Western Standard - Damage done to our relationship with the USA by the Liberals is unforgivable

00:00:00.000 Thank you.

00:00:30.520 Good day. Welcome to the Cory Morgan Show. As you might see, my backdrop's a little different than normal.

00:00:36.980 I hope it's cold enough for you all up there in Canada. Yeah, I'm going to rub it in.

00:00:41.620 Hey, I get to take a break every now and then, too. You know, as you can see, I'm a political lunatic. 0.97

00:00:46.900 I won't take a full break from the politics. I'll do my shows from down here in the Palm Desert.

00:00:52.720 But between shows, yeah, I'm going to be enjoying that weather.

00:00:56.040 and uh well sorry either way lost the cover today boy there's been a lot going on you know i mean

00:01:03.720 you try to pick a vacation at a time when things are going to be happening but it's it's just not

00:01:07.840 the case there was a massive independence rally in calgary of course the other day we'll talk

00:01:12.260 about a little more uh lots is happening on the international front all sorts of things dave will

00:01:17.500 check in with the news check in in a few moments to cover that and my host here who's kind of

00:01:22.580 providing this beautiful backdrop of set is Jay Hill. He's been a regular guest on our show and

00:01:28.940 we'll discuss all things politics for a little while after that. So let's get started. I want

00:01:33.400 to talk about, I don't have my easier teleprompter to work with, so forgive me, but you know, let's

00:01:38.640 talk about Canada and the United States. They've had one of the strongest, most peaceful and long

00:01:42.920 longest lasting relationships between any two nations bordering each other in the world.

00:01:47.520 And now we've got opportunistic partisan brinkmanship that's threatening

00:01:50.960 to that partnership and it's intolerable there's plenty of blame to go around on both sides of the

00:01:56.420 border with this you know across the political spectrum as well the left and right playing it up

00:02:00.500 trump's provocative and we gotta admit disrespectful 51st state references referring to the prime

00:02:05.260 minister as the governor of canada set things off i understand trudeau doesn't command respect but

00:02:09.780 some degree of diplomacy between top offices is typically expected and of course the tariffs

00:02:14.160 aren't helping matters either now the liberal party under carney's leadership though

00:02:18.740 They used the trade and diplomatic tension to whip up a jingoistic frenzy

00:02:22.780 with a repugnant but very successful elbows-up campaign

00:02:26.400 and painting Americans as boogeymen. 0.95

00:02:29.740 The Liberals managed to secure an election win

00:02:31.560 from what appeared to be certain defeat, you know, less than a year ago.

00:02:36.660 They exaggerated the threats and the attitudes from the people south of our border

00:02:40.120 to cause Canadians to feel insecure with their neighbours.

00:02:43.140 The strategists in the Liberal campaign know that when people feel

00:02:45.560 there might be an outside threat to their well-being,

00:02:48.100 They tend to rally around the familiar leadership and they'll stop pursuing change electorally.

00:02:53.540 So the campaign was a success, but the price was high.

00:02:56.440 Because our friendship with the United States has taken a blow, which is going to take years to recover from.

00:03:00.920 It's an unforgivable tactic used to win an election.

00:03:03.680 I'm currently in the United States, as I said.

00:03:05.320 This is my annual pilgrimage, chasing the sun down here in Arizona and now California.

00:03:09.740 And since crossing the border, I've been dealing with ugly, snide, vitriolic shots at me for daring to come to the United States.

00:03:16.980 Not from Americans, mind you. 0.99

00:03:18.260 I'm getting this from Canadians. 1.00

00:03:19.900 I share my activities in social media.

00:03:21.660 It's part of my nature and part of promoting my views to send people to read my columns.

00:03:26.400 And when I dared to point out on X that my border crossing in Montana took a scant three minutes with a very friendly customs agent,

00:03:33.920 my account was swarmed with responses telling me not to come back and saying I was a traitor to Canada.

00:03:39.900 I'm used to the traitor accusations, though it usually refers to my support for Alberta's independence.

00:03:43.920 I didn't expect it to come at me merely for crossing the same border that tens of thousands Canadians do every day.

00:03:50.260 But this is the result of a year of, you know, vilifying the United States and its citizens by the federal government, along with legacy media outlets pandering to it for subsidies.

00:04:00.440 Horror stories have been shared of people being detained at the border and encountering hostile, nasty Americans.

00:04:05.840 Those invested in that narrative get upset when hearing that the atmosphere down south actually is as friendly as ever, if not maybe even a little more.

00:04:13.240 Some people have chosen not to vacation in the United States as a form of protest over the trade war.

00:04:17.620 Fair enough, they certainly have the right to do so.

00:04:19.900 And the number of Canadians I've seen in Arizona is definitely visibly lower than I've seen in the last few years.

00:04:25.420 The low Canadian dollars impacted snowboard levels as well.

00:04:28.260 But to lambaste others for not taking part in their little rebellion is shallow and pointlessly divisive.

00:04:34.180 Setting aside the politics, let's step back and look at the bond between the United States and Canada.

00:04:38.320 I mean, there's some cultural differences between Americans and Canadians, but they're no more distinct than those differences between Canadians and different provinces.

00:04:44.960 We're going to pretend that British Columbians are culturally closer to Quebecers than they are to Americans, or Newfoundlanders, you know, how different are they from people in Saskatchewan?

00:04:54.540 Look, we speak the same language, we eat the same foods, we dress the same way, and we watch the same movies.

