Western Standard - The Cory Morgan Show 2025 Ep 4

00:00:00.000 Thank you.

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00:00:57.340 Hi, I'm Josh Andress, filling in for Corey Morgan today while he enjoys a vacation.

00:01:02.040 He will be back, allegedly, next week.

00:01:04.020 I've been told maybe not.

00:01:05.740 You may be dealing with me for another week.

00:01:07.820 I think he's back.

00:01:08.640 I guess I'll find out.

00:01:09.400 I should probably ask Corey.

00:01:10.720 Hey, what do you think, Dave?

00:01:12.520 Joining me today is Dave Naylor.

00:01:14.660 He is the news editor, and we're going to dive into today's top breaking stories.

00:01:18.780 What's going on today?

00:01:19.440 Oh, man, you're live for the first time.

00:01:23.180 I am.

00:01:23.600 We are live.

00:01:24.480 No swearing.

00:01:25.220 No swearing.

00:01:27.200 Derek.

00:01:27.860 You don't want to be like Derek on the pipeline because he's pretty well known for.

00:01:32.360 I get complaints about that.

00:01:33.840 Do you get complaints emailed to you about Derek's conduct on the air?

00:01:36.760 Yeah.

00:01:37.320 Oh, it's awful.

00:01:38.660 I will email HR, which is, I think, Derek.

00:01:43.020 So he'll hear from me directly on his conduct on the air.

00:01:46.600 Anyways, what's going on today in the world?

00:01:48.800 Are we doing the news first?

00:01:49.980 We're doing the news first.

00:01:51.420 Before you're around?

00:01:52.160 Yeah.

00:01:52.540 Wow.

00:01:53.060 It's different than Corey.

00:01:53.940 Is it?

00:01:54.320 I didn't know.

00:01:54.960 I don't watch the show.

00:01:55.900 No.

00:01:56.240 Neither does Derek.

00:02:00.160 Well, crazy news just continues, Josh.

00:02:03.040 I mean, it's just been a whirlwind.

00:02:04.580 It's on Monday when Trump got sworn in, and it's just gone crazy.

00:02:10.660 So right now the website's leading off with a story on Pierre Polyev.

00:02:14.880 He was on a Toronto TV station this morning,

00:02:18.200 and the host asked him whether or not he was going to follow Donald Trump's lead

00:02:23.000 and just sort of limit it to two genders, men and women.

00:02:27.180 And probably I've got into it with the host,

00:02:30.400 and you'll find the exchange quite hilarious.

00:02:33.780 I'm looking forward to that.

00:02:35.240 Is he eating an apple when he's doing it?

00:02:37.400 No, he's not, actually.

00:02:38.420 Okay, this time.

00:02:39.960 Maybe we could get AI to put one in.

00:02:42.340 I think you should just have an apple on him at all times,

00:02:44.680 just in case you need to deal with some non-Western standard reporters.

00:02:50.440 Our reporters are great here.

00:02:51.500 Green Party, former leader, whose name will never be in the footnotes of history, says Canada should become a safe haven for all the transgendered and non-binary and binary and LBTQ people that Trump forces out of his country.

00:03:09.180 Come to Canada, they say.

00:03:13.000 Yeah, we'll see how that goes.

00:03:15.240 I mean, we've got an election coming up.

00:03:17.040 Maybe they could stay at your place.

00:03:18.480 You've got room, don't you?

00:03:19.180 No, I don't.

00:03:20.020 actually i have uh too much stuff in the space that people could be in okay netflix up 16

00:03:29.380 oh what's the big storyline there well isn't that netflix and chill is going to cost you more

00:03:34.660 up 16 because of inflationary pressures and uh our sean polzer's got a good rundown on

00:03:42.900 how it's sort of like the leading indicator of what what's in store for the future so it's uh

00:03:49.380 it's going to take a while for president trump to get that inflation under control

00:03:54.180 uh i know the trudeau cabinet minister has bailed uh sejin the former defense minister has said he's

00:04:01.540 not running in the next election and says politics has just become too caustic oh really yeah it's

00:04:07.220 terrible oh i feel so bad for them so bad for him oh it's those poor liberals now speaking of poor

00:04:13.140 liberals we have uh lunatic uh stefan gilbo oh is he in the news oh he's in the news what's even

00:04:22.100 he never leaves the news i don't know if you saw he actually went on a twitter rant against

00:04:27.220 the western standard yes i did see that i was very impressed with the western standard so it's

00:04:31.620 good to know that at least he reads us uh today he's trying to he knows his beloved carbon taxes

00:04:39.060 on its last legs yes yes you know mark carney christian freeland they've both said that they

00:04:45.220 will do something with it and you know obviously you're gonna remove the carbon or the consumer

00:04:50.740 portion of it and uh and leave the uh the industrial portion so uh gilbo says uh he's

00:04:57.860 basically saying canadians are too stupid to understand that it's it's not a good thing and

00:05:02.500 And this blames Polyev.

00:05:04.880 Yeah, that's interesting.

00:05:06.420 Because apparently until Polyev came along, we all loved the carbon tax.

00:05:10.200 I must have missed that.

00:05:11.540 Yeah, I missed that section of life.

00:05:14.620 But apparently it's all Polyev's fault that we hate the carbon tax.

