We Don't Have to Trade With China

To wit:

A majority of candidates questioned following the 2025 general election said they were convinced foreign agents tried to influence voters, says Elections Canada research. And almost half believed illegal money was funneled into the campaign: “Forty-nine percent thought there were problems with foreign money.”

It's a good thing that we're not trading with China, right?

Oh, wait:

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada does not intend to pursue a free trade agreement with China, after U.S. President Donald Trump said Canadian goods would be hit with 100 percent U.S. tariffs if Canada “makes a deal with China.”

Carney told reporters ahead of a Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Jan. 25 that Canada has commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) “not to pursue free trade agreements with non–market economies without prior notification.”

“We have no intention of doing that with China or any other non–market economy,” Carney said. “What we’ve done with China is to rectify some issues that developed in the last couple of years.”

**

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada should pursue free trade with other countries, including China, in the face of rising U.S. protectionism.

Joly made the comment in Beijing on Jan. 15 after a day of meetings in the Chinese capital, which included the signing of bilateral agreements and a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

“To counter the rise of protectionism, certainly the rise of U.S. protectionism, Canada must be able to work with different countries on free trade approaches,” Joly said. “Certainly with Europe, certainly with Asia, and also with China, because if we can’t work in a multilateral way with multiple countries, we’re going to be even more dependent towards the United States.”

**

China’s Zijin Gold International Co. Ltd. has struck an all-cash deal to acquire Toronto-based Allied Gold Corp. in a deal announced on the same day that the price of bullion smashed through US$5,000 per ounce for the first time ever.

Zijin will pay $44 per share, a 27 per cent premium to Allied’s weighted average 30-day trading price last week. Allied’s stock rose above $43 on Monday morning.

Gold mining equities are gaining strength with investors as they finally catch up with the underlying commodity that has been pushing through new records for three years and is up 82 per cent in the past 12 months.

The deal still requires approval under the Investment Canada Act, but it would cap a remarkable year for Allied, an intermediate-sized gold producer with assets in African countries, whose share price has surged more than 260 per cent surge in the past year.

“The announced transaction provides a highly attractive all-cash offer for Allied Gold at what represents an all-time high for the company’s share price, crystallizing significant and certain value for its shareholders,” Peter Marrone, chair and chief executive of Allied Gold, said in a press release.

Never forget that the Liberals and their voters sold this country to a Third-World communist dictatorship.