Terence Corcoran: Canada’s global ambitions are more than a little confusing

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But not so much regarding EU, Greenland, EV policy, Mexico tradeLast updated 43 minutes ago Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Sept. 21, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable/PostmediaPrime Minister Mark Carney is back in Ottawa and apparently ready to resume his government’s Parliamentary responsibilities and get on with the business of looking after some of Canada’s internal political and economic issues. The short list includes growing deficits and debt, health-care bottlenecks, rising consumer costs, taxation, climate commitments, trade war impacts, Indigenous relations, pipelines to the coasts, and major mining projects.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountCanadians can only hope that attempts to deal with these issues are a little more obviously effective than the long trail of uncertainty the prime minister has left behind following his numerous excursions abroad. The larger uncertainties include the Canada-U.S. trade relationship, the new plan to become an associate member of the EU, and the foreign investment booster summit that has yet to produce results.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBeyond those big national economic questions are many uncertainties, confusions and contradictions surrounding such topics as Arctic defence, China, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, Belarus and Mexico.On Sunday, Carney met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Ottawa to promote greater economic ties and announce plans to deepen collaboration in the Arctic and across defence, critical minerals, energy, science and emerging technologies. The joint Canada/Norway Arctic defence strategy, an objective proposed in previous years, was given new publicity just after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last Friday that the U.S. had reached an Arctic defence agreement with Denmark and its subsidiary territory, Greenland.Greenland, of course, had been declared a takeover target by Trump, just as he has verbally threatened to annex Canada. Now that he has succeeded in acquiring rights for military operations in Greenland, does this change the outlook for Canada’s role in the Arctic?Canada has a new Arctic deal with Norway, and the U.S. has a deal with Denmark/Greenland. At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that Arctic defence would be a “flagship joint project” if Canada were to become an associate member of the EU.But will Canada become an associate EU member?Denmark has said that under the United States-Greenland deal, Arctic security would fall under NATO oversight, where Denmark is also believed to be among European nations that lack enthusiasm for making Canada an “associate member” of the EU. Others, including Germany, do not support the associate member label.Germany is also taking a stand against Chinese EVs and hybrid models. The EU already imposes 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese EVs and wants China to now restrict exports of hybrids prior to new trade deal negotiations. An EU official told the Financial Times “if they will not limit their exports to our market, then we will.” Ottawa, meanwhile, is prepared to allow 49,000 Chinese-made EVs into Canada on a quota system at a most-favoured nation tariff rate of 6.1 per cent. The government says the objective is to “catalyze considerable new Chinese joint-venture investment in Canada with trusted partners to protect and create new auto manufacturing jobs for Canadian workers, and ensure a robust build-out of Canada’s EV supply chain.”This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.By granting China a deal that approaches free trade terms, Canada is adding to the trade confusion brought on by Trump. Canada will be allowing Chinese vehicles to enter Canada with minimal restrictions while duties of up to 24 per cent exist on U.S. auto products. Such trade confusion will continue to plague Canada-U.S. trade relationships for as long as Trump and Carney continue engaging in tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs policies. Will Trump reject a trade deal with Canada until Ottawa backs away from the Chinese EV import deal?Canada’s global ambitions, whatever they may be under Carney, were back on the agenda Tuesday as Carney left Ottawa after one day in Parliament to fly to New York to attend Trump’s address to the United Nations. While the president’s UN speech emerged sentence-by-sentence as a fact-checker’s nightmare, he at least resisted talking about annexing Canada.On Monday, however, Trump lit a new match under Canada-U.S. trade relations with a social media post saying he is working on a deal to buy potash fertilizer from Belarus, a Russian satellite state, to reduce America’s dependence on Canada. The U.S. does not need Belarusian potash, but — as Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois put it — the threat should be seen as another provocation designed to get under the negotiating skin of Carney and Canadians. Over time, however, Canada could face potash competition.From Greenland to Belarus and now on to India. Canada and India are said to be on the brink of a trade deal that could be signed in December. India’s High Commissioner to Canada told The Logic news site that India is looking for a “comprehensive” trade package. India’s US$4.2-trillion GDP is 68 per cent larger than Canada’s and is heading for more than $22 trillion by 2050. At that point, India’s GDP is projected to be more than 400 per cent larger than Canada’s.Finally, there’s Mexico, where President Claudia Sheinbaum said she is working on a separate trade deal with Trump. She praised Carney for “making the best decisions for his country,” but did not elaborate. Some observers see otherwise, hoping that an interim U.S.-Mexico deal will at least serve to postpone renegotiation of the existing CUSMA deal with Canada.Another perspective, from Janice MacKinnon and Jack Mintz, calls on Carney to lower Canada’s elbows and get on with a deal-making plan.Good idea, but only a start on a road across the world in search of normalcy.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.