There was a “keep calm and carry on” vibe outside the House of Commons on Monday as a political storm blew up over Donald Trump’s threat to encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members he thinks aren’t paying their fair share of the cost of collective defence.
Despite harsh condemnation of the Republican presidential frontrunner’s remarks from allies in Europe, and strong words from the NATO secretary general, two federal cabinet ministers in Ottawa took a more measured, restrained approach to what they’d heard.
One expert was pleasantly surprised with the understated nature of the responses from Defence Minister Bill Blair and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly — but others warned there can be no room for complacency and said important security arrangements beyond NATO could be thrown into chaos if Trump returns to the Oval Office.
“I’m not going to get drawn into political rhetoric in another country,” Blair told reporters Monday when asked about the former president’s campaign speech last weekend.
“I don’t think we need to overreact, but I think we need to make sure that we are prepared and that we continue to keep our alliances strong.”
Trump, who is running for re-election in November, said during a weekend campaign event that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines. He said he would not offer such a country U.S. protection.
Blair said his responsibility is to the defence of Canada. He cited the billions of dollars the Liberal government has committed recently to buying new fighter jets, drones and surveillance aircraft.
Joly focused on NATO solidarity, claiming the military alliance is “more united than ever” following the inclusion of Finland and the eventual arrival of Sweden.
When pressed about Trump, she said, “The American people will decide, and meanwhile, we’ll be ready for their choice. We have been able to manage two types of administrations in the White House.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada will be ‘ready’ for whatever the American electorate does in the presidential election. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Given domestic politics in Canada and the attempt by the governing Liberals to paint Conservatives — particularly Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre — as MAGA-lite, foreign policy expert Balkan Devlen said he was happy to see the government take the political high road.
“I would’ve actually expected a bit more of a partisan take on it, which I’m glad they didn’t,” said Devlen, a fellow at the Ottawa-based MacDonald-Laurier Institute.
“This is the most important relationship Canada has, and we cannot … afford to meddle in and get into the weeds with the partisan politics in the United States.”
Preparing for sustained instability in U.S. politics
Canada, he said, should not be responding to the individual policies or preferences of any candidate south of the border — but the federal government should be thinking deeply and broadly about the relationship with the United States and what is unfolding there.
“What we should be preparing for is not so much X coming to power or Y coming to power, but continuing political instability in the U.S., and what that means for Canada for Canadian prosperity and security,” said Devlen.
Still, the implications of Trump’s threat sent shockwaves through the alliance over the weekend. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has hit back against the notion that member countries would not defend one another.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press conference with the Swedish prime minister at Rosenbad in Stockholm on October 24, 2023. (Jonas Ekstromer/AFP/Reuters)
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Stoltenberg said.
“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election, the U.S. will remain a strong and committed NATO ally.”
The timing of Trump’s remarks — not long after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin — were seen as suspicious by some commentators.
But Stephen Saideman, who holds the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, said he suspects it’s personal for the former American president.
“I think he’s also still very bitter about being laughed at and mocked by members of the alliance,” said Saideman, referring to a hot mic incident at the end of the NATO Summit in London in 2019 — where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception apparently trash-talking Trump, along with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron.
WATCH: Trump reacts to Trudeau’s comments at NATO
Trump reacts to Trudeau’s candid comments at NATO
4 years ago
Duration 2:16
U.S. President Donald Trump called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two faced” after hearing candid remarks between Trudeau and other leaders during the NATO summit.
Trudeau was referring to an unscheduled, nearly hour-long question and answer session Trump held with mostly Canadian media ahead of a bilateral meeting.
Trump did not let the slight pass and called Trudeau “two-faced” — animosity that Saideman said would be good for us to keep in mind over the next several months as Trump stakes out foreign and defence policy.
“So he’s got a lot of resentment,” Saideman said of Trump. “And I think a lot of his speeches these days are essentially focused on venting his spleen about his resentments.”
The notion of inviting — or allowing — Russia to attack a NATO member that’s not meeting the alliance’s benchmark defence spending commitment (of two per cent of a nation’s gross domestic product) is “not a serious policy option,” he added.
But Saideman said he doesn’t believe Trump would stop at NATO and could go after the NORAD arrangement, even out of spite, in order to get a better deal for the U.S. — a reference to the longstanding 60-40 split on spending for continental defence.
A radar dome is illuminated at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Point Barrow Long Range Radar Site, north of the northernmost town in the United States in Utqiagvik, Alaska, on February 3, 2023. (U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Curt Beach/Handout via Reuters)
“I’m not sure NORAD survives a second Trump administration,” he said. “I mean, part of what worked well for Canada last time was I don’t think he’s aware of it.”
The United States and Canada have embarked on a multi-billion dollar modernization of NORAD under the Biden administration, but Washington has routinely expressed frustration at the slow pace of Canadian investment and planning.
Saideman said he’s convinced that if there is another Trump presidency, more U.S. government officials will be committed to burning down international institutions.
“His administration will be staffed with more arsonists in defence than there was before,” said Saideman. “I’m pretty convinced that the next secretary of defence under the Trump administration will be looking for ways to destroy every multilateral arrangement.”
In light of Trump’s remarks and the political direction of the U.S., both Saideman and Devlan say the Liberal government needs to wrap its head around all of the contingencies — and rule nothing out.
WATCH | Ottawa says Trump’s remarks are campaign bluster:
European leaders call for self-reliance after Trump NATO comments
3 hours ago
Duration 1:46
Donald Trump’s comments about not defending NATO countries that don’t live up to defence spending commitments have European leaders saying they need to prepare to defend themselves on their own. Meanwhile, Canada’s defence minister, Bill Blair, calls the statements ‘rhetorical.’
Last December, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that would make it harder for future presidents to withdraw from NATO.
But Matthew Schmidt, an eastern European expert at the University of New Haven Connecticut, said he questions whether the measure actually limits what Trump could do in a second term.
For example, he said, Trump could stop short of formally withdrawing from NATO while also unilaterally choosing not to commit U.S. forces to respond to an attack — an option open to all alliance members, which are given the choice on how to answer an invocation of Article 5, NATO’s self-defence clause.
“There would be ways that he could get around whatever Congress does,” said Schmidt, who also said he firmly believes NORAD would be up for renegotiation should Trump win.
“If the U.S. pulls out of NATO, Canada is in particular trouble” because of the joint defence arrangements between the two countries and its reliance on American military logistics and other special operations.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
