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by Jim Warren
I think I might have been a tad too optimistic in my last column (Read it Here) about the potential for Mark Carney to embrace the oil, gas and pipeline sector’s Build Canada Now action plan. It would probably also be a stretch to think he will quickly come to his senses and satisfactorily address the laundry list of legitimate grievances people on the prairies have with Ottawa.
If he won’t tolerate a pipeline crossing Quebec without it first being blessed by Yves-Francois Blanchet, he’ll be scared stiff about negotiating changes to equalization. He won’t have a lot of wiggle room when votes are taken in the House of Commons.
Supporters of the conventional energy sector have waited nine long years for relief from the federal Liberal assault on pipelines, emissions, production and exports. Patience is wearing thin. Producers, politicians and the public expect Carney to promptly appear at the bargaining table and negotiate a fair deal for the producing provinces.
If nothing of consequence happens by Stampede Week we can cinch up for the political bronc ride that will follow in response to an unacceptable delay.
One new development of concern is the level of international cheerleading there has been for Carney in recent weeks, and how it might affect his domestic agenda. A disturbing new narrative about Canadian politics is taking hold in the UK, Europe and North America among mainstream media personalities and many of the “experts” they feature on their pseudo-news and political commentary programs. Some of them seem to think the man from Davos can single-handedly force Donald Trump to play nice.
Post-election analysis on BBC, CBC, CNN and MSNBC, BBC has congealed around the proposition that “Mark Carney, citizen of the world and champion of all that is right and good, just saved Canada from the MAGA North Party represented by Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives.”
In fact, that’s a pretty fair paraphrase of what Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s late afternoon program Deadline White House, had to say on May 5. BBC Newscasts were using nearly identical lines. It is hard to know who was plagiarizing who.
Historian Margaret MacMillan, former Oxford professor born in Canada, was trotted out the same day (I believe it was also on BBC) to provide the historical context for the April 28 election. MacMillan gushed over Carney’s central banker credentials and explained that he was clearly viewed as the best Canadian politician available to deal with Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
In addition to her academic credentials, MacMillan has apparently had enough Canadian experience to absorb the Liberal catechism. She told an interviewer that Carney could get tough with Trump by restricting exports of Alberta oil and Saskatchewan potash to the US. No kidding. Spoken like a bona fide member of the Laurentian Elite—“make the West pay.” Carney is sure to put her in the Senate–she is definitely a qualified candidate, no further training required.
Carney met with Donald Trump in Washington on May 6 to talk about trade. In its report on the meeting the BBC TV news program, The Context, announced that Carney “warned” Donald Trump, “Canada is not for sale ever.” How did he warn him? Was there an “or else” mentioned? Of course not, the BBC just wanted to portray Carney as the hero who put the bully in his place.
Mika Brzezinski, who plays the role of Little Chicken Hawk to Joe Scarborough’s Foghorn Leghorn on MSNBC’s morning show, praised Carney on May 7 the day after the prime minister’s meeting with Donald Trump. Brzezinski described Carney as an accomplished leader of important global organizations, who knew precisely how to handle Trump.
She said, “Mark Carney met with Donald Trump and showed what a truly effective leader can do.”
A more objective observation is that Carney sucked up enough to avoid a repeat of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Oval Office beat down and was able to deliver a canned line about Canada not being for sale. An okay performance but hardly dazzling.
Carney’s fan club clearly includes members of the chattering class from the mainstream media in North America, Europe and the UK. What is less clear is how the trans-continental, pro-Carney consensus emerged in such a short time. It is reminiscent of how when Kamala Harris was elevated, in less than one week, from national embarrassment to front runner in the campaign to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
My sense is the consensus about Carney being able to walk on water emerged naturally within the woke milieu of the media. True zealots know the party line and stick to it. Contrary to the speculations of those dealing in conspiracy theories, George Soros and Klaus Schwab’s replacement at the World Economic Forum aren’t transmitting talking points to their thousands of media minions on a regular basis. It happens on its own. Most newsrooms see what some of the leading media players, renowned for their progressive orthodoxy, are saying and simply copy it.
The problem for Western Canada is the possibility that all of the plaudits in the media will turn the prime minister’s head. People who inflate their resumés are often quite needy when it comes to their egos. Carney could succumb to the ego stroking and decide he can stick to his Davos-endorsed emissions reduction agenda. Carney may start to believe his own press clippings and presume he’s so wise and wonderful, the problems of two little provinces in the West don’t amount to a hill of beans in his world.
On the plus side political honey moons don’t last forever. The media can be a fickle bunch. Falling stars and celebrity takedowns can earn more clicks than stories aimed at hero worshiping fans.
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