Christine Cusanelli is a Calgary-based government relations consultant. She is a former MLA and Alberta Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation. She represented Calgary-Currie in the Alberta Legislature.Prime Minister Mark Carney recently told a story in Davos that he clearly believes makes him sound wise, brave, and historically literate. It’s from Vaclav Havel's 1978 essay "The Power of the Powerless.” He shared the story of the shopkeeper who places a sign in his window that he doesn’t believe, not because it’s true, but because it’s expected. The point of the story is that systems survive when ordinary people participate in rituals they privately know are false.It’s a powerful metaphor. It’s also deeply ironic that Carney chose it.Because Canadians have already placed a false sign in our window.Canadians did it at the ballot box, marking it out of fear, not conviction. Fear of instability. Fear of change. Fear of being told we were reckless if we didn’t choose the “safe” option. And Carney, like so many polished political operators before him, knew exactly how to turn that fear into loyalty. He didn’t need to win our confidence with clarity. He only needed to win our compliance with anxiety..MCCOURT: No-fault auto insurance? Oh, hail no, Nate Horner!.And he used the same playbook, restaged in Davos.He presented himself as everyone’s bro. He aligned himself with global leaders who like the look of unity on stage. He leaned into the language of shared values, shared threats, shared identity. He invoked Canadian pride like it was a shield, and he waved Canadian symbolism like it was strategy. He conjured national resolve with hockey-flavoured rhetoric, the kind of elbows-up sloganeering that makes people feel brave without asking them to think too hard about what comes next.The fear he played on during the election was simple and effective: the idea that Canada would become “the 51st state,” that we would lose our sovereignty, our identity, our maple syrup, our sense of self. It was emotional manipulation dressed up as patriotism. And it worked..But Canadians can’t be so blindly naive that they’ll buy the very same tactic again, especially now that he’s exporting it to the world stage. Can we?Carney is trying to conjure Canadian loyalty and ire by invoking mores and lecturing Canadians on values, as though the role of a Prime Minister is to perform national virtue rather than deliver national outcomes. Canadians don’t need a moral narrator. We need leadership that protects our prosperity, our security, and our future.Yes, Canadians have a proud history of standing up for peace and freedom. We fought in the Second World War even before Americans entered the conflict. We stormed the beaches of Normandy alongside our allies, with Canadians landing at Juno Beach. That wasn’t branding. That was courage, sacrifice, and resolve.But Carney’s concept of “standing up to the US,” more specifically standing up to Trump, looks less like strategy and more like miscalculation. He’s toured the world, projecting strength and seriousness, and yet the results don’t match the performance. Canada cannot posture its way into prosperity. We cannot lecture our way into leverage. And we cannot build a secure future by trading away hard economic interests for applause in the conference halls of Europe..RUBENSTEIN: The systemic failure to explain the murder of indigenous women.And then there’s the former Prime Minister.Trudeau framed his Davos message around “soft power” and suggested Canada can wield tools like music, food, sports, and other cultural commodities to strengthen relationships and reputation. Tools? Those are exports of identity, not engines of prosperity. They don’t build pipelines, expand ports, finance innovation, or keep families employed. Canada’s economic strength is built on real industries: energy and natural resources, agriculture and agri-food, mining and critical minerals, manufacturing, forestry, technology, and financial services. That’s what creates jobs, drives productivity, and funds the public services Canadians rely on. Culture matters, but it won’t protect our economic future in a world of tariffs, supply chains, and hard power competition. Our strength is not softness. It is principled resolve, rooted in freedom, mutual respect, and cohesion. And the former Prime Minister’s Davos cameo, with talk of “gentle power” and music as leverage, isn’t leadership. It’s branding.And branding is the theme, isn’t it?Carney wants to sound like a statesman while positioning himself as the leader of a global middle-power movement. But make no mistake about it: many of these so-called middle powers are not rallying around Canada because they care about Canadians. They want to upset the apple cart because, with Trump on the scene, they are being held accountable, asked to pay their fair share, and denied the free rides they’ve grown accustomed to..Meanwhile, Canadians are being told to accept sacrifice, accept risk, accept instability, because it will prove our values.Values don’t pay mortgages. Virtue doesn’t strengthen a currency. Symbolism doesn’t keep families employed.What will?Real economic strength. Trustworthy alliances. Serious trade relationships. Domestic productivity. Secure energy policy. Food security. Resource development. A Canada that doesn’t apologize for wanting to thrive..FOURNIER: Are farmers Ottawa’s next methane target?.And this is where Carney’s hypocrisy becomes glaring.He warns about the dangers of authoritarian systems, yet he flirts with partnerships that require Canadians to ignore reality in exchange for the comfort of a performance. He speaks about the shopkeeper’s sign, yet he benefits from the very same dynamic: people pressured into participating in a narrative they don’t fully believe because they’re afraid of what happens if they refuse.The shopkeeper hung his sign to avoid trouble. Canadians marked their ballot to avoid uncertainty..And now we are watching a Prime Minister peddle Canada to countries we cannot trust, while insisting we should feel proud about it.Not China. Not France. Not any country that will put its own interests first while we’re being told to put ours second.Canadians are not shrinking violets. We are not delicate. We are not here to be managed by fear or entertained by slogans. We are people who care about our livelihoods, our neighbours, our children’s futures, and the protection of our people.So here’s the question: who will care about that for us?.OLDCORN: Carney’s grip on power remains razor-thin, threat of spring election looms.Not the Davos crowd. Not the branding consultants. Not the middle powers seeking leverage against the United States. And certainly not a political class that thinks Canadian identity can be negotiated with playlists and platitudes.Canada doesn’t need another sign in the window.Canada needs the truth. And a leader who can deliver it.Christine Cusanelli is a Calgary-based government relations consultant. She is a former MLA and Alberta Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation. She represented Calgary-Currie in the Alberta Legislature.