00:05:18.760 Well, I can't blame Harper for that one because that came after. 1.00

00:05:22.440 Yes.

00:05:23.000 Yeah.

00:05:23.700 Interestingly now, Amazon has separated from Quebec.

00:05:27.900 Oh, no.

00:05:28.760 Yeah, which I mean, imagine that's putting some people in panic.

00:05:32.500 how are they going to get their toilet paper delivered?

00:05:35.180 But I guess they formed a union down there,

00:05:39.160 and Jeff Bezos said, okay, screw you, we're out.

00:05:44.800 Someone's got, there's this great South,

00:05:46.500 and I don't know if I'm allowed to shout out South Park,

00:05:48.620 there's a great South Park episode on Amazon employees unionizing.

00:05:52.180 If you want some insight into what's going on in Quebec,

00:05:55.100 that would be a good place to start, I think, at least in my opinion.

00:05:58.300 Premier Legault of Quebec was asked about it this morning

00:06:01.940 as he walked into work and his only reply was something to do with the Montreal Canadiens

00:06:06.820 game last night.

00:06:07.820 Well, how'd that go?

00:06:08.820 Yeah.

00:06:09.820 So I don't think that's quite what the report was after.

00:06:11.820 And to be honest, I don't know if the Canadians won or lost.

00:06:15.600 So there it is.

00:06:17.900 Um, so yeah, that's, uh, that's the good stuff now or, uh, uh, I haven't seen Donald

00:06:23.580 Trump today.

00:06:24.580 So I always hoped that he's going to come out and press conference and rewrite all the

00:06:28.460 headlines for the day.

00:06:29.460 Yeah, well, the earlier the better, because you don't want to be here all night, right?

00:06:32.840 No, and he's always late.

00:06:34.420 He was two hours late yesterday.

00:06:36.580 Oh, Kenny.

00:06:37.280 Jason Kenney used to do that.

00:06:39.180 Oh, my goodness.

00:06:40.100 He was the worst.

00:06:41.660 And I must admit, Premier Smith is also that way.

00:06:46.000 She's usually a good 10 minutes late. 1.00

00:06:48.120 Well, we were on time today, and we're live.

00:06:50.060 I want to point that out.

00:06:50.960 We're on time and live.

00:06:51.640 So that's all I've got to report.

00:06:53.720 I can go back to my desk and listen to make sure you don't swear.

00:06:56.780 I will not swear.

00:06:58.020 I swear.

00:06:59.460 Then I will not swear.

00:07:00.820 Mom, you're watching.

00:07:02.600 All right.

00:07:03.140 Okay.

00:07:03.420 Well, thank you very much, Dave.

00:07:04.900 Thanks, Josh.

00:07:05.560 Good luck with the show.

00:07:06.500 Appreciate it.

00:07:07.140 I'll get into my monologue now and I'll let you get back to your desk.

00:07:09.840 Thank you.

00:07:10.280 So thank you very much, Dave.

00:07:12.400 On Monday, Canada got a reprieve, at least momentarily.

00:07:17.360 Inauguration Day came and went without Donald Trump imposing his threatened 25% across the board tariff.

00:07:24.240 Instead, he announced that there would be a review of trade policies

00:07:27.600 and tariffs might be coming February 1st.

00:07:31.380 Still, this short-term reprieve should be an opportunity for us

00:07:35.280 to prepare a response to try and avoid tariffs entirely.

00:07:40.020 Unfortunately, Canada is in the middle of a political crisis

00:07:43.700 with our own government on the brink of collapse.

00:07:46.760 For Canadians, Trump's threats have exposed deep fractures

00:07:49.940 in an already divided confederation.

00:07:52.840 Last Wednesday, with the tariff threat looming, nine premiers and recently sort of resigned,

00:07:58.180 but is still Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, signed a joint suicide pact threatening retaliatory

00:08:03.500 tariffs and other export restrictions if Trump follows through on his tariff threat.

00:08:08.060 Now, who in their right mind would think that this country, with our deteriorating public

00:08:12.480 institutions, a prorogued parliament, paralyzing environmental regulations, and a government that

00:08:17.780 just keeps getting bigger could actually win a trade war with the United States. It's self-defeating

00:08:23.840 and delusional. Any retaliation, whether it be on auto parts, softwood, lumber, or natural resources

00:08:29.780 such as oil and gas, would have a greater negative impact on Canada's economy than it would the

00:08:34.680 United States. Instead of taunts and retaliation, what we should be doing is diplomatically

00:08:39.820 negotiating and finding areas of common ground with the incoming Trump administration. This is

00:08:45.400 exactly what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was doing, being the lone holdout in the delusional

00:08:51.160 joint statement put out by every other Canadian premier, also signed by Justin Trudeau. This week,

00:08:57.600 she went to Washington, met with American governors, cabinet members, congressmen,

00:09:03.060 and women, senators, and talked about the benefits of free trade with our American counterparts. 1.00

00:09:08.960 Smith, in stark contrast to our short-sighted politicians in the rest of the country,

00:09:14.320 decided to pull out the charm offensive, talking up the mutual benefits of North American energy

00:09:19.860 security. This is an exceptionally prudent message, given that on Monday, President Trump

00:09:25.760 declared a national energy emergency south of the border, and it's exactly what Smith should be

00:09:30.620 doing. Free trade is a good thing. Think about it this way. The division of labor drives prosperity

00:09:36.660 by allowing individuals and industries to focus on what they do best. Productivity and innovation

00:09:42.560 multiply, creating opportunities for everyone in a well-functioning trade relationship.

