Juno News - Carney taps former Conservative leader for U.S. advisory council

00:00:00.000 Former Conservative leader Aaron O'Toole is on the list of names chosen to advise

00:00:09.420 Prime Minister Carney on the 24-member Canada-U.S. Council. But will it help restart the

00:00:16.480 stalled negotiations? O'Toole will join fellow Conservative Lisa Raitt, along with Ralph Goodale

00:00:23.820 and a former Nunavut Premier on that list. Here's what Carney said when he was asked about it.

00:00:30.000 You know the council will give advice to uh I lost my breath I gotta get back back in shape

00:00:36.640 um uh Minister Leblanc myself uh Madame Charette uh as the negotiator other ministers um I'm very

00:00:44.480 pleased to have that group it's uh it's a diverse uh a diverse group uh leaders in uh from the union

00:00:50.880 movement uh experts in industry and uh CEOs and finance and across across the economy O'Toole

00:00:58.720 released a statement saying he is honored to serve on the council and has great respect for

00:01:03.520 Americans. Conservative leader Pierre Polyev says Canada has what America needs and therefore has

00:01:10.800 negotiating cards to play. Do you really think a tariff-free deal between Canada and the U.S. is

00:01:16.080 possible? Only if you use leverage and we've got a lot of leverage. We've got 10 of the 12 NATO

00:01:22.400 defined critical minerals. The Americans desperately need those minerals and the only

00:01:28.160 way they can get guaranteed access to a reserve of them is if they give us tariff-free access

00:01:35.120 to their marketplace. The only way that they can moderate gas and housing prices

00:01:42.560 is by buying our oil and our lumber. So what I say is let's use our leverage to fight for what we

00:01:50.720 want, which is tariff-free trade with the United States. Business executive Vest Sobot sat on

00:01:56.480 Premier Doug Ford's Canada U.S. Trade Council before the last provincial election, and he'll

00:02:01.980 be our guest shortly. Conservative MP Michael Cooper describes Prime Minister Carney's meetings

00:02:08.940 with Chinese Communist Party members at a liberal fundraiser as disturbing. Cooper posted this on

00:02:16.160 X. Prominent CCP insiders paid $2,000 each to meet Carney at a liberal fundraiser. Carney's team

00:02:25.480 had to know their close ties to Beijing, alarm bells should have gone off. Instead,

00:02:32.240 they got direct access to the PM. Kearney is cashing in on Beijing's influence operation.

00:02:39.760 The Department of National Defense says it has increased recruitment numbers by adding

00:02:44.300 763 permanent residents to its list of trainees. This happened after the department made it easier

00:02:52.380 for permanent residents to, well, have access to certain things.

00:02:56.620 Let's listen.

00:02:57.080 Our department made changes to the screening process for permanent residents,

00:03:01.000 significantly increasing recruitment in this population.

00:03:04.460 This was reflected in the report, which showed that over a six-month period,

00:03:08.940 763 permanent residents were recruited compared to a 30-month period previously

00:03:14.680 in which only 177 recruitments were achieved.

00:03:18.900 Some fear the new rules could be a national security risk,

00:03:22.380 Because recruits can now gain access to military training, bases, equipment, and potentially sensitive, even classified information before full background checks are complete.

00:03:34.300 Our guest today is Vest Sobot, Executive Director of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada.

00:03:42.060 Vest, welcome to the show.

00:03:44.060 Thanks for having me on, Mark.

00:03:45.280 Now, you served on Premier Doug Ford's U.S.-Canada Trade Council for, what, a few months or so before the last provincial election.

00:03:55.760 What is it like to sit on these councils?

00:03:58.960 Well, it's interesting.

00:03:59.680 I think it was just at the tail end of COVID.

00:04:01.820 and um um the these councils tend to uh deal with uh with uh topics that really aren't related to

00:04:13.280 trade aren't related to canada the united states trade and i do recall there was quite kerfuffle

00:04:17.900 in in the council when someone wanted to make a covid statement uh uh and uh there's quite a

00:04:27.120 disagreement among the people in the council. They didn't feel a COVID statement in a Canada-US

00:04:33.760 trade committee was appropriate. And I agreed. I didn't think it was. I didn't think it was

00:04:39.100 necessary. I thought what we needed to do is focus on identifying opportunities where

00:04:45.280 we can do more business with our neighbors. And that COVID really didn't fit in that

00:04:54.160 conversation. Now, and now we have Prime Minister Carney adding a few new names to the list of

00:05:01.640 people that will sit on the committee, on the council rather, with 24 people altogether. So

00:05:07.240 that includes Aaron O'Toole, former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, along with

00:05:11.180 Conservative Lisa Raitt and Ralph Goodale. What do you make of the additions?