00:04:59.120 Aside from some regional accents, most Americans are indistinguishable from Canadians.

00:05:03.800 They might even be walking among us.

00:05:05.200 For the most part, we hold the same values as well. We aren't just neighbours, we're family.

00:05:10.800 The USA is by far Canada's largest trading partner and Canada is the US's largest partner as well.

00:05:15.540 We need and consume similar projects and the geography makes us natural partners.

00:05:20.740 Canada would be wise to diversify our customer markets overseas, certainly.

00:05:24.360 But it's delusional to think the USA will ever become anything other than an essential partner to us.

00:05:29.560 Administrations are going to come and go. Legacy Media is on the way out.

00:05:33.220 Let's ensure that none of these self-interested groups

00:05:35.640 permanently fracture our relationship with the United States.

00:05:38.860 We can get upset with the government of the USA at times,

00:05:40.880 and they've given us reason to,

00:05:42.580 but we can't take it personally

00:05:43.980 and don't take it out on the American citizens themselves.

00:05:46.780 They're our cousins, and they're much like us,

00:05:49.400 whether some insecure citizens want to admit it or not.

00:05:51.900 Our relationship is too important to let politics get between us.

00:05:55.440 So tune out those liberals and their pet journalists,

00:05:59.540 and always remember our friendship with the Americans

00:06:01.260 is worth protecting the bond between canada and the united states is the envy of the world all

00:06:06.220 right that's what's got me going today guys i've been enjoying it down here people have been very

00:06:10.220 friendly a few folks i even ran across kind of apologizing for the tensions and so on and again

00:06:14.860 you know americans and american viewers don't apologize again it's the politics and i love

00:06:18.460 politics but it really does tick me off you know whether it's north or south of the border whoever's

00:06:23.980 doing it when we're breaking up relationships and friends families things like that over it

00:06:30.140 And we've got to stop doing that.

00:06:31.660 The Americans are our best friends.

00:06:32.800 Let's keep it that way.

00:06:33.800 All right, let's see what else is going on out there and check in with our own Dave Naylor in the newsroom in Calgary.

00:06:39.420 Hey, Dave, how's it going? 1.00

00:06:40.960 Corey Morgan in the desert, my ass. 0.99

00:06:45.260 Well, I took a little break from the desert, too. 1.00

00:06:47.700 That's where my fifth wheel is.

00:06:50.460 The only thing you're missing is a drink with an umbrella in it.

00:06:54.320 Yeah, I know.

00:06:55.200 I've got some nice, purified water, you know.

00:06:59.420 I'll get the umbrella later.

00:07:01.080 Yeah.

00:07:01.500 I don't really care, Corey.

00:07:02.900 You know why?

00:07:04.000 Because it's going up to almost plus 10 in Calgary.

00:07:07.820 It's a glorious, glorious week.

00:07:09.940 And the Seahawks are in the Super Bowl.

00:07:11.640 So why would I care?

00:07:14.360 Well, congratulations on that plus 10 anyways.

00:07:18.000 Yeah. 0.99

00:07:18.280 And you loser, Pittsburgh, whatever you are, 0.99

00:07:22.580 you have to go hire the Dallas Cowboy coach who's never won a thing. 0.97

00:07:25.840 well it's it's time for a change and uh yeah i'm not exactly we don't want to go down that rabbit

00:07:32.740 hole i'm not so thrilled with that coach selection but uh maybe he'll pick a better

00:07:36.660 quarterback than a good old rogers there and then we'll get something fresh either way i really am

00:07:41.700 hoping for your seahawks this time around because i really don't want to see those patriots in there

00:07:47.240 again all right i appreciate that uh and you know you may be in the states but the news continues

00:07:53.980 We've got our First Ministers gathering in Ottawa today.

00:07:58.640 Lots to talk about.

00:08:00.560 Right now, Premier Eby and Premier Smith are in a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

00:08:06.760 So to be a fly on the wall in that meeting would be interesting.

00:08:11.880 Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, came out earlier and said if the Parti Quebecois wins the election in Quebec later on this year,

00:08:21.440 it would be a, quote, disaster for the country.

00:08:25.380 So we'll be keeping an eye on that.

00:08:29.520 The Montreal Polytechnique has decided that they're going to do their bit

00:08:34.840 for the climate change, and they are banning the sale of beef

00:08:39.700 in their cafeterias on the campus.

00:08:44.000 So no more burgers for Polytechnique students.

00:08:48.580 Another maid horror story, this time a woman in Ontario 1.00

00:08:51.880 was given maid because she was obese, 0.95

00:08:55.640 and that goes against all sort of Health Canada regulations.

00:09:01.420 You remember Environment Minister Catherine McKenna

00:09:05.280 and her $2 billion tree planting program.

00:09:08.740 Well, it turns out they only planted 11% of that $2 billion figure,

00:09:16.400 and it cost nearly half a billion dollars, so money not well spent there.

00:09:22.060 Jared Yager out in BC has got a story on the extortion crisis that's going on in Surrey

00:09:27.840 and calls from the town mayor, city mayor, I mean, excuse me,

00:09:32.720 for a state of emergency to be called by the federal government.

00:09:36.900 And Newfoundland has become the latest provincial government to opt out of the federal gun grab program,

00:09:44.060 So I think that just leaves BC and Quebec in it.

00:09:47.320 So they'll be lucky to get a few thousand guns, Corey.

