Trudeau’s trade spat with Trump may distract pipeline haters in Canada
Posted June 10, 2018 11:49 am.
Last Updated June 10, 2018 11:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LA MALBAIE, QUE. (NEWS 1130) – As tensions go nowhere but up as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes on Donald Trump on the world stage, it may help take away the focus from the ongoing pipeline fight in Canada.
As many people watched, listened and read Trudeau’s comments following the G7 Summit, some may have been taken by surprise that Canada’s leader actually put his foot down. Despite being accused of being a liar by Trump and being called “meek and mild” by the US president, he held his ground.
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This comes at a time as Canada remains divided over the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline project that would carry bitumen from Alberta to BC.
So, does Trudeau’s sudden strength sway those against the pipeline and improve the hit to his approval rating? It depends on how you look at it.
University of the Fraser Valley Political Scientist Hamish Telford says people may forget they don’t like Trudeau’s decision to green-light the pipeline.
“Most of us are going to be entirely preoccupied by what the president of the United States is saying about us and what he’s doing to the Canadian economy and we’ll tend to forget that Justin Trudeau ever bought a pipeline.”
Telford feels Trudeau has often been underestimated and now we’re seeing a different side to him, albeit a couple of years into his tenure.
“He seems like a pretty boy and kind of soft but he’s a lot tougher underneath than we often give him credit for and perhaps a lot tougher than Donald Trump is giving him credit for as well. A friend of mine, a political scientist and American, said to me last night that, ‘Donald Trump is a bully and the way you deal with bullies is to stand up to them.'”
The retaliatory measures Canada is taking against the US, begin Jul. 1st, after the Trump administration imposed levies on our aluminum and steel products.
“If there are further tariffs coming from the United States, Canada will impose more. We’re not budging on our key items in the NAFTA negotiations. That is we want a dispute resolution mechanism and we’re not going to accept a sunset clause — that’s the bottomline. Everything else is negotiable.”
A sunset clause would mean the agreement would have to be renegotiated every five years.
Telford says whether or not you’re mad about the pipeline or you don’t like Trudeau, he thinks the PM has handled Trump pretty well, so far.
“He’s avoided being in the Trump crosshairs until now, which most other western leaders have not succeeded in doing so he’s perhaps won that race. Look, there are going to pipeline protesters who will continue to protest the pipeline, but I think there are a lot of other Canadians, perhaps close to a majority of Canadians, who are not entirely comfortable with the pipeline but they’re not going to be active protesters. I think they will rally around Justin Trudeau’s defence of the Canadian economy and his attempt to withstand the pressure from Trump.”
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Regardless of what Trudeau says or does, there will be critics including members of the opposition, however, Telford isn’t sure anyone else would know how to deal with this situation.
“There will be a tussle for public opinion on whether Trudeau handles Trump the right way or the wrong way. I suspect most Canadians will agree with the Trudeau approach.”
It’s expected some Liberal-opposing politicians will lash out because simply that’s a part of their job, but when dealing with an unprecedented president — is there a better solution?
“[Trump] is outside the normal boundaries of behaviour for an American president. He’s really sabotaging the institutions the Americans built up to govern the western world after the Second World War. Up until now it was unimaginable the president would behave in this way. I think Trudeau has tried the right thing in trying to use flattery and befriend Trump. He’s now going to talk tough. I think that’s the right thing to do now. The other thing Trudeau has done and the government has done very, very effectively is to try and build alliances in the United States. There are still a lot of Americans and a lot of American interests that want to see NAFTA succeed, want trade to prevail, so at the state level, at the congressional level, industry, in the media — Trudeau and his government have very effectively done that outreach.”
Telford doesn’t think there is much else Canada can do until the mid-term elections which are in November and thinks eventually Trump may falter.
“What Trump is doing is not really in American interests. The United States just spent 80 years building up a particular world order, which has served it very, very well and it’s in its interest to continue that world order. I think there sensible Americans who believe that including many Republicans.”
On Saturday, Republican Senator John McCain, who is not seeking another term, tweeted, “To our allies: bipartisan majorities of Americans remain pro-free trade, pro-globalization & supportive of alliances based on 70 years of shared values. Americans stand with you, even if our president doesn’t.”
Talks regarding NAFTA continue with the chance of negotiations spilling into next year.
The Trans Mountain pipeline, Trudeau has stressed several times, will be built despite the BC government continuing to fight it in the courts. In late May the federal government announced it was purchasing the project while looking for a third-party buyer over the summer.
