However volatile the United States may be these days, pursuing a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Beijing as a counterbalance is myopic and reckless. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementTrump has erratically bullied traditional American allies, often with damaging trade tariffs, and repeatedly claimed that the United States should absorb Canada and Greenland. In this context, any prime minister would be duty-bound to reduce Canada’s economic and political dependency on the United States, even if that means working with repressive regimes. So the problem, ultimately, isn’t that Beijing is an immoral partner, but that it is an unreliable and dangerous one. Perhaps Carney’s team believes that, for all its faults, China could nonetheless become a better partner than the United States — but this is a silly idea.

Source: National Post January 20, 2026 04:23 UTC