Warren — Musings —

In 1988, an entire election was fought on trade. In 2015, I’d be willing to bet that a majority of Canadians didn’t even know the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks were taking place.

As of this hour, that is about to change, I think. And – barring any niqab/citizenship/barbaric practices shiny balls being rolled across the public agenda again – I think TPP is going to be the big story for the final two weeks. Thus, the party talking points, helpfully rendered with colour-coded bolding:

Conservatives: The Harper government fought hard for this deal, which will open up markets to Canadian goods and services, and create jobs and prosperity for generations. A vote for CPC is a vote for TPP.

The Harper government fought hard for this deal, which will open up markets to Canadian goods and services, and create jobs and prosperity for generations. A vote for CPC is a vote for TPP. New Democrats: This deal was negotiated in secret, in the middle of an election campaign, and will sell out Canadian jobs and sovereignty on a historic scale. A vote for NDP is a vote to kill TPP.

This deal was negotiated in secret, in the middle of an election campaign, and will sell out Canadian jobs and sovereignty on a historic scale. A vote for NDP is a vote to kill TPP. Liberals: TPP was negotiated in secret, without transparency or a mandate, and we therefore don’t know what’s in it. A Liberal government won’t sign on until we have a chance to evaluate it. A vote for LPC is a vote to slow down on TPP.

It is in the interests of both the Cons and the Dippers to make TPP a big deal. As with ISIS, C-51, etc., their parties offer clear and diametrically-opposed positions. They will want to use TPP to force Grits into the mushy middle, so that no one really knows where they stand on a critically-important issue.

Here we go!