00:09:48.160 Countries develop industries organically from the products and services that they are able to

00:09:52.640 create. Natural resource industries, such as agriculture and mining, produce primary products

00:09:58.120 that are then manufactured into products that are then consumed, such as computers and bread.

00:10:04.400 A good business doesn't waste resources trying to make something it can buy more efficiently

00:10:09.340 elsewhere. The grocer doesn't grow the grain or make the bread. Hotel chains don't generate their

00:10:15.120 own electricity. The same principle applies to international trade. When a business practice or

00:10:21.560 trade benefits a country, opening it up to free competition only makes it better. Free and open

00:10:28.040 markets push innovation, drive down costs, and deliver more value to consumers. Policies should

00:10:34.760 focus on maximizing benefits for the people who buy goods and services, not just protecting those

00:10:40.200 who make them. Free trade is rooted in the principles of mutual benefit, individual liberty

00:10:45.460 and human cooperation. It allows people to specialize in what they do best and exchange

00:10:50.600 goods and services with others who do the same. This system creates value that benefits everyone

00:10:56.320 involved, fostering prosperity and innovation. Free trade ensures that customers have access

00:11:02.320 to a wider variety of goods and services at lower prices, improving their standard of living.

00:11:07.620 It levels the playing field, allowing businesses and workers from anywhere in the world to compete

00:11:12.300 based on merit, innovation, and hard work. More often than not, blocking free trade often protects

00:11:18.060 special interests at the expense of the public, driving up costs on essential goods and services.

00:11:24.120 Free trade also promotes peace and understanding. For generations, Canada and the United States have

00:11:29.900 become increasingly economically interdependent, which has reduced the likelihood of conflict.

00:11:35.800 I believe that a stronger trade relationship between our nations will build trust and encourage

00:11:40.740 collaboration across borders, since humanity shares common goals of progress, prosperity,

00:11:46.240 and stability. Economic isolation, on the other hand, breeds mistrust and resentment,

00:11:52.640 weakening the ties that bind us together as a global community. No single country has all the

00:11:58.500 resources, skills, or climate conditions needed to thrive in isolation.

00:12:03.500 All that being said, Trump's frustration with Canada is not a new development in cross-border

00:12:08.580 relations. His first term as president was defined in many ways by intense negotiations on the old

00:12:14.880 free trade agreement, commonly known as NAFTA. Then, as he is threatening now, Trump implemented

00:12:21.220 tariffs as a response to trade barriers, border security, and a lack of defense spending

00:12:26.180 commitments from Canada and Mexico. As negotiations dragged on, Trump's intent became clear. He wanted

00:12:33.900 all Canadian protectionist policies eliminated. The United States International Trade Administration,

00:12:40.900 a U.S. government resource, identifies several trade barriers that exist between Canada and the

00:12:45.740 United States. These include the system of supply management in our dairy industry,

00:12:52.520 digital services taxation as well as various policies of the canadian radio television and

00:12:58.240 telecommunications commission the crtc that's a bit of a muscle and i didn't swear

00:13:02.260 in 2018 at the height of the usmca negotiations trump had this to say no tariffs no barriers

00:13:11.040 that's the way it should be and no subsidies where in other words let's say canada where we

00:13:17.480 have tremendous tariffs. The U.S. pays tremendous tariffs on dairy, as an example, 270%. We don't

00:13:23.460 want to pay anything. Why should we pay anything? Now, pardon me for not doing a Trump impression.

00:13:28.400 I don't have a very good one, but I assume you can picture how he would say that. I always end

00:13:33.820 up sounding like Robert De Niro. Anyways, Trump would eventually approve the renegotiated NAFTA,

00:13:39.660 renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which left the dairy tariffs in place.

00:13:45.900 But he clearly had reservations, hence the 25% tariff threat.

00:13:51.120 And the threat is a serious one, given Canada's weak position in the relationship.

00:13:55.440 Our economy, relative to the United States, is fading.

00:13:58.800 We are getting poorer.

00:14:00.520 This can be attributed to disastrous economic policies under a tax and spend liberal NDP government that has squeezed out foreign investment.

00:14:07.840 Capital investment in Canada is so dire that former federal finance minister Christian Freeland enlisted ex-Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Pelosi to pressure the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board into investing more money in Canadian companies.

00:14:23.280 At the same time, government spending has skyrocketed, as have taxes.

00:14:28.760 Ottawa's fixation on destroying Canada's energy industry, heavily concentrated in Alberta, has long been a point of contention in Confederation.

00:14:37.840 Continuously kneecapping the industry that powers every other industry, combined with inflationary government spending, has had the undesired effect of creating an affordability crisis.

00:14:50.020 Retaliatory tariffs, especially given the decline of our economy relative to the United States, is going to hurt Canada much worse than it will the United States.

00:14:59.640 What we should be doing is finding ways that we can better collaborate, ways that we can help each other.

00:15:05.160 As an export-based economy, the majority of Canadian business activity is involved in producing and manufacturing products that are then sold to international buyers for use in their markets.

00:15:15.740 If we don't have foreign markets to sell these products to, these industries will wilt, compounding economic pressures within our borders.

