Hockey binds the Canada – United States relations; Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “elbows up” gameplan has set the tone for the latest tilt involving the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement. So, it was serendipitous what occurred at the recent hockey playoff game between Buffalo and Boston, when the anthem singer’s mic failed and went silent, and the American crowd loudly sang Canada’s national anthem. More than 17,000 Americans sang “we stand on guard for thee,” a poignant moment when juxtaposed to Canadians booing the American Star Spangled Banner, or worse having the Canadian prime minister evoke the spirit of the War of 1812 and Canada’s victory over the U.S.
The Carney government is trumpeting Canada’s pivot from the U.S. to establish a New World Order, with a strategic partnership in Beijing and a new era of trade, police and security, and intelligence deals with China. Carney has used world stages in Davos and at the U.N. to describe an irreparable rupture, and to announce a grand globalist strategy of middle powers that will revamp the world’s multilateral institutions and counter American foreign influence. He takes every opportunity to elbow the Americans, most recently declaring that Canada’s trade with the U.S. is our greatest “weakness.” Indeed, Carney’s roughhouse performance speaks volumes that Americans need not doubt what the Canadian intent is with the countries’ trade relationship.
Given that Canada’s government-subsidized legacy media has accepted the mission of fueling Canadians’ Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), there has been little to no coverage of what Americans are thinking of the Carney government and its New World Order and how that impacts the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade negotiations. This column is providing that perspective – what our American cousins are saying, verbatim.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra appeared on Jasmine Laine’s podcast and his interview revealed for the first time to Canadians that trade talks between the countries had been non-existent since the fall of 2025. Laine asked the ambassador, “Do you feel as though there is something happening intentionally or is it actually just a really intense negotiation, and is it normal for this to be the rhetoric and fallout?” Ambassador Hoekstra: “No it is actually not an intense negotiation. There have really been no serious negotiations since October of last year.”
At the same time south of the border in Washington D.C., U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was at the Semafor World Economy forum to discuss world trade issues. During the interview he was asked about his perceptions of the USMCA trade negotiations. Lutnick said of President Donald Trump, “I think he thinks it is a bad deal. Mexico and Canada being treated economically like Georgia and Alabama without them being actually committed is a bad trade.” Then Lutnick made a comment that Canadian legacy media seized upon in response to a question about comments by Canada’s past chief trade negotiator Steve Verheul. Verheul stated that “time is on [Canada’s] side” in trade talks because the U.S. administration is “in political trouble,” and the longer we wait the better it will be. The U.S. Commerce Secretary stated, “That is like the worst strategy I’ve ever heard. They suck. We are a $30 trillion dollar economy. We are the consumer of the world. Okay. Carney has a problem with us. He gets on a plane and he goes to China. Does he think the Chinese economy is going to buy his stuff? China is entirely an export driven economy. So, what did he do? He came back and said, ‘Oh, we will take their electric cars.’ I mean, is this nuts?” (After the interview a spokesperson for the U.S. Commerce Department clarified the secretary’s “suck” comment in framing it as reference to “unfair trade imbalance with Canada” where Canada “sucks off our $30 [trillion] economy.”)
On Sunday April 19, while Carney was on YouTube recounting for Canadians Sir Isaac Brock’s defiant spirit, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was flying to Mexico to visit with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to discuss the start of formal U.S.-Mexico talks on USMCA. Later in the week head trade negotiator Greer was before a U.S. congressional committee to talk about trade. Greer made the following comment when asked about his talks with Canada, “We are kind of at the end of our rope in asking them [Canada] to do this [guard against China’s unfair trade]. There are only two countries that have retaliated against the United States in the last year. The People’s Republic of China and Canada. So, that’s the company they are running in…. They want to have more trade agreements with more countries. They are doubling down on globalization. They’re doubling down on globalization when we’re trying to correct for the problems of globalization. So those are two models that don’t fit together very well.”
