Rob Breakenridge: Pierre Poilievre ably makes the case for Canada, in America

Two days after Pierre Poilievre made the case for freer trade to Americans, on the Fox Business network, Donald Trump is suddenly upbeat about the prospect of a deal with Canada.

There is near-zero possibility the two events are anything but coincidental, although the U.S. president is a noted and devoted devourer of cable news. They are instead concurrent events that reveal what it looks like when a leader knows he's losing a trade war — and when another may be finding his feet.

Trump has been dismissive of Canada's Conservative leader in the past, and one has to wonder how he felt watching otherwise friendly cable news personalities nodding at Poilievre's arguments against tariffs and in favour of free trade.

We're left to speculate as to Trump's apparent shift Saturday morning, when he suggested in Ireland we'd see a Canada deal "fairly soon." As for CUSMA's future, Trump stated that, "We're doing great. We're going to have a great relationship with Mexico. We actually have a good one with Canada."

While that may seem at odds with assorted trolling from the president, it implies that those efforts to cast Canada as the villain are falling flat.

It becomes even harder to make that case when Canadian leaders are laying out a calm, rational argument that it's in both countries' best interests to retain our close trading relationship.

It's been a difficult and delicate balance for the Conservative leader. Trump's tariffs and overall belligerence have been a political blessing for the Liberals, and Trump himself has been an albatross for western Conservative parties more broadly.

Here at home, Poilievre finds himself torn between those who feel the Conservatives have been too critical of the prime minister on this file and those within the Conservative party who are determined to cast blame on Mark Carney for the escalating trade dispute.

Poilievre's effective messaging this week was a blow to the strident elbows-up crowd who would reject even the notion of stepping foot on American soil, let alone talking to and with Americans. It was also a strong message to those Conservatives whose sympathy toward Trump and MAGA is undermining both the country and their party.

Poilievre's New York visit was, in part, to attend ceremonies commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it also presented the opportunity to make Canada's case directly to an American audience.

On Thursday, Poilievre appeared on both CNBC's Squawk Box — which includes Trump-friendly host Joe Kernen — and on Larry Kudlow's show on Fox Business. Kudlow is a close Trump ally who previously served as director of his National Economic Council.

Importantly, Poilievre wasn't there to grovel on Canada's behalf or to throw the prime minister under the bus. In fact, the Conservative leader went out of his way to make it clear that "I'm not going to attack my prime minister on foreign soil. It's just not something I'm going to do."

And while there will be opportunities to press the prime minister on what we walked away from and what kind of deal we might get down the road, it's important to note — and for Americans to be reminded — that we didn't start this.

"Look, I think we feel a little bit wounded," said Poilievre, when asked how Canadians were processing all of this. "We're kind of confused as to how it is suddenly that Canada ended up in the crosshairs."

But it's not finger-pointing that's going to shift American public opinion, but rather a strong case that this trade war is not in their interest.

Poilievre made an effective case that eliminating tariffs will promote economic growth and lower costs, while also strengthening the Canada-U.S. security relationship. He also emphasized the economic and security upside of Canada providing a steady and reliable supply of energy and other resources.

As Poilievre put it, "let's knock down those tariffs and focus on building a stronger North America for our two separate countries."

Importantly, that message was delivered with the sort of conservative credibility that resonated with these hosts and their respective audiences. Democrats might be wowed by Mark Carney these days, but Canadian Liberal politicians aren't likely making any inroads with Republican voters.

It's important to have the Leader of the Opposition helping to advance Canada's interests even if it's not likely to boost his own short-term political interests. But a willingness to be statesmanlike and use those political skills and influence for the betterment of the country is far more likely to resonate with Canadians in the longer term than the harsh partisanship of the "Blame Canada" crowd.

Rob Breakenridge is a Calgary-based podcaster and writer. He can be found at robbreakenridge.ca and reached at rob.breakenridge@gmail.com