Two national days of celebration, two different countries,
two different leaders with two very different messages.
On Canada Day, Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a polished
message of unity, courage, and conviction. He does this well. “We are strongest
when we are united,” he told Canadians, praising diversity, kindness, and the
national habit of building together.
Only two days later at Mount Rushmore, President Trump
marked America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary by celebrating American
exceptionalism — the oldest republic, the most free people in the world, the
strongest military, and so on. Not much about the loveliness of diversity in
togetherness.
What works for you?
Carney’s address was admittedly gracious. The old women (of
both sexes) in eastern Canada who secured his majority would have been happy as
he spoke of partnership over assimilation, of infrastructure forged in steel
and determination, and of bold action on energy, hydro, LNG, and nuclear
projects pursued with indigenous partners. He urged Canadians to “buy Canadian”
and promised that courage, connections, and conviction would secure the
country’s future. The rhetoric was inclusive and optimistic.
But to borrow a phrase, ‘where’s the beef?’
Which is the point here. Both speeches were intended to
summon up national pride. But only one leader could offer the listener
substantial accomplishments.
Take the recent pipeline and Pathways carbon capture
announcement with Premier Danielle Smith.
Mr. Carney frames it as a nation-building project. Yet
analysts estimate it is roughly 90% public ownership and funding. Taxpayers in
Alberta and across Canada are being asked to shoulder the heavy lifting through
investment tax credits, provincial incentives, and backstopped financing, while
detailed cost-sharing “remains to be negotiated.”
Of course. Industry has long signalled it cannot carry the
full burden of capital and operating costs for one of the world’s largest CCUS
schemes.
Meanwhile, contrary to the US passion for protecting free
speech, Canada’s Liberal government continues to expand the state’s reach over
information and expression.
Bill C-9 removed longstanding religious “good faith”
protections in hate propaganda provisions.
Bill C-34 would create a powerful Digital Safety Commission
with broad discretion to define harmful content and set age-verification and
speech rules. These measures are sold as safeguards. Their practical effect is
to raise the cost and risk of dissenting speech — precisely the debate required
for genuine problem-solving.
The results are visible in the numbers. Canadian GDP growth
is forecast to remain modest, around 1.1% to 1.6% for 2026. That’s about half
that of the US. Meanwhile, US unemployment hovers around 4.2%, compared to
Canada’s 6.5% to 6.8%.
Per-capita performance has been weaker still. Capital and
talent continue to weigh opportunities south of the border, where regulatory
certainty and energy abundance are more reliably delivered.
President Trump’s Mount Rushmore address, by contrast,
rested on tangible strengths. He honoured the founders and the constitutional
order, defended national monuments against revisionism, and described an
America that — whatever its divisions and debts — remains the world’s leading
energy producer, technological innovator, and military power. They’ve just gone
back to the Moon. (And were decent enough to take us along for the ride.)
The United States has posted stronger growth momentum, lower
unemployment, and continued attraction of investment.
Trump could legitimately claim that, despite problems,
America is still doing tremendous things: exporting energy, advancing AI, and
projecting strength rather than managing decline. Most of it was done with
private investment.
Ironically, Mr. Carney’s speech praised the very qualities
his government’s policies often constrain. Expansive speech regulation,
subsidy-heavy “green” megaprojects, and layered approvals create friction where
speed and certainty are needed. Diversity and inclusion are celebrated in
principle; in practice, compelled speech and administrative definitions of
acceptable opinion narrow the space for open argument. Nation-building is
invoked, yet the pipeline and CCUS deals shift massive costs onto taxpayers while
private actors stand back.
These are not incidental side-effects. They are recurring
design choices.
Canada still possesses the human capital, resources, and
institutions to achieve far more. But eloquent appeals to unity and conviction
will not substitute for policies that actually lower barriers to investment,
protect open debate, and let private enterprise — not government commissions
and guarantees — drive results.
President Trump could stand at Mount Rushmore and point to
an America that continues to build, produce, and lead on a grand scale. Prime
Minister Carney offered Canadians inspiring words. He had far less concrete
accomplishments to talk about, largely because the policies his government
advances so often work against the very objectives he praises.
Canada can do better. We know that because in days gone by,
we did. We were actually a more powerful nation at the end of the Second World
War, with a population of 12 million, than we are today with a population of
more than 40 million.
But talk won’t do it. Nothing has come out of the Major
Projects Office that wasn’t well on the way before it was established last
year. The future Mr. Carney talks about will be earned only when words are
matched by outcomes that reward enterprise, safeguard liberty, and deliver
measurable progress rather than managed expectations.
Both speeches were intended to summon up national pride. But
only one leader really had much to offer.
To put it simply, it’s time this country got out of its own
way.
But all that Canadians want is words.
Actions requires effort, accountability, and ultimately satisfaction from a task done.
That is not how we do things here.
The Americans prefer the real thing.
That is why Trump, mere hours after being sworn in, got right to work signing orders.
That's a work ethic of an accountable leader for you, not one of an installed profiteer.
