Stephen Harper stands up for Canada

It's pretty rare that I agree with anything that Conservative ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper says. But strange times make for strange bedfellows, as they probably say.

In comparison to some of the garbage spewing from Donald Trump's mouth, Harper sounds eminently sensible and positively statesmanlike. In particular, his responses to Trump's recent drivel concerning US-Canadian relations on an American podcast were right on the nail.

He started off thumping the tub a bit in response to Trump's threats to use "economic force" to make Canada into the 51st state: " We are Canadian, not American, and we want to be friends, not, as they say, annexed."

But some of his responses to Trump's more specific grouses were better. To Trump's assertions that the US is subsidizing Canada and that it does not need Canada's exports anyway, Harper pointed out that, "It's true that Canada presently has a modest trade surplus with the United States. The reason we do is because you buy so much of our oil and gas." Well, duh!

Furthermore, "Maybe Canadians, if Mr. Trump feels this way, should be looking at selling their oil and gas to other people. We certainly have always wanted to do some of that - maybe now's the time to do it." And because we sell to the US at discounted prices, "In fact, you buy it at a discount to world markets. It's actually Canada that subsidizes the United States in this regard".

On illegal immigration from Canada to the US, Harper say, "There is no migrant flow happening from Canada to the United States of any significant numbers, and I'm going to tell you right now, drugs, guns, crime, most of those things flow north, not south. A lot more flows into Canada from the United States than flows out of it." Quite.

Canada's reliance on US military protection? "When we talk about subsidizing Canadian defense, I don't know what he's talking about. We have a shared defense of North America, and the United States does that because it's in the vital interest of the United States." Pow!

Trump's claim that he helped push out Justin Trudeau? "Whether or not we have Mr. Trudeau as our prime minister is our choice as Canadians. You know, we don't tell you whom to elect as president of the United States ... This is not Mr. Trump's decision. It's the decision of Canadians." 

And finally, if Pierre Poilievre is elected as Prime Minister: "If the United States actually threatens the sovereignty and independence of Canada, Mr. Poilievre will be forced to take a very different approach to Canada's place in the world." Right on!

I never liked Stephen Harper, either the man or his politics. But there he was, in Trump's own house, doing a pretty good job of standing up for Canada. Granted, it's easier because he is no longer in government, and can afford to make himself objectionable. But good job, I say.