Categories for Musings

Mark Carney looks grave.

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” the Prime Minister of Canada says, and his words hang in the air like static. He pauses.

“It’s clear the US is no longer a reliable partner. It is possible that with comprehensive negotiations, we could reestablish an element of confidence but there will be no going backwards.”

And with that, a unique relationship that has endured for 158 years – a relationship that has survived war and pandemics and terror attacks – came to an ignoble end. With a whimper, not a bang, at a hurriedly-convened press conference in Ottawa. Called to answer to Donald Trump’s destructive and reckless tariffs on the auto industry.

Carney’s words went around the world. “Canada PM Mark Carney says old relationship with US ‘is over’,” BBC headlined their report. “Old US-Canada relationship is ‘over,’ warns Canadian prime minister,” said CNN’s bulletin. “Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says ‘old relationship’ with US ‘is over’ amid tension over Trump tariffs,” said Fox News.

Partisan Liberals gleefully celebrated Carney’s statement, posting online that he looked and sounded Prime Ministerial. And that much was true: Carney did look and sound like Prime Minister, for the first time in the very short time he has been in the job.

But it wasn’t anything to celebrate. It was deeply, profoundly sad. And, importantly, Carney’s declaration will be difficult – verging on impossible – to walk back. For him or a successor.

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Traitor.

The Cambridge dictionary folks define it thusly: “A person who is not loyal or stops being loyal to their own country.”

Anyone who commits high treason is considered a traitor – and it’s a serious charge. It’s still there in section 46 of our Criminal Code, in fact: anyone who kills or tries to kill the King, anyone who “levies war against Canada,” anyone who assists an enemy at war with Canada? That’s treason.

The penalty for high treason is life in prison. Up until 1998, high treason could be punishable by death. Louis Riel, the leader of the Metis people, was wrongly executed for treason in 1885. Thomas Scott, a white opponent of Riel, was executed by firing squad in 1870. So was a Canadian citizen, Kanao Inouye, who was born in Kamloops, B.C., and hanged for treason in 1947, in Hong Kong while in British custody. His last words were: “Banzai!”

No one has gone fully “banzai” on their opponent in Election 2025, yet, but you can tell they’re getting close. The winged monkeys who support Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney have been firing “treason” broadsides at each other for weeks. You know: Carney is a traitor because he worked abroad and allegedly sent Canadian jobs to the United States – while Poilievre is a traitor because he won’t get his security clearance and India (alleged the Globe on Tuesday) meddled to help him win his party’s leadership.

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