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Our two closest allies, the British and the Americans, have left Canada to its fate

Then there is our parlous relationship with the U.S., which buys 76 per cent of our exports. Freeland pontificated about America’s withdrawal from world leadership. The PM remained quiet during the G7 Summit in Charlevoix and apparently promised not to include his favourite progressive items in the joint communique. Then, when President Donald Trump flew off for his historic meeting with Kim Jong un, Trudeau reneged on the promise and boasted that Canada would not be pushed around. You might think Godzilla wouldn’t care about taunts from Bambi. But with so much at stake, it was unforgivably irresponsible to take a chance.

In spite of the asymmetrical economic relationship with the U.S., our NAFTA negotiators insisted on pushing progressive obsessions and defending indefensible dairy protectionism. Furthermore, the foreign affairs establishment inexplicably believed we had to stick with Mexico, even though Canada does not pose comparable trading challenges for the Americans. Now we are reduced to watching our two erstwhile partners cut a deal that may force us to make significant concessions to stay engaged.

Photo by Paul Chiasson/CP

Sanctimony and hypocrisy are uneasy bedfellows, which brings up the stark contradictions between virtue signalling and actual behaviour. Until its surprising support for a Conservative motion in June, the government had tried to normalize relations with Iran, a supporter of international terrorism, the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and the destruction of Israel. Trudeau praised the late Fidel Castro and expressed admiration for the Chinese dictatorship, all of which conflicts with the values of most Canadians.