00:09:51.920 Yeah, well, and I'm pretty sure, you know, many firearm-owning Quebecers and British Columbians,

00:09:57.140 despite their governments, probably aren't all that eager to rush out and participate.

00:10:01.080 And I just wonder how long and how badly they're going to have to let this thing fail before they finally just pull the pin on it.

00:10:06.780 Well, whenever they do, it'll be hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars later.

00:10:11.160 Yeah, well, if I owned any firearms, I wouldn't be turning them in.

00:10:16.480 Is there a pool there you can go for a dip in?

00:10:20.440 There is, but I don't want to bring down my host's property values, so I'll stay well-dressed and not partake in the pool.

00:10:28.480 No, you didn't bring your speedo, eh?

00:10:31.180 I didn't.

00:10:32.100 And, you know, honestly, I was thinking while we did this, I spoke to, I guess, Jay and Jane on the way out saying I should finish the show off and stand up wearing nothing but a Speedo.

00:10:42.740 But again, not only the property value thing, but ruining Western Standard ratings.

00:10:47.040 You know, I'll spare everybody the marble bag shot.

00:10:50.200 There you go.

00:10:51.140 Well, I hope you and Jane have a great time and watch out for those snakes.

00:10:55.880 Yeah, will do.

00:10:56.920 Thanks, Dave.

00:10:57.680 And well, you know, plus 10 is not bad.

00:11:00.520 yep not bad at all for this time of year i'll take it right on thanks dave so that is our

00:11:07.480 news director dave naylor always lots on the go lots of reporters this is the time when i nag you

00:11:12.360 and shake that can asking for money asking for you to pitch in the reason we can do that is because

00:11:18.760 you guys have been subscribing we're subscription based as i said that legacy media is insufferable

00:11:24.360 and the way we can beat that and keep independent coverage is through subscribers and thousands of

00:11:29.240 you have subscribed to the western standard and we really really appreciate it if you haven't yet

00:11:33.720 get on there westernstandard.news 10 bucks a month 100 per year take advantage of that volume discount

00:11:41.400 and uh get past that pesky paywall and keep our reporters going honestly if enough of you

00:11:46.440 subscribe maybe i could twist derrick's arm for enough of a raise that i could get my own little

00:11:51.640 poolside spot and i wouldn't have to mooch off of others for this sort of remote uh field operation

00:11:55.640 But for the time being, I am here at Jay Hill's home in his winter quarters here in Palm Springs.

00:12:02.440 And yeah, he's coming on in. He's our guest today.

00:12:04.800 You guys remember Jay. He's been on lots of times, former government house leader, now political commentator from the South.

00:12:11.720 How's it going, Jay?

00:12:12.360 It's going very well, as you would expect from this location.

00:12:16.380 Well, it's hard to go wrong down here.

00:12:20.140 And boy, you know, so where to begin with things?

00:12:24.360 Do you feel ashamed having come down to the United States when we're supposed to be all elbows up right now?

00:12:30.860 Not in the least.

00:12:32.320 You know, and I compared what's happening, unfortunately, between our two countries with what happened in many instances with families during the COVID.

00:12:44.000 You know, if people reflect back, there was people that were the pro-vaxxers and then the anti-vaxxers.

00:12:51.020 and sometimes even within their own family, sometimes very close friends, and they became

00:12:57.620 so emotional about that issue and so demanding that it destroyed friendships. It even destroyed

00:13:04.920 relationships within families, brothers against brothers, and I had somewhat of that experience

00:13:11.100 in my own family. We've since mended fences, but you see what's happening, as you said in your

00:13:17.040 opening remarks, Corey, between Canada or Canadians and Americans right now. And it's very

00:13:23.860 similar. Like, people are so emotional about this. And as you so accurately stated, governments come

00:13:30.680 and go. Administrations come and go. I mean, I'm no more embarrassed to be here, you know, with the

00:13:38.160 administration and the government that they have in the United States than I hope Americans aren't 1.00

00:13:43.720 too embarrassed when they come to Canada and see our federal government because oftentimes there's

00:13:50.080 lots to be annoyed with there as well oh yeah politicians as you would know don't always get

00:13:55.980 it right but it was just this is so crass with what they did you know tactically brilliantly

00:14:02.080 effective if you're Machiavellian if you have no principles if you don't worry about the damage

00:14:06.140 you had to cause to win the strategy on the part last year you know by by Kearney's

00:14:13.720 I guess and campaign managers was brilliant but we're still feeling that hangover that's why I was so shocked I crossed the border I shouldn't have been that shocked I mean I'd be nice to stir people up I get social media abuse but just for having frost like holy cow I didn't even prod at you guys like come on yeah exactly and it was much your experience was the same as ours we had all these worrisome stories coming out primarily out of Ontario and Eastern Canada

00:14:43.720 you know about oh my goodness like you don't dare want to go down there I mean you know you end up

00:14:49.720 in jail or something I mean ice will be waiting for you at the border uh you know uh snowbirds

00:14:55.680 beware and uh you know our experience was like yours if anything it was easier because there

00:15:02.260 was less traffic that was it because it has reduced traffic I admit you know we come down

00:15:06.960 every year I've been in Arizona often you'll see all sorts of BC plates upward of plates you still

00:15:11.600 see some but it's visibly down and it's the same here in california exactly same our experience

00:15:18.640 but you know as well as the young lady that was at the window at the border crossing who couldn't

00:15:25.360 be have been more friendlier and welcoming for uh leah and i we answered her questions provided our

