Why Keir Starmer can't keep sitting on fence over Donald Trump's attacks on Canada

Canada needs all the friends it can get but so do other countries if they are to stand up to the bully in the White House

Canadian elections rarely attract much attention beyond the country’s borders. This probably suits most Canadians just fine, reflecting a politics that is, by default, quietly, refreshingly uneventful, free of the all-consuming chaos that has engulfed much of the democratic world.

But Canada is not an island, and that chaos has now come to our door in the form of economic warfare and, not for the first time, threats to our sovereignty by the US, our neighbour, erstwhile ally, and largest trading partner.

When Canadians next head to the polls, we will do so in the midst of a national crisis, thrust, unwillingly and unexpectedly, to the front lines of the defence of liberal democracy. The world should take note.

For the first time in a quarter-century, neither Justin Trudeau, the recently departed Liberal Prime Minister, nor Stephen Harper, his Conservative predecessor, will lead one of Canada’s two main parties in a national vote.

Keir Starmer shakes hands with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a meeting in Downing Street (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/WPA pool) | Getty Images

A serious politician for serious times

Mark Carney, who took over the reins of power less than ten days ago, has overseen a dramatic turnaround in his party’s fortunes, pulling it from the brink of a devastating, near-certain defeat and dragging it to a position where a majority government is now a distinct possibility.

Carney’s pitch is simple: that he, the central banker who steered Canada through the depths of the 2008 financial crisis and the UK through the tumult of Brexit, is a man for tough economic times, and that the pragmatism, competence, and seriousness he can bring to the Prime Minister’s office is what Canada needs most to adjust to a shifting global order and address a malaise that long predates the American hostility unleashed by Trump.

Carney, a novice politician, will have his work cut out for him as he aims to defeat a newly emergent right-wing populism at home, revive the Canadian economy, and stare down the US while finding more reliable partners elsewhere.

These goals are, of course, related, and whether he succeeds will offer an insight into the prospects far beyond Canada for a brand of softly spoken liberal centrism that focuses on the economy above all and seeks to respond to the whims of American backlashes.

US actively hostile to liberal order

It has become clear that liberal democracy needs a firm economic basis to function, although figuring out what this might look like in an age of intense global competition, staggering inequality, technological change, and climate breakdown has thus far proven to be beyond the reach of most politicians.

It has also become clear that the US is not only no longer a reliable ally, but actively hostile to the liberal order it previously underpinned. The solution to this is more obvious, and here the silence of the Labour government is deafening.

As Canada confronts a hostile neighbour, Keir Starmer is sitting on the fence, a position that pleases no one and accomplishes little, something that’s fast emerging as a central theme of his premiership.

Canada is not the only country that needs all the friends it can get. Those who do not wish to live in a world run by a bully need to band together and stand up to it. The fate of liberal democracy itself is now on the line.

Dr Graeme Young, a Canadian, is a lecturer in social and public policy at the University of Glasgow