Carney’s foreign policy idealism

Carney probably knows all this.

Official response and confirmed impact

The cynical interpretation is that he suspects that the Trump administration will eventually relent on its campaign of economic pressure because it will become too untenable in view of persistent inflation, raised interest rates, and possibly a divided government this winter.

Talking about Europe with vague notions of “unique alliance” and “associate member” allows him to appear that he is not just waiting out Trump — even though he is really just waiting out Trump.

Yet the opportunity costs may be serious. The Carney government has invested significant time and focus early in its mandate cultivating this policy.

One can ask, would the time be better spent working on reinforcing the bilateral relationship with the United States, especially with those authorities who have influence but are not directly associated with the administration?

Texas, for example, accounts for double the value of bilateral trade with Canada as Germany.

Its governor, Greg Abbott, would have comparatively more influence on the direction of bilateral US trade with Canada than Merz does with the EU.

Alexander Lanoszka, Richard Shimooka, and Balkan Devlen are senior fellows at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute specializing in foreign affairs, defence, and security.