00:15:31.840 passports she reminded us that because we were staying a certain length of time we had to go

00:15:36.800 online and register once we got settled uh it was just a gentle reminder and other than that

00:15:42.240 we breezed through we weren't at that window for more than a minute i didn't time it down to the

00:15:47.600 second uh but that was our experience first day down here uh we pull up to a a stoplight

00:15:55.920 a car pulls up beside us it was more than a one lane uh road pulls up beside us motions to leah 0.93

00:16:02.720 who rolled out her window and we did and this american lady looks at us and says you know we 1.00

00:16:10.160 are so thankful uh that you folks came down again this winter you know so that's been our experience

00:16:17.760 and it has changed we've been here almost a month now and that's been our our experience you know

00:16:23.040 and as you said so accurately in your open comments we're good friends and we have a

00:16:28.240 lot of good friends down here and and uh and we know they feel the same way yeah and we want to

00:16:33.440 maintain it you know okay so i mean getting back to the political level and and i don't like to

00:16:38.160 give a lot of credit to liberals but still carney has a tough job ahead uh president trump has

00:16:44.320 definitely been taken though an american first attitude he wants to bring all economic activity

00:16:50.080 within the american borders the the tariffs have most certainly harmed canada some of the attitudes

00:16:55.520 have how you know you were in the federal government for a while you didn't have to deal

00:17:00.560 with anything quite like this before but how do you diplomatically deal with you know canada's

00:17:06.000 interests trade interests uh with somebody as as difficult as president trump without you know

00:17:13.120 continuing to seem like you're bending over for him as well it is a position they're in no matter

00:17:18.960 who was the prime minister well exactly and i think people respect the fact that it's uh it's

00:17:24.320 a fine art to negotiate with someone that's a master negotiator, like President Trump is.

00:17:31.440 He knows exactly what his plan is. I certainly don't fault him. I don't think anybody that

00:17:36.320 recognizes leadership, I don't fault him on his need to represent the American people as he sees

00:17:44.480 fit. That's his job, after all. A person certainly can question some of the language and the use of

00:17:53.680 phraseology that is used. But also, as we said, I mean, this too will pass. I think in the meantime,

00:18:03.040 you have to identify certain issues, and they've failed to do this. I believe Kearney has failed

00:18:09.200 to do it. They identify issues where we have commonality between the two nations, where there's

00:18:16.000 a better chance that you can reach a compromise, if you will, and work from there, and then deal

00:18:21.920 with some uh some others that are more contentious uh you know like supply management for example

00:18:27.760 yeah it's been an irritant to the americans long before trump came on the scene and uh and it

00:18:33.520 remains a big time trade irritant uh uh you know because of uh the dairy cartel so um it is

00:18:41.760 difficult i don't uh i don't deny that uh corey i think that it could be done a lot better i think

00:18:48.240 that you certainly don't uh help your negotiations and we recognize that come uh summertime we're

00:18:56.720 going to be in the uh in the midst of trying to renegotiate kuzma and uh we can imagine how

00:19:03.600 difficult that's going to be for the carny government and they're not he is not helping

00:19:09.120 himself with what he did in beijing no and i wanted to get to that so i mean again there's

00:19:14.400 some of the balancing though i mean it got pretty clear to canada well we do have our eggs a lot in

00:19:19.040 one basket just due to geographic reality uh due to such a friendly relationship but then when you

00:19:24.000 get somebody who wants to be a little more hostile with trade negotiations boy we find out we're

00:19:28.560 we're uh really in trouble so you want to maybe diversify your tests like it fair enough but

00:19:34.800 jumping too hard into bed with china is only going to aggravate our our southern 1.00

00:19:40.800 and the neighbors as well further you know again it's tough though i mean china we do do a lot of

00:19:46.800 trade back and forth with them as well india i mean trudeau soured that relationship pretty badly

00:19:51.280 and that's a huge developing market yeah but we can't let the fears of offending the southern

00:19:58.240 neighbors stop us from trying to diversify our export markets either nor should we no i think

00:20:02.400 that there's general acceptance even from the opposition parties in in parliament uh cory to

00:20:08.720 the fact that uh the correct way to proceed is to put as much effort as possible into diversifying

00:20:16.240 those those products but not to say directly or indirectly through your actions to the americans

00:20:22.960 oh we don't need you anymore because it's not true it's never going to be true as you pointed out

00:20:27.920 um you know so there's there again you know it's the way you do it it's not that anybody's in

00:20:34.240 disagreement that with the overall uh theme here that we have to diversify uh but you don't

00:20:41.760 take that that step further you're there uh you make you know what appears to be some inroads uh

00:20:48.480 mous whether they actually come true or not and this is the other question i mean his uh prime

00:20:54.480 minister carney supporters are very quickly falling all over themselves giving him the accolades

00:21:00.400 but it's an MOU, right? It's a memorandum of understanding. It's not an agreement. It's not

00:21:07.120 a trade deal, as per se. It's a first step, a good one, I grant you. But then he took it that

00:21:17.040 step further, didn't he? And he said, you know, while he was there in Beijing with the Chinese,

00:21:22.560 the communist Chinese, he says, oh, well, you know, this is a good step towards a future

00:21:28.880 partnership if you will uh for a you know uh what was it a world world order new world order

00:21:36.560 you know well why was that necessary because that's almost like taking a pointy stick and