00:05:16.880 Well, when I look at it, and I remember back in 2009, 2010, when Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and cut out Canadian manufacturers from shipping into the United States on federally funded projects, what Harper immediately did is he made sure that the people who were dealing with the Americans were ideologically congruent.

00:05:40.500 So what I would have done had this been my decision, I would have made sure Stockwell Day was on that list. Stockwell Day, very accomplished minister in the Harper government. He was the last real politician to do a good deal with the Americans.

00:05:56.440 the deal in 2015 i don't think was a good deal and and the results show it at that time canada

00:06:03.000 was the number two supplier or number one supplier to america and after that deal was signed mexico

00:06:10.680 overtook us so uh really we did not improve our trading position uh uh when the uh when the last

00:06:21.400 kuzma deal was signed but um stock all day was very successful back in 2010 and uh getting a

00:06:29.320 canadian exemption to buy america uh and he did so quite elegantly so i'm i'm surprised that he's not

00:06:37.160 on that list i'm surprised that we haven't oriented ourselves and uh with people who understand the

00:06:44.920 americans better uh and uh i'm afraid that this committee might be just a cya committee as opposed

00:06:53.960 to a really get things done committee what do you mean just cover your butt kind of deal i think so

00:06:59.960 a distraction uh uh somebody to point to well you know the committee didn't agree with that the

00:07:05.240 committee has decided on this the committee has decided on more trade with china rather than

00:07:09.720 America, that sort of thing. Right. I mean, what would you think if I were to suggest that this

00:07:16.720 also allows, from a political vantage point, Carney to potentially blunt some of the attacks

00:07:23.920 on the liberal government for its inevitable failure of talks? I know I sound like a cynic

00:07:32.000 here, because who knows, there might be a deal yet. But if they fail, then the fact that you've

00:07:38.720 got conservatives on that council, you know, Raid and O'Toole, even though I doubt that they're

00:07:43.600 going to get their hands deep in the weeds of a trade agreement. But, you know, does this give him

00:07:50.000 sort of a way to transfer some of the blame over to conservatives themselves? You know,

00:07:56.660 if he said, well, look, we've got conservatives as well as liberals, you know, serving on the

00:08:00.780 council and they failed. So everybody failed. It wasn't just a case of the liberal government

00:08:06.840 being unable to get a deal, which they, by the way, promised that they would do by last July.

00:08:14.500 You make a very good point. This is a deflection. And let's face it, he's already failed. He was

00:08:24.440 supposed to have an agreement, like you say, last July. April 1st, I'm sure you recall,

00:08:30.640 the tariffs on steel and aluminum increased to 50 percent from 25 percent that has essentially

00:08:36.800 destroyed the aluminum and steel business in canada right now for any company that is making

00:08:42.320 their product out of aluminum or steel they now essentially are cut out of the u.s market

00:08:48.080 uh devastating we cannot have a strong canadian economy without a strong steel industry without a

00:08:56.800 strong aluminum sector. So I think he's failed already. The other reason I say he's failed is

00:09:05.280 that Mexico has essentially almost agreed to a deal with the United States. That's become quite

00:09:12.880 bilateral. Canada's being cut out of those discussions, and they've been cut out on purpose.

00:09:17.280 Why? Because we have not afforded the respect to our biggest trading partner that they deserve.

00:09:25.660 And in any interaction, human to human, person to person, you have to, as a seller, respect the buyer and give him the respect that he deserves.

00:09:40.600 We have not done that in many, many situations and circumstances.

00:09:46.040 And I think we're paying the price for it right now.

00:09:48.440 In his video, you heard Carney say that our trade relationship with the United States is a weakness.

00:09:55.660 Is he, by doing that, basically telegraphing the strong possibility of a failure in these negotiations, even as Mexico gets a deal, to your point?

