By Bob Rae

January 15, 2025

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s travels this week have taken him to the west coast, where he met with Indigenous leaders, and then to China. From Beijing, he heads to Doha, the capital of Qatar, and then to the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Canada’s journey of justice, peace and reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples who have lived on these lands for thousands of years has been long denied and much delayed.

Both at home and globally, Indigenous peoples have been insisting on their collective rights to self-determination, greater control of resources, and an end to centuries exploitation. Two Canadian jurisdictions — the governments of Canada and British Columbia — have taken steps to bring laws in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

As Canada’s resource frontier moves farther north and west, a federal legal and regulatory system that has always been complex faces pressures.

Consultation and consent are the law of the land. So, governments and businesses that want development are going to need to up their game on these issues. Internal diplomacy matters. And it takes time. One meeting won’t settle it.

There is a difference between an announcement and getting things done. We have all had to learn that good intentions are better than bad ones, but trust is broken when there is no implementation.

This is true of politics as well as life. The public argument between Premier Doug Ford and both Premier Wab Kinew and the federal government about whisky and cars shows that protectionist habits die hard. Taking Crown Royal off the shelves in Ontario because it’s being made in Manitoba and not Windsor flies in the face of the agreements on interprovincial trade the premiers all signed up for. It is not a good look.

On cars the challenge is clear. China has entered the global car industry with products that are of world class quality. President Trump has told us again this week that he “doesn’t need Canada and Mexico” while visiting a Ford plant in Michigan.

China’s brutal tariffs on canola, a direct response to our lockstep-with-the-US 100% tariff on Chinese EV’s, are a reminder that we are walking a difficult line in this Orwellian fight between the powers.

In this moment, Canadians need to be brought into the conversation about the choices, the costs, the tradeoffs; where our values and interests can align, what we know and what we don’t, and the opportunities as well as the risks.

The partnership with the U.S. we thought mattered no longer matters to President Trump. He wants a takeover. As he has reminded us again this week, he “needs” Greenland. But don’t think for a moment that Canada is far down the menu.

Everything we have experienced these past two weeks reminds us that there are no easy choices. We are navigating in uncharted waters. President Kennedy’s famous speech in the House of Commons over 60 years ago, in which he said that America was seeking a partnership and not an empire, has been turned on its head.

The State Department’s social media statement, “This is OUR hemisphere” tells us what we need to know. Anyone else in the hemisphere doesn’t matter and is invisible. Empires are striking back.

The Monroe Doctrine was originally a message to European empires to stay away and abandon all thought of expanding their territory. As time went on, it became a symbol of American hegemony, with military and other interventions in support of America’s interests throughout the region.

This has been revived with a vengeance in the National Security Strategy, with the not-so-subtle message that Russia and China and other autocrats can have their “spheres of influence” as well.

Meanwhile, our engagement with China is important because it renews a commercial relationship that dates back to John Diefenbaker’s wheat sales and has continued despite challenges in the political relationship.

But the formalities of meetings are important and should not be discarded. Neither should they be confused with appeasement. We need to be able to deal with the full range of issues. Diplomatic relations do not imply a complete swing of the pendulum, and in fact allow for more intensive representation on difficult subjects.

Mr. Carney’s travels inside the country and abroad are necessary. But just as necessary is communication with the public. George Bernard Shaw reminded us that “the biggest mistake we make in communication is assuming that it has already happened.”

In this moment, Canadians need to be brought into the conversation about the choices, the costs, the tradeoffs; where our values and interests can align, what we know and what we don’t, and the opportunities as well as the risks.

A tall order. But all doable. Just not all at once.

Policy Contributing Writer Bob Rae teaches and writes on law and public policy. He is a Fellow of Massey College, the Munk School at the University of Toronto, the Forum of Federations and Queen’s University. He served as Ontario’s 21st Premier, interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, and Canada’s Ambassador to the UN.