00:15:23.440 So in that sense, Canada is for sale.

00:15:26.720 Someone needs to get that message to Team Canada.

00:15:29.300 Ontario Premier Doug Ford estimates that the 25% tariff could cause job losses in the range of 500,000 in his province.

00:15:38.780 Manitoba Premier Wab Kanu has stated that Manitoba would go into a recession.

00:15:43.940 In British Columbia, where 54% of all exports go to the United States,

00:15:48.800 Provincial Finance Minister Brenda Bailey is predicting losses of $69 billion by 2028.

00:15:54.820 In 2023, Saskatchewan exported $26.9 billion worth of goods to the United States

00:16:01.000 after hitting an all-time high of $29.3 billion in 2022.

00:16:05.280 The point I'm trying to make here is that no single province is immune.

00:16:08.860 What do these premiers think is going to happen when they slap an additional tariff

00:16:12.780 on the Canadian side of the border?

00:16:15.160 Given our current situation, I'd argue that things are going to get dire in Canada

00:16:18.840 way faster than they are in the United States.

00:16:21.200 As I've said, we rely on them much more than they rely on us.

00:16:25.640 So that means that the Team Canada approach, escalate and retaliate, is a bad one.

00:16:30.900 Ford has even gone as far as taunting the president.

00:16:34.100 Chrystia Freeland and Justin Trudeau also thought that taunting Trump was a good idea back in 2016.

00:16:39.860 Note, it wasn't.

00:16:41.600 Not only that, but by wearing a Canada is not for sale hat,

00:16:44.940 Ford sent a clear message to the world that Canada,

00:16:47.640 despite needing access to global markets to maintain our standard of living is closed for

00:16:53.420 business. Donald Trump has a long memory and a proverbial gun pointed right at our fundamental

00:16:59.020 economic drivers. We need cool heads making these decisions. Taunting the president,

00:17:04.780 as Ford and Trudeau have done, is not going to help ease tensions. Not only that, but we

00:17:09.620 consistently refuse to remove trade barriers, limiting our ability to expand trade relationships

00:17:16.400 with other foreign countries.

00:17:18.160 This, in turn, makes us more dependent on the United States

00:17:21.020 and contributes to lagging productivity

00:17:23.060 and limits our ability to grow economically.

00:17:26.820 To make matters worse,

00:17:28.540 our political situation has descended into pure chaos.

00:17:32.280 Facing an internal revolt,

00:17:34.160 Trudeau announced his intention to resign

00:17:36.020 as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister

00:17:38.220 once the Liberals select his replacement.

00:17:40.960 While the Liberals iron out internal divisions,

00:17:43.240 Parliament has been prorogued until March 24th.

00:17:46.400 So while we have a trade situation quickly descending into an unwinnable trade war, we also don't have a functioning government.

00:17:54.960 All the opposition parties, including Jagmeet Singh's New Democrats, have made it clear that they will vote to oust the minority liberals at the earliest opportunity.

00:18:04.200 It remains to be seen whether or not the political calculus by the premiers on joining Trudeau's Team Canada will work out in the long run.

00:18:12.420 The Prime Minister's unpopularity has a tendency to rub off on those he's closely associated with.

00:18:18.440 Our lame duck Prime Minister has even gone ahead and appointed an 18-member Canada-U.S. Relations Committee,

00:18:23.780 a crack team of politicians and diplomats that include Canada's U.S. Ambassador Kristen Hillman

00:18:29.360 and other former premiers Jean Charest, Stephen McNeil, and the other half of the Trudeau-Notley alliance, Rachel Notley.

00:18:37.100 That's right.

00:18:38.180 The woman who is unceremoniously voted out of power by Albertans in 2019 and failed at

00:18:43.580 her redemption bid for the premier's chair in 2023 is Alberta's representation.

00:18:48.320 Remember when she was trying to convince everybody that she wasn't the other half of the Trudeau

00:18:52.100 and Notley alliance?

00:18:53.700 Well, that ship has clearly sailed.

00:18:56.280 No one should be surprised that Smith threw a line in the sand, especially when the prime

00:19:01.200 minister is appointing political opponents of hers to high profile positions.

00:19:05.600 Also, the view that Smith's actions serve as a betrayal, while at the same time calling for the country to sacrifice our economy for some twisted idea of postmodern patriotism, is unacceptable.

00:19:17.940 Unlike the rest of the country, I am not comfortable following Justin Trudeau into a trade war with the United States, a country far more powerful than ours.

00:19:27.740 I know the devastation that comes with the recession.

00:19:30.960 People lose their jobs, families fall apart.

00:19:33.840 And if we can avoid that somehow, I know that I would be grateful.

00:19:38.320 And I know that our viewers don't want to see a recession either.

00:19:41.840 And if not agreeing to a suicide pact makes Albertans traitors,

00:19:45.600 then what hope do we have to maintain national unity as our economic situation deteriorates?

00:19:52.300 Are we just supposed to shut up and go along as our prime minister drives our economy off a cliff?

00:19:58.100 I'm not.

00:19:58.620 I want free trade. I think we should have a barrier-free relationship with the United States.