00:10:09.400 But is he basically saying, almost saying, telegraphing the fact that there's going to be a failure in these talks?

00:10:16.240 We know it.

00:10:17.140 It's their fault.

00:10:18.200 And we have to move on.

00:10:20.340 I think he is.

00:10:21.480 He's doing that on purpose.

00:10:22.680 I think he's ragging the puck

00:10:25.680 but let's

00:10:27.860 step back for a bit

00:10:29.740 our trade is

00:10:31.680 70-75% to the United States

00:10:34.300 that's our

00:10:36.240 greatest asset, that's not our greatest

00:10:38.260 vulnerability

00:10:39.400 it's our greatest asset

00:10:41.300 and even if

00:10:44.100 we were to double our

00:10:45.440 trade with everybody else

00:10:48.180 in the next 6 years

00:10:50.240 we will still have

00:10:52.100 60% of our trade with the United States.

00:10:54.400 You see how that really hasn't impacted the relationship in terms of proximity makes it easier for us to trade with the Americans.

00:11:05.440 So what I'd urge the government to do is to look for areas where we can synergize, where it's good for them, where it's good for us.

00:11:13.860 Let's not talk about China, because as soon as we start talking about China, we effectively breach USMCA. 0.76

00:11:21.360 usmca has a clause in it that says we cannot have a free trade agreement with china and this whole

00:11:29.360 notion that we're going to bring chinese cars from china and sell them into into canada well

00:11:34.480 the americans are watching very very closely they're not going to allow that and that may

00:11:39.200 blow up our existing current great deal. So I would be very, very careful in being belligerent

00:11:51.880 to our biggest trading partner. Yeah, I think Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made that point

00:11:57.940 saying, you know, they have an issue with us, meaning Canada has an issue with America. And

00:12:04.260 what does Carney do? He goes to China thinking somehow that China is going to import a bunch of

00:12:10.600 manufacturing goods from Canada. And what happens? He comes back with a deal to import Chinese EVs.

00:12:19.580 So, I mean, he looked like he got his pockets picked by the Chinese and Blutnik is basically

00:12:28.280 laughing at him and to your point about ragging the puck uh are you referring to ragging the puck

00:12:34.920 past the midterms while uh you know people like mark carney and doug for root for the democrats

00:12:43.720 to take the house is that what you're referring to is is that absolutely absolutely there's a there's

00:12:50.120 a strong thinking within the carney government that uh if we just wait this out if we just wait

00:12:55.640 this out till after the midterms things will change and the uh the cards will be in our favor

00:13:02.360 then dangerous uh dangerous uh position to take quite frankly american politics are their politics

00:13:10.520 we should concentrate on our politics we should concentrate on our strengths and our weaknesses

00:13:15.960 and we should concentrate on um selling our products that the americans need and want of

00:13:23.000 Of course, they need and want oil.

00:13:24.800 Of course, they need and want natural gas.

00:13:26.440 Of course, there's a lot of things that we can provide them, uranium, potash.

00:13:32.640 There is a real synergy with Canada and the United States.

00:13:38.760 Let's build on that rather than try and pull it apart.

00:13:43.120 I think it's a mistake to wait till the midterms because you never know how politics goes.

00:13:51.460 And if we've waited all that time and the president does well during the midterms, well, then we're in a much, much worse situation and we may not have a re-ratified USMCA.

00:14:06.140 Yeah, I mean, Mexico looks so much smarter here.

00:14:09.980 I mean, Mexico is dealing with Trump as well as us, as well as the Canadian side.

00:14:15.040 And what a difference.

00:14:17.280 You know, they're close to a deal.

00:14:18.480 their negotiations have gone much better and canada's has has gone terribly and so

00:14:27.060 the proof is in the pudding we used to be america's number one trading partner now we're

00:14:32.180 number two we were superseded by mexico they have been playing the game much more wisely than we

00:14:39.540 have and it's a shame because uh we have the talent here we have the people here we can win

00:14:47.160 this game. There's a lot of

00:14:49.160 congressmen and senators in the United States who

00:14:51.080 love Canada, want to do more business

00:14:53.260 with Canada, who are joined at

00:14:55.180 the hip with Canada. You know,

00:14:56.940 Nebraska is

00:14:59.020 dependent on Canada and the back and forth

00:15:01.200 trade that happens. Ohio is.