00:21:42.080 sticking it in trump's eyes and saying okay you know enough of the americans we're going to make

00:21:47.440 this new world order with the communist chinese well i don't recall uh carney being elected to do 0.99

00:21:54.000 that no and those particular three words like that the question is whether it was intentional

00:21:59.040 or not because that's a very loaded term you know some people read that very much into the

00:22:02.800 world economic forum or globalism i mean it could be if you just took it on surface benignly said

00:22:09.040 it's just terms you used for uh but you know politicians that level usually are carefully

00:22:14.880 planning their words i mean trudeau was a little more of just stepping on his tongue when he would

00:22:18.640 speak but carney is a little controlled so what do you think his intentions were on throwing that

00:22:23.760 grenade into the discussion? Well, I think it was to sort of exert himself as this world leader

00:22:31.200 and he was intent upon, you know, furthering that image he has of himself. You know, I don't know

00:22:38.720 how widely that's shared. Obviously, in eastern Canada, central and eastern Canada, shared

00:22:43.520 sufficiently that he won an election, as you said earlier. But, you know, we were talking about

00:22:51.760 what steps he could take or should be taking or any prime minister should take to try and build

00:22:58.320 the relationship that we need we need a strong especially trade relationship but a security

00:23:03.920 relationship uh you know on many fronts justice uh you know to stop smuggling across the border

00:23:12.560 uh certainly uh you know we've been accused of being a conduit for drugs going into the united

00:23:18.480 States. It's well known that certainly the conduit for guns coming into criminal hands in Canada

00:23:26.640 from the United States is well known. So all of those issues need to be addressed

00:23:31.200 on both sides of the border and they always will. From my point of view and I think many Canadians,

00:23:37.600 you're not going to help build the kind of relationship that we need and we will always

00:23:43.040 need with the americans by poking them with a stick and that's what happened to me anyway when

00:23:49.200 when he went that step further than needed to be said uh invasion maybe again that that prodding

00:23:56.160 of the americans rings well with his base of support so even if it causes more damage overall

00:24:00.720 that's what i get frustrated with he's not looking at the bigger picture so something

00:24:04.560 that's exposed and really brought about it kind of ties into what i want to talk a little more

00:24:08.080 about too of course is a subject we're well familiar with western alienation uh

00:24:13.040 I mean, it became clear then for Canadians, okay, we've got to diversify our markets, something we already knew in Alberta, we've been talking about for decades, guys, 90-some percent of our energy products, if we export them, go to the United States, which is all fine and dandy, except we're losing money on a discount because they're a sole customer, and we really need to move product to the coast.

00:24:32.860 and suddenly finally Canadians realized wow we need to get product to the coast so we started

00:24:37.820 talking about a pipeline that you know well the rest of the country started talking about the

00:24:42.220 pipeline but we're not going to get it I mean Kearney keeps falling back on the line that we

00:24:48.380 have to get provincial and indigenous consent before getting a pipe to the coast not consultation

00:24:55.980 yeah which is contrary to the constitution on both fronts uh so what does this beat 0.99

00:25:02.700 switch barney obviously uh all i could think is no stupid man really doesn't want the pipe to go 0.98

00:25:08.540 well if you look at his history as uh you know uh protector of the uh of the environment if you will 0.99

00:25:16.460 uh and he's that's the uh the course he's charted uh for most of his life uh he and his and his wife

00:25:25.180 And there's nothing wrong with that. That's a choice to make. But when you become the leader of the country, I think you need to focus on, or I would hope you would focus on what's best for the country. And, you know, I just mentioned the fact that what was signed in China was MOUs.

00:25:41.340 Well, of course, there was a lot of fanfare about an MOU that Kearney signed with our Premier, with Alberta.

00:25:50.480 And, you know, we have to remind people that that is an MOU too.

00:25:54.320 It's a memorandum of understanding.

00:25:56.560 It's not a deal.

00:25:57.400 It's certainly not a sure thing.

00:25:59.500 And as many, many people that are cynical as you and I about governments would say that it will never happen.

00:26:11.340 And it'll certainly never happen when he keeps turning around and promising the coastal First Nations and the government of British Columbia veto.

00:26:22.540 You know, so there we are.

00:26:24.600 Nothing's changed.

00:26:26.840 You know, he's made a few minor changes about putting some of the, I'll call it anti-Alberta legislation in for a period of time, you know, taking a recess, if you will.

00:26:40.080 But some of Alberta's demands of the federal government after Trudeau departed were to repeal these bills, the no new pipelines bill, for one example, the ban on oil tankers, despite the Americans having oil tankers go by Prince Rupert and Kitimat every day virtually.

00:27:04.920 You know, so what can happen?

00:27:09.180 I think it's only natural that we're going to, we, Alberta,

00:27:12.800 are going to have to look south of the border yet again

00:27:15.380 to try to access even foreign markets.

00:27:18.880 As you say, most of our oil goes down there now.

00:27:24.260 You know, can we use it as a transit course,

00:27:28.640 a transit route to get it to places like India and China?

00:27:34.120 It remains to be seen.

00:27:38.120 I mean, the point of a federation is to have these independent somewhat provinces, but with agreements that bind them to be mutually beneficial across the country.

00:27:46.120 One of which is free trade between the provinces, which the government has been kind of loose on enforcing.

00:27:53.120 I mean, you know, the courts are like bringing beer from Quebec into New Brunswick.

