Carney was elected Prime Minister because people thought he was the best option to stand up to Donald Trump. But now, just four months since the election, Carney has capitulated to Trump.
On Aug. 22, Carney announced that he would be dropping most of the counter tariffs he initially put in place in response to the trade war that Trump initiated.
Elbows down
Using a hockey analogy, Carney has said that there is a time to “go elbows up” and a time to “stick handle.” This complete 180 degrees turn from his bravado during the election campaign has left many scratching their heads.
But this is all fairly logical under capitalism. Canadian businesses are so dependent on trade with America that Canada could never win a trade war with the United States. In fact, many of the counter tariffs were hurting Canadian businesses more than American businesses.
While Carney has made a lot of noise about diversifying the Canadian economy and removing internal trade barriers, the cold hard economic facts remain that Canadian capitalism cannot replace America as a trading partner. Therefore, while the majority of Canadians don’t like Trump and want to fight back against his threats, the Canadian ruling class is forced to capitulate and do a deal.
If the deals that other countries have done with Trump are any indications of the way things are going, it looks like Carney will have to accept something similar to the 15 per cent tariff that European leaders accepted. This will represent a huge blow to Canadian capitalism and will have disastrous consequences, hamstringing the Canadian economy at the worst possible time.
Already before this trade war, Canada was lagging behind the other economically developed countries. The productivity of labour was declining and investment capital was fleeing the market. Now, with the economy sliding into a recession, the strategic advantage of being a preferred trading partner of the U.S., which the Canadian ruling class has enjoyed for decades, is being taken away.
Workers will be made to suffer
Canada was once held up as a model of the best that capitalism had to offer. For a significant portion of the population, it was possible to buy a house, get a good job and have a decent standard of living. But those days are gone.
Even before this crisis, living conditions were trending down. Now with the trade war and the loss of big brother America, the crisis of Canadian capitalism has become existential.
In time honoured tradition, the ruling class is trying to put the burden of the crisis on the backs of the working class. Already, Carney has instructed departments to make 15 per cent cuts across the board.
The old Canada is dying. Everything that once made life semi-bearable in Canada is being taken away. The only hope working class people have is to organize and fight back against this capitalist onslaught.