00:20:05.040 I think that our exporters should have access to American markets and that our consumers should be

00:20:10.000 able to purchase American products. I believe that our national economy, as our cattle and

00:20:15.480 energy industries have proven, can compete with the United States. And the more competition,

00:20:21.400 the better the product. If putting the prosperity of Albertans before the ambitions of a federal

00:20:27.700 government that has consistently attacked the livelihoods of my friends and family makes me

00:20:33.420 a traitor, then so be it. I do not want to go through another recession, especially if it's

00:20:39.540 self-inflicted. And if our country was stronger economically, I might be more inclined to believe

00:20:45.920 the rhetoric that Canada's response needs to be strong and we need to show that we are a force

00:20:50.580 to be reckoned with. But we're not. And we won't be as long as the liberal NDP alliance is still

00:20:57.160 running the show in Ottawa. I think we should be trying to find ways to eliminate barriers to

00:21:02.800 trade with a market that wants the goods that we specialize in producing. If we don't, we will

00:21:08.320 continue to get poorer and poorer, watching the world thrive around us. In my mind, the solution

00:21:14.140 is obvious. What we really need is an election. Political paralysis is only going to deepen

00:21:20.540 economic pain. And a strong approach from Team Canada here is going to hurt Team Canada.

00:21:26.840 Canadians deserve a say.

00:21:29.100 We should get to vote on the best path forward

00:21:31.840 instead of blindly following a liberal government

00:21:35.880 that has lost control of its own party.

00:21:38.660 We need an election so that a new government

00:21:41.000 with a fresh mandate from the people

00:21:42.980 can advocate for Canada for what we want

00:21:45.900 and what we ask for.

00:21:47.740 We need an election so that we can engage

00:21:49.980 in a peaceful academic debate

00:21:52.000 about the most important relationship

00:21:53.860 that our country has.

00:21:55.960 it's almost poetic isn't it democracy is the key to avoiding the potentially disastrous trade war

00:22:02.760 with canada's largest trading partner unfortunately we're stuck with a liberal government that seems

00:22:08.040 determined to take canada down with them it's frustrating anyways my next guest was born and

00:22:15.600 raised in newfoundland after earning a degree in agriculture from the university of guelph he

00:22:20.540 worked in various agricultural jobs in ontario newfoundland and british columbia before moving

00:22:24.820 to the Red Deer area in 1999 as an insurance broker, providing financial security advice

00:22:30.060 and products to small businesses. Since early adulthood, he's been passionate regarding politics

00:22:35.280 and policy. He appeared before the Chiray Commission in 1990, speaking in opposition

00:22:40.100 to the Meech Lake Accord, and in the same year, presented in-camera recommendations to the

00:22:45.040 Newfoundland Task Force on Agri-Foods for reform of both the federal and provincial agriculture

00:22:51.640 departments for the past 15 years he has been active on policy issues for the conservative

00:22:56.680 party of canada the wild rose party the united conservative party the town of veniceville and

00:23:00.920 the red deer chamber of commerce he has worked to develop policy positions ranging from the

00:23:05.720 wheat board reform to health care to finance and tax his name is gord kulk and he's a director at

00:23:12.600 the free market think tank libertas alberta thanks for joining me gord i want to get started uh first

00:23:18.120 First of all, what was your reaction to the Premier's joint statement?

00:23:23.540 Not Danielle Smith, the one Danielle Smith put out, 0.99

00:23:25.540 but the response with Doug Ford and Scott Moe sitting at that press conference

00:23:30.840 and right beside Justin Trudeau.

00:23:33.320 What were your thoughts on that?

00:23:35.620 In one word, disgust.

00:23:39.120 We're seeing the politicization of an issue that,

00:23:43.840 donald trump wants to uh to address which is border security somebody's can you hear me okay

00:23:54.340 there josh buddy i can hear you i i'm when you guys are we good we got audio okay you're good

00:24:01.700 yeah nobody swore either so point that oh yeah so i'm disgusted that we've got people who purport

00:24:07.100 be conservatives uh engaging in anti-free trade uh rhetoric pulling on the the mystic chords with

00:24:15.580 apologies to abraham lincoln uh of our genesis in this country which was fundamentally protectionist

00:24:23.260 and anti-american uh and now it's becoming political looks like mr premier ford is going

00:24:29.100 to run an election on an anti-trump anti-american platform um and it's all about they don't want to

00:24:36.460 look at in the mirror and say you know we do have a border issue yesterday donald trump's released

00:24:42.140 long lengthy release was in regards to canada all he's interested is border security he's got

00:24:48.140 nothing tariffs is the weapon to push us towards that and instead of doing the right thing and

00:24:54.220 react and addressing that issue which i think most viewers and most conservatives in canada agree is

00:24:59.020 isn't a severe issue uh these guys have devolved into politicizing free trade and uh going into a

00:25:06.860 protectionist huddle against this evil american empire and it's disgusting to me i think i thought

00:25:12.400 we were past this but we're not obviously so yeah no we shouldn't be surprised by it i guess

00:25:19.220 i think that's probably my fault or i think a lot of canadians fault that canada's all central

00:25:24.420 canada especially has always been protectionist that's that's why it exists that's why it's

00:25:29.220 prospered for 150 years so i guess we shouldn't be surprised no and i even i didn't talk about

00:25:36.900 much my monologue but the history here is like the monologue by the way well done yeah thank you um