00:27:56.120 brunswick a person can be charged and the courts have said well it's a constitutional violation but

00:28:01.000 we're still going to allow quebec and such to block the sale of beer border to border

00:28:06.680 it it start and the authority for getting a pipeline through i mean you say yes we have

00:28:10.520 responsibility to consult but at some point that's the responsibility of the prime minister then say

00:28:15.000 well we did all the consultation we could guys this thing has to go it's in the national interest

00:28:21.640 i'm sorry you're not still on board but it's moving ahead and carney has abdicated that which

00:28:28.040 has led to a lot of people saying well what's the point of the federation you know we might as well

00:28:32.680 be negotiating country to country so there's kind of segwaying into uh you've probably seen the news

00:28:36.840 and things on it uh the independence movement in alberta is just exploding i think more than we've

00:28:41.880 seen before i mean you know not since the early 80s with the national energy program i think it's

00:28:46.760 been more sustained even a rally of thousands of people in calgary just the other night and

00:28:52.360 people signing petitions we're in for a year of a referendum we are and uh for you know this

00:28:59.240 is a quite a unique meeting i might add i don't know if there's uh any other uh situation where

00:29:06.840 you could have two former leaders of independence movements uh for alberta and western canada

00:29:15.480 sitting down together to discuss this topic and here we are who would have thought we've been

00:29:22.920 perhaps we've been banished uh no i mean seriously um obviously i am very supportive of what's

00:29:32.200 happening uh although uh leah and i were discussing this uh the other night as i think

00:29:39.720 most albertans are um i would just caution people uh corey uh before they get too far out in front

00:29:48.200 of this thing that we saw much the same uh support that we're seeing in those long lineups and

00:29:56.280 sub-zero uh sub-zero temperatures uh outside those venues people wanting to line up and

00:30:04.120 and subject cold in a cold north wind to wait their turn to sign this petition to demand a vote.

00:30:13.880 That's what they're doing. They're demanding their democratic freedom to vote on independence

00:30:19.800 for Alberta. And while I support that and I applaud each and every one of them for doing that

00:30:27.320 because I am very pro-independence for our province. I just caution that we saw much the same

00:30:36.600 thing less than a year ago in the election campaign. As a Conservative, I was certainly

00:30:42.840 excited to see on social media and on the news channels every day these huge turnouts for

00:30:53.640 Pierre Polyev and his rallies across the nation and we were excited. We thought that you know

00:31:00.600 despite Trudeau's exit and this new fresh face in in Mark Carney that Canadians were going to make

00:31:08.920 a change and of course as Conservatives it's a change that we felt very much needed and so I

00:31:15.240 was pleased for Pierre. He put in an enormous amount of work and effort and he was getting

00:31:19.800 the turnouts but it didn't materialize in that needed victory at the ballot box and that's my

00:31:26.840 concern here as a first step to make sure that we get way past and we will be getting way past

00:31:33.880 the numbers necessary for the petition to force a referendum and give Albertans that vote

00:31:41.240 but we're a long way as you and I've discussed off camera to getting to those numbers where

00:31:47.000 we would need to win the referendum and begin just begin the initial step charter force towards

00:31:54.120 independence it's certainly moving in the right direction it is snowballing just well i would say

00:31:59.400 the cost and everything is meaning you can't leave it to others you've got to get up and take part

00:32:03.880 because this is you know the six seven eight months it might be till voting day they're going

00:32:07.800 to go fast and a lot of people to reach even those that um you know are not 100 sold on how they're

00:32:16.200 going to mark their ballot when the time comes okay they're still lining up the sign because they

00:32:23.160 want to have a say and that's if you believe in democracy that's a real positive development

00:32:29.400 and you know there's they're at least saying let's have the debate you know we don't know

00:32:34.680 all the ins and outs and the good and the bad and the ugly uh for a potential alberta independence

00:32:40.200 but let's have the discussion let's get more facts and information in front of the public

00:32:45.000 so that each and every one of them will be encouraged to actually go to the ballot box when

00:32:49.720 the time comes and to select their choice intelligently with the knowledge they need

00:32:56.280 yeah well and this will be a period of more discussion on independence than we've

00:33:01.240 ever had and ever seen before and it's happened in canada before but it was with quebec something

00:33:07.560 that's been striking this time is the attitude back towards the independent supporters so i

00:33:12.520 remember the Quebec referendum well they were again you know please Quebec stay please don't 1.00

00:33:18.600 go what can we do for you Quebec we love you Quebec what we're getting is redneck hillbillies 0.94

00:33:26.600 you're not allowed to have a referendum you don't have permission to have a referendum

00:33:32.280 like that the attitude is night and day towards how Albertans are treated when they're considering

00:33:37.960 independence versus quebec which i i think only helps the independence movement because it shows

00:33:43.240 there is a double standard in this country yeah it actually makes the point for the uh those that

00:33:50.120 are in favor of independence doesn't it and very starkly makes the point which is that we are

00:33:55.960 treated differently uh you know negatively uh by central and eastern canada we always have been

00:34:02.760 ever since confederation uh and and i would argue as a former uh leader of the maverick party you

00:34:09.720 know in favor of of western independence uh we always will be you know i took at that time back

00:34:17.800 in 2021 i spent a lot of time with a constitutional law professor uh looking at our constitution

00:34:26.360 and dissecting it and saying okay like uh as if as a once proud canadian uh a proud canadian of

00:34:35.000 what i would call the old canada um what can we do to stay within canada but to treat be treated

00:34:42.840 fairly in the future and of course there isn't there's no avenue there's no course that we can

00:34:48.360 chart to achieve that, Cory. Because of the amending formula, it's impossible.

