaigning on a lie, Carney squandered the opportunity for a serious, grown-up conversation about our geopolitical future. Should Canada pursue closer integration with the United States? Perhaps. Should we coordinate more closely on military defence in the Arctic? Maybe. But those decisions should be debated openly and honestly, not buried under layers of electoral theatre and bait-and-switch messaging.
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