Carney’s Imaginary Deals
Ottawa, ON – Adam Chambers, Conservative Shadow Minister for International Trade, issued the following statement on Prime Minister Carney’s trip to Mexico:
“While the Prime Minister continues to tour abroad and meet with foreign leaders, he comes back with nothing of any substance to show for it. He’s blown past his own deadlines with the United States – both July 21st and then August 1st went by with no trade deal.
“Carney promised elbows up, but he’s been elbows down. And where he goes, his press releases follow with corporate jargon like:
- ‘Promote and strengthen cooperation’
- ‘Focus coordinated efforts’
- ‘Strive to facilitate public investments’
- ‘Coordinate support and de-risking’
- ‘Encourage commercial partnerships’
- ‘Joint assessment and mitigation’
“His own Joint Declaration of Intent with Germany on Critical Minerals confirms it ‘is not legally binding and does not create any financial commitment.’
“Mark Carney’s visit to Mexico is his tenth international trip, but instead of securing investment or new markets for our goods, he signed a ‘strategic partnership’ that fails to provide any actual commitments on investment, trade, or economic development.
“Today, Carney risks making the same mistakes of his predecessor. The last time our Prime Minister flew to Mexico in the middle of NAFTA talks, photo-ops delivered nothing for Canada while Mexico quietly advanced its own deal with the United States. Today, Carney is repeating the same mistakes — lots of rhetoric and meetings, no results.
“The agreement calls for lofty ‘cooperation’, ‘dialogue’, ‘opportunities’, and even a ‘sherpa’ from his own cabinet, but delivers nothing for Canadian workers and industries. Instead, Canada is paying $9.9 million to fix Mexico’s drug crisis and train their workers while we receive nothing in return – only empty promises of ‘more opportunities’ to come with no timeline or details.
“The Liberals’ lack of leadership leaves Canada behind. While Mexico secured tariff relief and increased their trade with the US in the last quarter by 1.4 per cent, Canada’s decreased by 18 per cent. Mark Carney promised the fastest-growing economy in the G7, but delivered the fastest-shrinking economy in the G7. Mexico’s economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter of the year while Canada’s economy recorded a 0.4 per cent drop. Meanwhile, Mexico’s unemployment was at 2.8 per cent in July compared to Canada’s worrying unemployment rate of 7.1 per cent in August.
“What is Mexico getting right that this Prime Minister is getting so wrong?
“Canada must be strong, united and ready to build. Conservatives will meet the ambition of Carney’s words with action by putting forward the Canadian Sovereignty Act to legalize rapid resource development, reward those who build in Canada and protect Canadian innovation.
“Conservatives are ready to work with anyone, from any party, to secure the best deal for Canada.”