00:34:56.920 Certain aspects of a constitutional change aren't just under the seven of 10 provinces

00:35:05.960 amending formula. They're actually requiring unanimity. Well, you're never going to get that.

00:35:12.680 that the 10 provinces would agree to give Alberta its due. And so it came to me that there was,

00:35:22.640 and at that time, reluctantly, I'm not reluctant anymore, because after this decade of darkness

00:35:28.620 under Justin Trudeau, I mean, if there was ever evidence of why the West needs its independence,

00:35:37.340 And when I talk, I would say the West, not just Alberta, because polls consistently show, for example, there's greater support for independence in Saskatchewan than there is in Alberta.

00:35:49.600 And they're organizing out there, too.

00:35:50.980 And they are getting organized and good on them, because we know that we're never going to be treated fairly.

00:35:57.260 And I'm so sick and tired of Central Canadians saying, oh, you're just a bunch of whiners and, you know, and as you say, this double standard where, you know, they get down on bended knee.

00:36:08.360 What can we give you to Quebec? 0.99

00:36:11.260 But to the West, it's, you know, you're a bunch of whiners and you're complainers and you can't go anyway and you'll never get the support. 0.54

00:36:19.180 and well and you know to your point too and in reading the Constitution and

00:36:24.280 looking at things and that's what really creates the true independence

00:36:26.860 supporters when they realize and come to that conclusion it's not the party in

00:36:30.580 power that's the problem it's the system and so you could change it I've said

00:36:35.140 that in a lot of speeches that's why I would say with conservatives as they get

00:36:37.720 in even Harper great Prime Minister but still he didn't change anything because

00:36:42.280 he couldn't change anything systematically if Polly ever gotten in

00:36:45.680 he would have been more benign than Trudeau or Carney but the way I put it is they'd be less

00:36:51.040 bad than the liberals but because of the system they have to cater to central Canada when people

00:36:56.360 reach that conclusion that's when you get a true independence support yeah you get that uh-huh

00:37:02.160 moment uh you know where people's eyes light up uh when they when they come to that that sad

00:37:08.940 realizations and and you're quite right it does not matter um we get better government and then

00:37:15.900 the west is lulled into a certain sense of okay well things aren't that bad uh because had pauliava

00:37:24.540 got in and i certainly hoped he would have and still hope he might uh we would have seen the

00:37:30.300 end of some of these irritants uh like the no new pipelines act like uh the the ban on tankers like

00:37:37.900 and getting rid of the industrial carbon tax not just the consumer carbon tax there would have been

00:37:44.780 certain steps that you know he promised to do it and i'm sure pierre i know pierre well enough

00:37:50.220 uh that it would have been done and it would have made life a lot easier not only

00:37:55.020 uh for albertans and western canadians uh corey but it would have made i would argue life a lot

00:38:00.940 easier for all Canadians and but the core difference and why we go through this seesaw between

00:38:09.500 what I would call reasonable government and I was part of that government so I like to think we were

00:38:14.220 being reasonable a reasonable government under a conservative prime minister and then of course

00:38:20.300 being negatively affected dramatically by successive liberal prime ministers and governments

00:38:27.980 and we go through this this uh seesaw uh arrangement and it's been going on since

00:38:33.980 confederation and it's never going to change well and it's not just here this is what's really

00:38:38.220 interesting that we're seeing in our lifetimes you know as this goes the party quebecois is poised

00:38:43.180 to win next fall we'll see a lot of change in politics over that much time we saw that with

00:38:47.660 last year's federal campaign exactly but they're pretty strongly up there uh the liberal government

00:38:51.980 of Quebec, or not Liberal, but you know, that CAQ,

00:38:55.980 collapsed under their own corruption, as is a tendency in Quebec as well.

00:39:01.880 But part of the campaign platform of the PQ is that they want to hold another referendum.

00:39:06.020 They're saying, we're running on holding another referendum.

00:39:09.680 Theoretically, if they get a majority government this fall, Quebec's going to be scheduling

00:39:14.280 another one. This is not a sign of a functional country. If we're getting these referendums

00:39:19.500 happening on each side even if they aren't winning majority support you've got large segments i mean

00:39:23.820 some people dismiss it too oh it's only 30 percent of albertans who wanna you got one in three have

00:39:28.860 said i've had it yeah you should be paying attention yeah and that's just heading into

00:39:33.900 the conversation yeah you know uh which gives people like yourself and myself it gives us

00:39:41.580 some renewed hope that we haven't had i would argue about in our lifetime that perhaps we're

00:39:47.500 we're on the cusp of some pretty dramatic change,

00:39:51.220 because at least we can make the arguments now

00:39:53.960 and not have people discount them out of hand,

00:39:57.960 the arguments in support of independence

00:40:00.960 and why it's necessary.

00:40:02.860 And there are some individuals I would

00:40:06.460 are really helping that along by being realistic

00:40:12.480 and putting forward a strong argument

00:40:15.580 or how much better off Albertans.

00:40:18.580 And let's face it, many of us are not doing it for ourselves.

00:40:23.180 And that's what too is so annoying about the support

00:40:26.540 that Carney got in the election campaign.

00:40:29.040 He got it from people my age, you know?