00:25:43.540 but i don't want to get too flattered here but um yeah it's it's just one of those things where

00:25:50.500 like it is frustrating because like it but it is a point of contention and has been within

00:25:55.060 confederation for generations you can go back to one of the one of the first elect federal

00:25:59.620 elections that was fought after alberta and saskatchewan were divided and created in but

00:26:04.180 we got provincehood was over the concept of reciprocity which the west wanted free trade

00:26:09.460 with the united states just be simply because it was easier to send stuff to chicago or la than it

00:26:14.340 it was to ship at the Toronto, right, or to Ontario factories. So in a sense, Western Canada

00:26:20.460 has been almost a captive market to the East within Confederation. And so, yeah, I don't think

00:26:29.740 anybody should be surprised about the motivations of the Premier and what's going on. But I guess

00:26:37.140 that really brings me to my next question is, are we truly a trading nation? And I think you

00:26:43.780 you touched on this, or are we destined as a country to be a captive market? We can't get

00:26:51.460 pipelines to export our energy products. We had a trade deal fall through with England, I think,

00:26:59.900 recently over supply management. Are we destined to be a captive market,

00:27:05.000 or is there a way that we can break out of this?

00:27:07.700 we there's been books written about the two solitudes and we've always understood the two

00:27:14.900 solitudes to be english french but there's another two solitudes and it's an economic

00:27:20.600 solitudes there's the free trade side and there's the protectionist side

00:27:26.060 uh eight of the ten provinces are massive trade uh entities that's what our alberta

00:27:34.080 is the it has more of its economy based on trade than any other sex uh jurisdiction in the

00:27:42.540 democratic world with the possible exception of Saskatchewan we have a trade surplus with

00:27:47.760 the United States that is double the next largest jurisdiction which is China okay most of Canada

00:27:56.340 eight of ten provinces trade is why we exist but in a significant segment of Ontario and Quebec

00:28:04.020 quebec montreal and eastern townships and south southern ontario their raise on debt from the

00:28:09.940 beginning in canada was to be the provider of materials and services to the captive market

00:28:17.060 that they had in the rest of canada natural trade flows in north america are north south not east

00:28:24.580 west almost by definition canada is anti-free trade just in its geography because the natural

00:28:30.740 trades routes are north-south just as our migratory trade routes are north-south i'm

00:28:35.700 going to guess that cory is somewhere south of alberta he's not east of alberta no or west of

00:28:42.100 alberta um so we've always fought against that natural gravitational flow of economics um so

00:28:49.460 here we are again ontario and quebec fighting gravity if you will and co-opting the mystic

00:28:57.780 chords of our anti-americanism xenophobia that many people in this country still share

00:29:04.740 and i thought these battles were over with fta um you mentioned some elections about alberta

00:29:10.900 trying to get better trade access with i'm old enough to remember and i suspect most of the

00:29:16.020 viewers of this program remember the fta battles with john turner and and brian will rooney

00:29:22.580 and we thought that you know that battle had been won but clearly it has not and clearly ontario

00:29:27.060 still sits behind and prospers only in a broad sense in areas sectors that are protected

00:29:36.100 communications uh air transportation banking insurance um supply management and all of those

00:29:44.500 sectors are crushing and and stunting our productivity growth and that's why we are

00:29:50.900 in decline as a country this is the real fundamental thing we are declining as a country

00:29:56.100 because we cannot break free from the anti-free trade uh paralysis that exists in central canada

00:30:05.380 and that you've got guys like uh premier mo and others signing on to that falling back into that

00:30:13.380 toxic rhetoric um is it is it is a travesty and may ultimately tear this country apart so yeah

00:30:20.740 i think that's part of it too is yeah like it's exposed like we we knew these these fractures

00:30:27.840 were here we knew there was division within confederation but i i the way that the east

00:30:33.120 is almost reacted as if standing up for the intro and and understanding that hey even if we retaliate

00:30:38.740 it's going to hurt us worse than it's going to hurt the east or it's going to hurt the united

00:30:42.820 states just based on how much we're uh we rely on them for trade um but also like and you mentioned

00:30:50.020 the migratory patterns and i know like my all four of my grandparents were born in alberta but i

00:30:55.800 believe they all for uh their families immigrated from the united states and so you do have in a

00:31:03.480 way a different culture here but i do want to talk about the border security and defense spending

00:31:09.560 first of all let's start with border security uh you've we've obviously seen the government of

00:31:14.940 canada and the government of alberta and saskatchewan take some actions do you think what

00:31:18.440 they're doing is enough to alleviate some of the pressures between Canada and the United States,

00:31:23.640 at least on the border security angle. We'll get into defense spending after, but let's just focus

00:31:28.940 on that right now. I very much welcome whatever efforts the provinces take towards securing the

00:31:37.100 border as much as they can, but clearly this is a federal jurisdiction in most respects,

00:31:43.280 uh and we have a government currently with the liberal the nldp who prosper politically by by

00:31:54.040 uh ignoring our responsibilities of being a good neighbor and ensuring our borders are strong not

00:31:59.940 just borders from canada into the u.s but people coming into canada who then use us as a trans

00:32:06.400 transition point if you will uh into the united states if you look at some of the terrorist uh

00:32:13.820 activities that were broken up in in the northeastern u.s they trace back to montreal