00:15:03.560 New York is.

00:15:05.320 There's, for example,

00:15:07.380 fire trucks that

00:15:09.180 most of the fire stations

00:15:11.360 use all across Canada

00:15:12.940 tend to come from

00:15:14.380 court courtland new york a place i just drove through a couple of days ago and and last time

00:15:22.140 we had a trade dispute they were very concerned that canada would stop buying from them

00:15:28.380 and they raised a ruckus with their senators and congressmen begging that there be in a

00:15:37.660 free trade deal with canada so that their fire trucks can continue to come to canada without

00:15:42.460 obstruction. We have, to your point earlier, about the fact that Canada has things that the

00:15:49.220 Americans want. That's what Pierre Pauly have said. Look, we're not powerless here. It's not

00:15:53.880 like we're sitting at the poker table with no cards. We have things that they need. And, you

00:15:59.840 know, among them, rare earth minerals. Of course, we have oil. And we should be leveraging those

00:16:06.120 types of things to a degree that we have failed to do so far. I mean, I'm not talking about,

00:16:12.480 and I don't think he's talking about, you know, extorting the Americans saying, well, you either

00:16:18.720 deal with us or you don't get this, you know, but you can certainly go in there and pressure the

00:16:24.840 Americans with the kinds of things that we know that they need. Absolutely. And listen, why do

00:16:32.060 people trade because it's good for them and it's good for the seller uh fair trade goes both ways

00:16:37.640 and we've had a wonderful relationship with the americans over the years the reason canada is as

00:16:42.900 wealthy as it is is because of america had we not been beside america who knows what would be maybe

00:16:49.620 we'd be venezuela um i'm uh uh the executive director of the coalition concerned manufacturers

00:16:56.960 and businesses every one of our 300 members wants to see canada and the united states sit down at

00:17:04.240 the table and hash this out like any good businessman would and the fact that our politicians

00:17:11.760 aren't doing so right now is really worrisome to us and just to go back to where we started from

00:17:19.440 you're not confident that this council that the additions are going to make a whole lot of difference

00:17:25.760 are you no i i don't it's a political optic and i think that um it uh it really isn't going to

00:17:34.880 amount to much and um um the best thing for us to do is to uh sit at the table with the americans

00:17:44.260 and figure out what they need what we need and come up with a deal uh we owe it to ourselves

00:17:52.720 ourselves our children and our children's children and i'm sure it can be done uh with the right 0.57

00:17:59.800 attitude yeah i see a subtle poke in the eye at polyev here as well because of course their

00:18:06.060 whole narrative is that polyev has gone too far to the right you know he's too conservative we

00:18:12.520 can play nice with good tories you know like lisa raid and erin o'toole you know moderates

00:18:17.600 not like that radical. Pierre Polyev, what say you? Well, there's nothing radical about Pierre

00:18:27.200 Polyev. I've known him since before he entered politics. He is a wonderful human being who

00:18:35.980 understands politics very well, and he's a great orator. I think he understands what we need from

00:18:45.300 america more than the americans are than the uh the carny government does right now so um

00:18:51.580 uh yes it is a poke in the eye yes this there's a lot of politics involved here uh but uh bottom

00:18:59.360 line is canada has been losing investment for the last 10 years people are not investing in canada

00:19:06.980 money is fleeing out of canada like crazy why because the conditions the liberal government

00:19:12.600 has created that's not polyev's fault that is justin trudeau and mark carney's fault and this

00:19:19.380 has been a plan from the beginning and um that's where the fault lies nowhere else and all pierre

00:19:28.300 polyev is doing is um fulfilling his function as an opposition member and he's pointing out

00:19:35.260 the problems. And hopefully, hopefully, that will help make us better, but I'm not holding my breath.

00:19:45.740 Vess, thank you so much for coming on the show. We appreciate it.

00:19:49.480 My pleasure.

00:19:51.020 Vess Soba. If you enjoyed this show, consider supporting great independent journalism by

00:19:55.440 becoming a premier member of Judo News. Go to junonews.com backslash straight up.

00:20:01.520 you can find the link below as it helps us do what we do.

00:20:05.320 Thank you so much for tuning in.

00:20:06.500 We'll see you next time.

Juno News - April 24, 2026

Carney taps former Conservative leader for U.S. advisory council

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