John Ivison: Fresh questions about Carney's strategy on Trump

Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. — Mark Carney has a winking problem. He winked at the camera at Rideau Hall on the day he became prime minister. He winked at a senator when he appeared before a committee last May. In 2014, the Daily Telegraph remarked on how he tipped the BBC’s then-economic editor Robert Peston the wink during a press conference when he was governor of the Bank of England. The Telegraph interpreted this as Carney letting the recipient of the wink know: “Yeah, we both know this is theatre.” If all the world’s a stage, then politicians are its key players. The revelation that the Liberal leader told the truth, but not the whole truth, about his March 28 call with Donald Trump plays into the idea that he is playing to different audiences. On Thursday, Carney confirmed that Trump spoke about Canada becoming the 51st state — which was not the impression he left after the call when he maintained that the president had respected Canada’s sovereignty. A senior source with knowledge of the call has told the National Post that the perception created by the Canadian read-out after the call is at odds with what actually happened. The Canadian read-out said the call was “a very constructive conversation about the relationship between the two countries.” The official release said the leaders agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship and that Carney told Trump that his government would implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers after April 2. Since then, the central plank of Carney’s campaign is that he is taking a tougher line with Trump than other international leaders, and is best positioned to negotiate a new deal with the president. But the source said the read-out did not include the fact that Carney flagged for the president that he would need to talk tough about America and Trump during the election. Carney is also said to have called Trump “a transformative” president that he’d like to work with. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said Carney did not tell President Trump that he would have to criticize him during the campaign. Readers can make up their own minds about what they believe. I would only note that the Prime Minister’s Office denied details in the Radio-Canada story on Trump and Carney’s call, before the Liberal leader confirmed its central premise. It is important because Carney’s whole campaign revolves around his assertion that Trump “betrayed us” and that he will take a hard line in future negotiations. “The president’s latest comments are more proof, as if we needed any, that the old relationship with the United States is over,” he said in a press conference at Algoma Steel on Friday morning. “We will stand with every single Canadian worker targeted by President Trump’s attacks on our country. We will stand with you.” But it sounds like the reality on March 28 was hardly elbows up. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Trump is a narcissist, so flattering him is the quickest way to his heart. Carney has already committed to securing a new deal on trade and security, which would buy time, even if there would be no guarantees that the president would stick to its terms. But if the prime minister tipped the president the wink in his call, tacitly urging him to ignore anything said during the campaign, it calls into question Carney’s authenticity on the stump. During his press conference, he was asked about the need for new ethics and transparency laws in government. Carney said he would distinguish between rules and conduct. “If there were specific proposals, obviously we would look at them. But what’s important is bringing that spirit of honesty, the highest integrity, and my track record is consistent with that, but also that commitment that goes with it to transparency,” he said. The Liberal party has a history of hubris and quickly becoming too comfortable in power. Treating voters like the audience of a conjuring trick would be an inauspicious end to this campaign. jivison@criffel.ca Twitter.com/IvisonJ

• John Ivison: Carney’s luck is so good, even his scandals work in his favour
• Carney admits Trump talked about Canada becoming 51st state during call last month

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.