In the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 disparaging remarks about Canada鈥檚 trade practices in several areas including dairy, softwood lumber and energy this week, the former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. and advisor to the current Liberal government says it鈥檚 important that Canadians don鈥檛 overreact.
In an interview with Evan Solomon, host of CTV鈥檚 Question Period, airing Sunday, Derek Burney described Trump鈥檚 comments as a 鈥渢irade.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 an outburst,鈥� Burney said. 鈥淭he kind of outburst that we鈥檝e become accustomed to unfortunately, with a president who hasn鈥檛 stopped campaigning.鈥�
Burney said he believes the U.S. president was telling his audience of U.S. farmers at a campaign-style event on Tuesday what they wanted to hear.
The former ambassador said Trump鈥檚 remarks were 鈥渦nfounded in fact鈥� and that he doesn鈥檛 think they signify the beginning of a trade war between the U.S. and Canada.
鈥淭his is all tactics. This is all 鈥楢rt of the Deal鈥� [Trump鈥檚 book] softening the other guy up, keeping the other guy off balance, shakedown,鈥� Burney said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to resist it. We鈥檝e got to be calm and make a factual case and a factual rejection of every inane statement he makes about us.鈥�
Burney isn鈥檛 the only one taking the president鈥檚 criticisms with a grain of salt. In a roundtable scrum on CTV鈥檚 Question Period, Gordon Richie, one of the key negotiators for NAFTA, also pointed out Trump鈥檚 鈥淎rt of the Deal鈥� book about negotiating in business. Richie said he found the comments 鈥渆ntirely predictable.鈥�
鈥淵ou begin even before the negotiations by throwing out outlandish demands so that you shake up the other guy,鈥� Richie said. 鈥淭his is textbook stuff and we really shouldn鈥檛 get too excited about it.鈥�
Jean Charest, the former Quebec premier and partner in the law firm of McCarthy Tétrault, also agreed with Burney, during the discussion with Solomon, that Canadians should remain calm. He recommended the Canadian government focus on returning to a 鈥渃ommon sense agenda鈥� that will benefit the interests of both countries.
鈥淲e鈥檇 like to see NAFTA change in the area of services and government procurement,鈥� Charest said. 鈥淲e agree on that. We all want what鈥檚 better.鈥�
Both Burney and Charest commended Canada鈥檚 current ambassador the U.S., David MacNaughton, for his letters to the governors of Wisconsin and New York laying out the facts about Canada鈥檚 trade relationship with the U.S. in the wake of Trump鈥檚 initial remarks on Tuesday.
Charest also stressed that Trump will not be able to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) alone. He said the president has to work with Congress, governors, mayors and the business community before he can make any major changes.
鈥淢r. Trump doesn鈥檛 seem to be able to get much done on this file in Congress,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e can鈥檛 get his trade representative named, he can鈥檛 get his mandate nailed down and he can鈥檛 agree with Congress on the agenda on whether they should be focusing on fiscal issues or going to trade first.鈥�
Despite advising a calm approach when dealing with Trump, Burney did express his concerns about how the president鈥檚 鈥渙utbursts鈥� could impact the economy in Canada.
鈥淭he most worrying thing about these kinds of broadsides is that they create instability. If you鈥檙e a business investor, you鈥檙e going to be sitting on your hands because you don鈥檛 know what to make of what this is all about,鈥� Burney said.
Burney did offer one possible approach for dealing with the 鈥渦nusual鈥� U.S. president.
鈥淲hat I would do with him if I were ambassador, is I would invite him to a hockey game so he can see how Canadians are first hand,鈥� he said with a laugh.
