Dispatch from the Front Lines: At least China isn't gunning for Greenland. Yet.
Carney makes a deal in the national interest while Trump eyes the Arctic Mullet.
Welcome one, welcome all, to the latest Line dispatch. Lots of great stuff coming, but we’re delighted to say that after a holiday break, The Line’s podcasts are back. Check out last week’s The Line Podcast, recorded live in Saskatchewan (with Rob Breakenridge filling in for Matt Gurney). Also check out last week’s On The Line with Jen and Heather Exner-Pirot, where they discuss what America’s intervention will mean, if anything, for Canada’s oil producers.
And on that note, let’s get to the dispatch.
Well, this week we at The Line witnessed something we did not think possible from a Liberal Prime Minister.
Mark Carney seems to have come to an agreement with China that both benefits Canadian consumers, and favours western agricultural producers over industries in Liberal-rich Ontario ridings.
Good lord, we’re going to need to take a seat.
No, wait.
Better yet, we’re going to make a meme.
During his delegation to Beijing — the first of any Canadian Prime Minister since relations between the two nations began to sour in 2017 — Carney agreed to allow 49,000 Chinese EVs into the Canadian market at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent. The Prime Minister’s announcement predicted the deal would lead to joint-venture investment that seems to promise some possibility of at least faint revival for Ontario’s auto sector, itself beset by both American tariffs and the gross tides of history.
Meanwhile, China also seemed willing to mend some fences, clearly seeing the geostrategic opening to build alliances brought about by America’s decision to politically self-immolate for fun.
The 85 per cent tariff on Canola has been dropped to 15 per cent, while canola meal, lobster, crabs and peas are expected to be traded more freely into China by the end of this year.
This is imperfect but considerable progress on the trade file, though lots of people are unhappy with it — and we’ll talk about that lot in a moment.