Greer had an exchange with New York State Congresswoman Claudia Tenney who was questioning whether there had been any progress with the long-standing issues of Canada discriminating against industries in northern New York state. Tenney asked about fair trade to Canada for New York farmers’ dairy products, wines, and bulk fruits and vegetables. Greer stated the Americans had raised these very issues “repeatedly and frequently” but Canada gave “no commitments” and in the case of bulk fruits and vegetables, Canada “refused to fix this.” Tenney then asked:
“Is there any message you would like to give to our Canadian counterparts to get them to the table? How do we get them to come to the table and bring back this relationship which is so important to our farmers and business owners – to everyone? We value the relationship with Canada, especially someone like me who has grown up just an hour and half from the Canadian border and really value their friendship. I really want to see them come to the table. I hate to see our great ally being aligned with the People’s Republic of China when it comes to trade with the U.S.”
Greer replied:
“I don’t negotiate in public. I have good relationships with my direct counterparts and we speak and talk about things. We have been consistent over the past year that if we can get some changes in Canadian trade practices it is going to help me get over the political hump that we face here in the United States…. I am going to continue having conversations with these folks behind closed doors, but I hope we can get over the hump on some of these things so we can have significant talks.”
Last week, again after Carney had made his 1812 overtures, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer was interviewed by an American think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations. This exchange was telling on the reputation that Carney has with American trade negotiators. Switzer was asked about U.S. trade alliances, and the exchange turned to the USMCA.
“The countries that are led by serious leaders – and I will say that President Sheinbaum is a serious leader in Mexico… the policy of President Sheinbaum that the United States and Mexico will have a positive economic relationship. We know we will have some friction and we know that we will have to figure it out. But we are going to figure it out. Right. This is the bottom line.
“There are other economies that decided to make it personal. I think Carney has made it personal. I think it is political malpractice for the prime minister of Canada to pit politically himself against any president – I don’t care who the president is, what party they represent – it is political malpractice.
“Canada is dependent on the U.S. economy. That is just a fact. That’s not hubris. That’s not something Canada needs to be concerned about. That’s not something Canada can change. The fundamental fact is geography wins out. Canada is located where it is located. They can’t move shop. They can have a weak economy that is underperforming and not doing well, and Carney can feel superior. Or they can have an economy that participates as a partner of the U.S. economy. And Carney can do what a grownup should do, which is figure it out and come like President Sheinbaum and decide that United States and Canada will have a positive economic relationship. ‘It’s my job as a person who’s supposed to protect Canadian jobs and Canadian citizens and the Canadian economy to not let my ego and my feelings dictate what’s best for my own economy.’”
The Deputy U.S. Trade Representative was then asked directly, “That’s a very powerful statement. Do you think this will have implications for the USMCA?” to which Switzer replied:
“Yeah, of course it is… Look, was Ambassador Greer in Canada? Did he meet with Carney? No. Was he in Mexico on Monday? Did he meet with President Sheinbaum? Yes…. [In Mexico] the grownups are in the room talking because there’s a grown up in the presidency in leadership there, and I would argue there’s not a grown up in Canada in charge there. You don’t go out of your way to antagonize the leader of the country that you are absolutely existentially tied to. It’s just political malpractice.”
By way of a final thought, consider the Buffalo hockey crowd belting out the Canadian anthem and ask yourself whether the Carney Liberals are gaslighting Canadians about how the longstanding trade relationship with the U.S. is beyond repair. To use another hockey analogy, Carney appears to be channeling the assaultive Senators’ Captain Brady Tkachuk even more so than general Brock. For like Tkachuk, it is obvious our Captain Canada’s reputation precedes him. Carney’s aggressive, emotive plays may be entertaining but they are most likely to result in an embarrassing exit, denying his team the chance of winning the ultimate prize.
Chris George is an advocate, government relations advisor, and writer/copy editor. As president of a public relations firm established in 1994, Chris provides discreet counsel, tactical advice and management skills to CEOs/Presidents, Boards of Directors and senior executive teams in executing public and government relations campaigns and managing issues. Prior to this PR/GR career, Chris spent seven years on Parliament Hill on staffs of Cabinet Ministers and MPs. He has served in senior campaign positions for electoral and advocacy campaigns at every level of government. Today, Chris resides in Almonte, Ontario where he and his wife manage www.cgacommunications.com. Contact Chris at chrisg.george@gmail.com.