00:32:19.500 they trace back to toronto um trump has a point and the federal government would rather

00:32:28.540 use it as a political look at trump not lighting it liking us and wanting to go to bat rather than

00:32:33.820 saying trump has a point we agree i think that what i would really like to see is prayer quality

00:32:39.660 to frame it that way that the you know that the president that americans have a point we need to

00:32:44.460 secure our borders as do the americans um and along with whatever activities our province and other

00:32:52.540 provinces do to to to work against or what the liberal governments have been letting go um i

00:32:59.740 think we may get some accommodation from uh uh president trump and i think president trump has

00:33:05.900 already backed off substantially from what he said he was going to do it didn't happen on day one

00:33:10.140 he's talked about gradual tariffs it's not till february one and he's taken defense off the table

00:33:17.180 already he's only talking about border security now so yeah i'm all about things too don't get

00:33:23.100 me wrong i think i think we should be proactive on the defensive side i think we need to don't

00:33:28.060 don't wait for trump to come at us with another threat in regards to defense say yeah we're

00:33:32.380 committed to to properly defending our borders well and i think that kind of goes to the point

00:33:38.620 and and this will tie in with my next question as well we've seen instances uh widely reported of

00:33:45.500 uh chinese i believe it's military submarines within the area of greenland and off the borders

00:33:52.300 of greenland and and i think that kind of brings like there's a lot going on here obviously with

00:33:58.860 the tariffs and this is a very complex uh negotiation or maybe it's not a negotiation

00:34:04.860 maybe trump is serious i personally do think that most of trump's posturing has been trade

00:34:09.500 negotiation i think he does want uh free flow borders but he his point on on military spending

00:34:15.500 with greenland is that denmark isn't doing enough to to monitor danish borders uh to

00:34:22.940 foreign interference and just given the i think there's a cable a transatlantic cable that goes

00:34:27.900 in that area as well they're not defending it very well i was wondering if you could comment

00:34:30.780 on that and just kind of talk about the motivations that trump's bringing the table

00:34:34.140 why does he why is he turning the temperature up and and what uh military uh like what commitments

00:34:42.620 can we make as a country to kind of like you said be proactive well let me first frame from from an

00:34:49.820 american's perspective though i'm not an american maybe with the exception of israel no country has

00:34:56.780 a bigger target on its back than america is and if a lot of what trump is proposing to do in the

00:35:02.620 future from from a from a jacksonian standpoint from an american greatness standpoint putting

00:35:09.340 america front and center on the stage um he's right to be concerned about securing his borders

00:35:16.220 securing his interests and those borders don't start at coney island those borders extend far

00:35:24.060 out into the ocean and protecting american interests and we are a big big part of that

00:35:29.660 we share the longest border with them we as a country have the largest coastline in the world

00:35:35.820 by a very large margin we have more territorial maritime waters than any other country on earth

00:35:41.980 for 40 million people we need the united states to work with us to defend those things

00:35:46.780 to a much better degree than we have and we completely ignored that and it's entirely

00:35:50.940 understandable that uh president trump would make gestures toward greenland and call us out on our

00:35:57.100 lack of of uh prioritizing defending our borders and working with the united states to increase

00:36:02.460 and and maintain that defense so again trump has a point trump often has a good point yeah he always

00:36:12.060 very often ill frames it alarms people upsets people um causes a lot of ill ill um on unexpected

00:36:22.860 uh responses uh his talk on tariffs has stirred up this whole canadian two solitudes issue i don't

00:36:33.100 think that was his calculation when he said those things so yeah getting back to the fence i feel

00:36:40.140 that uh it's long overdue i would very much like the conservative party to adopt rhetoric

00:36:45.660 such that's calling for a new norad telling president trump when not if the conservative

00:36:51.660 party wins the next election we will work rapidly towards re-establishing what norad is in the 21st

00:36:59.180 century um i think that canada to be blunt cannot defend all of its waters it cannot build a navy

00:37:07.020 big enough and adequate enough to totally defend its waters it needs america's help but there are

00:37:12.700 things canadian can do from a military standpoint and projecting of and defending our interests in

00:37:18.540 america's interests in other aspects that the united states would very much welcome and uh and

00:37:24.940 but we need to talk we need to acknowledge that we need to do better and we need to have america

00:37:30.060 work with us to defend our borders and therefore defend theirs i don't know if that helped josh

00:37:35.900 but there you go yeah we're still got eight minutes to fill so no no no listen

00:37:44.700 here's my vision of defense what i want what i want to be okay is i want canada to be israel north

00:37:52.780 i want to be the tip of the spear in terms of projecting in a very sharp uh sharp way

00:37:59.980 uh our interests america's interests and the free world's interest i would like if we are

00:38:05.740 really going to do what he talked about hell to pay it which don't get me started on that how to

00:38:10.540 pay he he hasn't done any of that but if we're going to take out tehran okay if we're going to

00:38:16.300 take out the mullahs in tehran and it's going to take military action i want canadian special forces 0.91

00:38:21.820 in there right next door to israeli special forces and we're the ones hitching the logistical ride

00:38:27.820 on american carriers and american fuelers that's what we can do if we go to america and say

00:38:33.580 where we have areas where we can project power on our joint behalf but with a canadian flag

00:38:40.140 attached to with canadian people on the ground because american people on the ground is too

