Did Danielle Smith lobby the U.S. to help Pierre Poilievre? Sure looks like it
?Gary Mason
[url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-did-danielle-smith-lobby-the-us-to-help-pierre-poilievre-sure-looks/[/url]
When Alberta Premier Danielle Smith went down to Florida earlier this year for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, the mission was met with a fair degree of cynicism.
It appeared she was off freelancing to negotiate her own sweet deal with Mr. Trump – in other words, when it came to tariffs, perhaps he could give Alberta oil and gas an exemption. It didn’t seem to be aligned with the “Team Canada” approach the country expected from its leaders.
Ms. Smith, of course, insisted her overture to the President and meetings with other administration officials were on behalf of the entire country, not just her province. We were led to believe she was blind to the political allegiances of those she was helping back home. She was there for all of us!
Well, maybe not so much.
In a recent interview with the American right-wing news outlet Breitbart, the contents of which resurfaced on Sunday, Ms. Smith revealed what was truly going on during her missions south. In the on-air discussion, she expressed regret that the tariff issue had revived Liberal Party fortunes at the expense of the federal Conservatives.
She told the host that she feared the longer the tariff dispute dragged on, the better it would be for the Liberals. “So, I would hope that we could put things on pause, is what I’ve told administration officials. Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election.”
To recap: the tariff issue was helping the Liberals and hurting the Conservatives. She worried the longer it went on the better it would be for the Liberals. So, she urged U.S. administration officials to pause the tariff threat until after the election.
Now, I don’t know about you, but that looks like a Canadian Premier asking a foreign government to do something to alter the outcome of an election campaign in order to help the party and the federal leader she supports. That’s the other thing, Ms. Smith told Breitbart: the perspective that Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives bring, “would be very much in sync with, I think, the new direction in America.”
So, hold off on the tariff threat if you want a prime minister and a federal government more aligned with the views and philosophy of the Trump administration.
Consider this hypothetical: If a provincial premier met with officials of the Communist Party of China, which was in the process of trying to destroy this country with brutal tariffs, and asked them to halt those economic threats until after a federal election campaign was over in order to better guarantee the result the premier was hoping for, there would be national outrage.
Ms. Smith, not surprisingly, is disputing all this. Her press secretary, Sam Blackett, said that any suggestion she was trying to ask the U.S. to interfere in Canada’s election was “offensive and false.”
Well, people aren’t stupid and they can add things up for themselves. Her words are her words and she can’t now take them back.
Look, it’s been clear for some time Ms. Smith doesn’t want Mark Carney and the Liberals to win. She recently met with the Liberal Leader in Edmonton and presented him with a long list of demands she said needed to be met within six months of his party forming government, should that be the outcome. Her demands are best summed up thusly: give me everything I want or I will make life as miserable as possible for you. Actually, she said if her terms aren’t met she will incite an “unprecedented national unity crisis” in this country. Her list includes unfettered access to build pipelines across the country and the removal of emissions caps on the oil-and-gas industry. (Pollute, baby, pollute). Oh, and one more burning issue: eliminate the prohibition of single-use plastics. Alberta wants its plastic straws back, or the country goes under.
Ms. Smith said her laundry list of grievances and ultimatums applies to whichever party forms government. But we know these demands will be ripped up if Mr. Poilievre’s Conservatives get in – they are effectively in a partnership. When Mr. Poilievre was asked about Ms. Smith’s stipulations, he said he had no problem with any of them.
Of course he wouldn’t: It’s clear that he is Ms. Smith’s first choice for prime minister.
It’s a really ugly situation when a sitting Premier is trying to insert herself into the outcome of a federal election the way Ms. Smith appears to be. It’s offensive and wrong. It’s certainly no way for a provincial leader in Canada to behave in the midst of a national crisis.
In fact, it’s just the opposite.
?
?Gary Mason
[url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-did-danielle-smith-lobby-the-us-to-help-pierre-poilievre-sure-looks/[/url]
When Alberta Premier Danielle Smith went down to Florida earlier this year for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, the mission was met with a fair degree of cynicism.
It appeared she was off freelancing to negotiate her own sweet deal with Mr. Trump – in other words, when it came to tariffs, perhaps he could give Alberta oil and gas an exemption. It didn’t seem to be aligned with the “Team Canada” approach the country expected from its leaders.
Ms. Smith, of course, insisted her overture to the President and meetings with other administration officials were on behalf of the entire country, not just her province. We were led to believe she was blind to the political allegiances of those she was helping back home. She was there for all of us!
Well, maybe not so much.
In a recent interview with the American right-wing news outlet Breitbart, the contents of which resurfaced on Sunday, Ms. Smith revealed what was truly going on during her missions south. In the on-air discussion, she expressed regret that the tariff issue had revived Liberal Party fortunes at the expense of the federal Conservatives.
She told the host that she feared the longer the tariff dispute dragged on, the better it would be for the Liberals. “So, I would hope that we could put things on pause, is what I’ve told administration officials. Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election.”
To recap: the tariff issue was helping the Liberals and hurting the Conservatives. She worried the longer it went on the better it would be for the Liberals. So, she urged U.S. administration officials to pause the tariff threat until after the election.
Now, I don’t know about you, but that looks like a Canadian Premier asking a foreign government to do something to alter the outcome of an election campaign in order to help the party and the federal leader she supports. That’s the other thing, Ms. Smith told Breitbart: the perspective that Pierre Poilievre’s federal Conservatives bring, “would be very much in sync with, I think, the new direction in America.”
So, hold off on the tariff threat if you want a prime minister and a federal government more aligned with the views and philosophy of the Trump administration.
Consider this hypothetical: If a provincial premier met with officials of the Communist Party of China, which was in the process of trying to destroy this country with brutal tariffs, and asked them to halt those economic threats until after a federal election campaign was over in order to better guarantee the result the premier was hoping for, there would be national outrage.
Ms. Smith, not surprisingly, is disputing all this. Her press secretary, Sam Blackett, said that any suggestion she was trying to ask the U.S. to interfere in Canada’s election was “offensive and false.”
Well, people aren’t stupid and they can add things up for themselves. Her words are her words and she can’t now take them back.
Look, it’s been clear for some time Ms. Smith doesn’t want Mark Carney and the Liberals to win. She recently met with the Liberal Leader in Edmonton and presented him with a long list of demands she said needed to be met within six months of his party forming government, should that be the outcome. Her demands are best summed up thusly: give me everything I want or I will make life as miserable as possible for you. Actually, she said if her terms aren’t met she will incite an “unprecedented national unity crisis” in this country. Her list includes unfettered access to build pipelines across the country and the removal of emissions caps on the oil-and-gas industry. (Pollute, baby, pollute). Oh, and one more burning issue: eliminate the prohibition of single-use plastics. Alberta wants its plastic straws back, or the country goes under.
Ms. Smith said her laundry list of grievances and ultimatums applies to whichever party forms government. But we know these demands will be ripped up if Mr. Poilievre’s Conservatives get in – they are effectively in a partnership. When Mr. Poilievre was asked about Ms. Smith’s stipulations, he said he had no problem with any of them.
Of course he wouldn’t: It’s clear that he is Ms. Smith’s first choice for prime minister.
It’s a really ugly situation when a sitting Premier is trying to insert herself into the outcome of a federal election the way Ms. Smith appears to be. It’s offensive and wrong. It’s certainly no way for a provincial leader in Canada to behave in the midst of a national crisis.
In fact, it’s just the opposite.
?
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