Last week a great deal of media coverage emerged from a meeting hosted by the Bank of Montreal and the Eurasia Group with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. It was reported that, according to three sources that were at the meeting, Lutnick dismissed the possibility of a comprehensive auto deal with Canada. Lutnick reportedly commented that the U.S. could continue to buy auto parts from Canada, but not full vehicles. As about 90 per cent of vehicles produced in Canada are exported to the U.S., this would be a very big deal.
The meeting was apparently held under Chatham House Rules, which state that meeting participants can discuss the issues raised at the meeting publicly, but cannot attribute remarks or statements to any one individual at the meeting. By speaking about this issue publicly and attributing the remarks to Lutnick, it appears that three people broke the rules. This is pretty offensive, as participants take part in meetings of this sort with the understanding they will not be quoted outside of the meeting room. This format is used to boost mutual trust and encourage people to speak frankly. Considering the already-tense environment of current Canada-U.S. trade negotiations, this breach will do nothing to help that situation and suggests at least three of the participants were untrustworthy.
Much panic ensued following these revelations, but a review of the facts is in order. The Canada-U.S. auto industry is immensely integrated, and to imply that this omelet can be easily or quickly unscrambled in one U.S. president’s term defies belief. Carney often boasts that 85 per cent of Canada’s exports to the U.S. are exempt from U.S. tariffs under the USMCA trade agreement, which has been true for years. This statement also suggests that the hysteria about Trump wanting to “break us so American can own us,” as Carney said during the April election, was unjustified and intended to dupe gullible Canadians into voting Liberal. Does the U.S. plan to totally scrap the USMCA agreement? Highly improbable. It’s also worth noting that the Eurasia Group has many close connections to the current Liberal government and has had for some time.
Canadian businesses want a trade deal. A recent poll by Ipsos showed that two-thirds of Canadians now support Canada reaching a trade deal with the U.S. as soon as possible. Most business owners knew from the start that Carney’s foolish and juvenile “elbows up” retaliatory tariffs would hurt Canadian businesses and their employees. By the time he reversed these tariffs with elbows firmly down, the damage was done, both to our economy and Canada-U.S. trade relations. It seems that most Canadians are coming to that realization as well. Lutnick’s supposed comments came one day after Carney’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. As many other countries have reached trade deals with Trump, Carney’s continuing failure to do so looks more and more suspect.
Public opinion polls indicate that Canadians are moving away from the Trump as bogeyman concerns and are focussing more on issues such as the cost of living, the mess of our immigration system and the related deterioration in our health care system and other social services, the housing shortage and rampant violent crime. These things have all worsened significantly under the last decade of Liberal government.
As the Trump “orange man bad” theme benefitted the Liberals immensely during April’s federal election, it makes sense that they want to keep this sentiment alive as long as possible. Ontario Premier Doug Ford was also assisted in his 2025 re-election by demonizing the U.S. president. Ford’s melodramatic, over-the-top reaction to anything coming out of the U.S. suggests he would also like to keep Trump in the crosshairs. Using the U.S. president as a scapegoat for Ontario and Canada’s problems conveniently deflects from the fact that it has been the bad policies of Canada’s governments that are the major factors causing our economic and social woes.
A good example of dumb policy from both the federal and Ontario governments was highlighted by the recent announcement that automaker Stellantis would be moving some of its operations from Ontario to Illinois, although specific details have yet to be released. As Stellantis was the recipient of many billions of our tax dollars to manufacture in Canada, politicians and union leaders were enraged by this announcement and vowed various types of revenge. Government subsidies of business, especially of major amounts such as this, have a long history of being wasteful disasters. The federal Liberals and Ontario Progressive Conservatives should be blaming themselves for creating an uncompetitive economic environment, not excoriating companies for seeking greener pastures.
It is rumoured that Carney would like to have another federal election prior to the U.S. mid-term elections in November 2026 in the hopes of obtaining a majority government. The fact that leaks from the Lutnick meeting, which could serve to once again incite the “elbows up” crowd, arose from an event co-hosted by the Liberal-affiliated Eurasia Group is interesting, to say the least. Time will tell whether Canadians will get fired up again by the U.S. boogeyman or continue to focus on Canada’s serious, self-inflicted problems like the cost of living, crime, a sluggish economy and other factors affecting their day-to-day lives.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