00:38:45.180 disruptive if you get what i'm saying i think that's the role we can play that's the kind of

00:38:50.700 ally we should be and i know a lot of people bridle at that kind of thing but we cannot we

00:38:58.060 have this huge country we literally do not have the gdp to build a you know a true blue water navy

00:39:06.540 to handle that and and air force we need the we need to get under like we've always

00:39:12.060 have been for many many many years under the american umbrella but we need to help that

00:39:17.820 umbrella the guy the country holding that umbrella to extend and protect the outer fringes of that

00:39:23.660 umbrella and that's our role so anyway it's yeah no i got one more question here uh yeah um all

00:39:32.220 right so uh we saw the other day uh on monday during the inauguration i guess after the inauguration

00:39:38.620 uh trump declared what's called an energy emergency and this might be an easy one for you so uh i i um

00:39:46.060 but in terms of competition as well across border energy competition we have in canada a situation

00:39:53.260 where we have a carbon tax we have a tanker ban we have all of these federal policies and i could

00:39:59.260 i could list them but that would take forever um we've got all these policies that are limiting

00:40:04.220 our ability to produce energy and compete which is likely contributing to the discount and now

00:40:09.580 we have an america that is drill baby drill um how do you see this impacting uh not only

00:40:15.820 our energy markets in canada but how is this going to like is it going to lead to a more

00:40:24.060 uh loose regulatory environment in canada in the long run is it going to impact uh

00:40:28.860 election chances like what are we looking at here uh how does how does how does the

00:40:34.220 the Trump approach to energy differ from Canada

00:40:38.840 and how is that going to impact our economy?

00:40:42.260 Well, again, look back.

00:40:46.660 Why does Trump want to unleash energy,

00:40:49.180 unleash the oil and gas sector in the United States?

00:40:52.140 Strategic, right?

00:40:54.240 You can chart the power flexing

00:40:57.220 and the power brokering of our enemies

00:41:00.120 to the price of oil.

00:41:03.660 When the price of oil is high, they become stronger.

00:41:07.300 If we want to weaken our enemies and at the same time vastly improve the productivity and growth and wealth of our own countries, cheap energy is the way forward.

00:41:16.620 So he's treating energy as a strategic asset that Americans forever have not exploited.

00:41:24.300 And he's unleashing that.

00:41:25.900 I think that's an enormously important first step.

00:41:29.260 Clearly, Keystone is going to be opened up, Excel.

00:41:33.420 but we need to follow their suit now back in the day when frack or when oil sands was first

00:41:39.340 being truly recognized for the asset it was there was not a single day in the house in the congress

00:41:46.220 where somebody in the congress got up and spoke about the importance of canadian oil sands to

00:41:52.940 strategic uh issues in in the united states we along with the united states can crush the cost

00:41:59.500 of energy around the globe and by doing so crush our enemies can alberta's most important strategic

00:42:08.300 asset to the free world is the development and expansion of our oil and gas sectors period and

00:42:16.540 if pierre foliev can work with along with trump and and the americans to truly unleash our oil

00:42:24.780 and gas sector and frankly our coal sector uh we will destroy our enemies economically

00:42:31.900 and we will also prosper enormously as a result so yeah i want i want what trump wants in canada

00:42:41.020 okay i want trump looking to canada as not a foreign uh source of oil and gas and most americans

00:42:49.420 don't by the way most americans consider containing oil gas as a domestic supply not from a we own it

00:42:56.500 but from it's that safe it's that reliable we can count on okay all right well thank you to

00:43:04.540 gorge talk uh we are pretty much out of time i'm getting people telling me that we're out of time

00:43:09.960 um so thank you very much we talked about uh everybody that was gorge talk uh he is a director

00:43:14.960 at Libertas Alberta. Long time

00:43:16.920 at, I call him

00:43:18.900 an academic. I don't know if he's a formal academic,

00:43:20.760 but he's one of the smartest people I know, so I

00:43:22.760 decided to have him on the show.

00:43:24.840 So, again, thank you to all

00:43:26.760 of our viewers, and again, this is my last

00:43:28.880 show. I think Corey might

00:43:30.760 be still on vacation. I don't know.

00:43:32.980 I've never told anything around here.

00:43:35.240 So, I just wanted to

00:43:36.480 do a shout-out to the team here. They've done a

00:43:38.700 fantastic job letting

00:43:40.680 me kind of come in and do what I want.

00:43:42.600 Special thanks go to Dave Naylor and Corey Morgan

00:43:44.700 for going on vacation thanks for the opportunity to give me here for um those of you who aren't

00:43:50.740 subscribers please go to www.westernstandard.news subscription subscriptions options are ten dollars

00:43:56.680 a month or a hundred dollars for the year uh i would recommend doing the year if that's just my

00:44:04.020 call um and that's really what keeps the lights on the western standard is an independent voice

00:44:09.420 of the west we did not show up for the bailout when the federal government was handing out money

00:44:14.320 we are independent of federal government uh bailout money i guess you could say and uh we

00:44:21.020 plan on being remaining the independent voice of the west so anyways thank you very much for

00:44:25.780 being on the show and uh for joining me today have a nice day

00:44:44.320 Thank you.

00:45:14.320 We'll be right back.

Western Standard - January 23, 2025

The Cory Morgan Show 2025 Ep 4

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