00:40:33.440 And you wonder, okay, don't those people have grandchildren

00:40:37.120 that they're concerned about, that they would, you know,

00:40:40.520 for their own pocketbook?

00:40:43.140 many do uh you know and i've met a lot of those at the meeting and that's been something that's

00:40:46.660 been striking you know i've been a guest speaker in a number of functions yeah uh and some of the

00:40:50.740 polls are showing it though that yes there's there's people who are fearful they get i think

00:40:54.020 in the later age and they just fear change so they kind of but still there's a great deal of folks you

00:40:58.660 know our age or older who again they're thinking of the next generations i mean we understand that

00:41:03.700 there's still only so much time on the clock for ourselves uh hopefully a lot but uh uh the younger

00:41:10.660 folk this is the first time in independence we're really seeing that grow a lot yeah because they're

00:41:14.740 seeing a hopelessness unfortunately saying i can't buy a house i can't afford to pay off my student

00:41:19.140 loans i'm not seeing career opportunities and they weren't there before and that's a different

00:41:24.580 dynamic this time that i don't know how that's going to turn up that well and even peaceful

00:41:30.020 revolution down through history and through all the different nations of the world that have

00:41:34.980 have succumbed to that, Corey.

00:41:38.520 It's been the youth that has been the driving force

00:41:41.560 for that exact reasons.

00:41:42.860 It's that sense of hopelessness

00:41:45.220 that it doesn't matter how hard they work.

00:41:47.940 In the modern world, certainly in modern Canada,

00:41:51.880 families have to have, virtually,

00:41:56.200 if they're to be able to pay their bills

00:41:57.860 and put food on the table for the kids at all,

00:41:59.980 they have to have a two-income family. 0.98

00:42:03.100 both parents need to be out there working,

00:42:06.400 and even then they can't do it.

00:42:08.780 And I do believe that you're right,

00:42:10.920 that it's that sense of hopelessness.

00:42:13.280 And we saw it in spades in the folks

00:42:17.420 that were turning out for the fear of rallies.

00:42:22.160 You know, you had people that were in their 30s

00:42:26.400 that were on the verge of fears, if not crying,

00:42:31.020 because of that hopelessness and helplessness

00:42:34.800 that they're facing in Canada.

00:42:36.180 And there's no need for it.

00:42:37.500 That's what angers me as a former member of parliament

00:42:42.580 for 17 years, some of those spent as a cabinet minister

00:42:46.020 with Prime Minister Harper, there's no need for that.

00:42:50.780 You know, if I look at where my good friend,

00:42:53.600 Jim Flaherty left us financially before he died,

00:43:01.020 the nation was on track after the 2008 financial crisis it was on track to turn a corner and to be

00:43:08.780 able to offer uh Canadians greater tax relief than we already had as a conservative government

00:43:16.140 uh pay our bills uh back to a balanced budget um you know put money into things that really made

00:43:24.700 a difference to uh the everyday canadian's life and and yet we've hit in the last decade we've

00:43:31.900 taken the country has taken this dramatic turn away from all of that and carney despite his

00:43:38.300 assurances a year ago is continuing it there we might as well have trudeau still in place

00:43:43.820 for for what we're seeing and that's why uh the the young people especially are have this sense

00:43:51.020 of helplessness it doesn't matter what they do that uh they're not going to be able to get ahead

00:43:56.460 and offer their children my grandchildren uh the the life that they should have in a country as

00:44:03.420 wealthy as canada an option for change is being presented we'll see if it takes off or not so

00:44:09.260 thank you very much for uh ending on the positive note though we're going to move towards something

00:44:13.340 positive i do believe out of this thank you for hosting us here today in your summer abode or

00:44:19.660 or winter about, I should say.

00:44:22.180 I'm glad you're enjoying the backyard.

00:44:23.800 Yes, and it's quite comfortable.

00:44:26.260 So if nothing else, we're in for a pivotal year,

00:44:29.180 hopefully for the positive, and we'll see what happens.

00:44:32.740 Well, especially as we were just discussing

00:44:35.400 for the future generations that are much younger

00:44:39.500 than us, our children, grandchildren,

00:44:42.920 I certainly hope so.

00:44:44.200 They deserve it, and certainly I will continue

00:44:47.980 to do whatever I can to push for independence for that reason.

00:44:54.120 Right on.

00:44:54.480 Well, thanks, Jay, and thank all of you guys for tuning in to this summer episode.

00:44:59.260 There's going to be another one coming from out in the desert

00:45:00.820 in some undisclosed location next week as well.

00:45:05.420 And, you know, I just want to leave on that note, too.

00:45:07.300 I love the United States.

00:45:08.160 I love our American cousins and everything, but I'm not one of the U.S. 51 type people.

00:45:14.260 I mean, you know what?

00:45:14.880 In fact, with families, it's best not to fully jump into bed with each other.

00:45:18.660 That leads to a lot of problems, but you can still have close relationships.

00:45:23.440 So independence with a close relationship to the South is what we must have.

00:45:28.740 So, again, thank you all for tuning in.

00:45:30.160 Watch for the pipeline tonight.

00:45:31.260 I'll be on that panel chat.

00:45:32.880 Nigel's doing some great interviews, like, subscribe, do all that great stuff,

00:45:37.860 and keep supporting Western Standard.

00:45:39.840 And we will talk to you on the next one.

00:45:44.880 We'll be right back.

Western Standard - January 29, 2026

Damage done to our relationship with the USA by the Liberals is unforgivable

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