News

O’Toole Suggests a Shopping List of Issues Ripe for More Serious Engagement With Trump

 

We’re gonna own the North, Canada’s North. The Northwest Passage is Canadian and we’re going to have presence there to make sure the world knows that.

Former Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole. Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press

Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is championing a new rallying cry: “Make Canada Serious Again.” While the slogan may lack finesse, its sentiment resonates as Canada grapples with trade tensions and prepares for another potential Donald Trump presidency.

O’Toole, who served as the Official Opposition critic for Foreign Affairs during the negotiations of the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), reflects on the challenges his party faced while critiquing the Liberal government’s approach to the talks. He recalls being labeled "un-Canadian" for questioning the strategy led by Chrystia Freeland and Justin Trudeau, which emphasized a progressive agenda that clashed with Trump’s priorities.

Trump has made it clear he wants American workers rebooted — and he’s willing to impose hefty tariffs on trade partners to achieve that end. O’Toole takes this seriously, especially at a time when globalization has a weaker pulse. This 51-year-old former military officer now leads a global risk firm, ADIT North America, with offices in Montreal, Toronto, and Mexico City, “that does due diligence through human intelligence on the ground in 140 countries,” he says.

In this context of prioritizing seriousness in governance, challenges in other sectors underline Canada’s difficulties. For instance, the Canadian Army recently revealed that new military sleeping bags issued to soldiers fail to meet the requirements for harsh Arctic conditions. Several soldiers who contacted Canadian media with complaints about the sleeping bags said they were skeptical about promises by the Liberal government. During the exercises they had to use 1960s-vintage bedrolls instead of new ones. This oversight highlights broader issues in aligning Canada’s policies and investments with its environmental and geopolitical realities​. 

“They rolled the dice,” O’Toole says of Trudeau and Freeland’s speeches advocating for environmental and Indigenous rights, despite knowing Trump was uninterested in those topics. Ultimately, Canada joined the agreement after the U.S. and Mexico reached a bilateral deal. O’Toole highlights how some forget that Canada’s inclusion wasn’t a given but a later concession.

As Canada contemplates its approach to the Arctic, border security, and energy, O’Toole advocates for concrete steps to bolster sovereignty. He proposes rapid investment in NATO to meet the two-percent GDP target and urges Canada to assert control over its northern territories, emphasizing that “The Northwest Passage is Canadian.”

He also recommends revisiting the Keystone XL pipeline project, both for its political symbolism and as a catalyst for broader discussions on energy security in North America.

For O’Toole, ensuring Canada’s credibility on the global stage requires pragmatic, united action. Reflecting on his time in opposition, he remains firm in his patriotism. “I really tried to be Team Canada,” he says, adding that his critiques weren’t partisan but driven by a desire to see Canada succeed.

As Trudeau’s government moves forward, O’Toole’s vision for a more serious Canada — one that balances progressive values with hard-nosed realism — serves as a reminder of what’s at stake in a world of managed trade and geopolitical challenges.

Source: National Post.

09.12.2024