In this much, Mark Carney is different from his predecessor. He thinks Canada is a country with a defining identity.Regardless of what so many Albertans may feel about independence for Alberta or Saskatchewan today, Justin Trudeau’s cringeworthy New York Times interview ten years ago left us, well… cringing. Canada, he said, was the world’s “first post-national state,” and seemed pleased with the thought. He added for good measure, “There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada.”One can hardly blame some Albertans for concluding that if their prime minister didn’t believe Canada was a country, why should they?.In Tuesday’s Speech from the Throne (SFT,) Prime Minister Mark Carney had His Majesty the King deliver a very different message.“I have always had the greatest admiration for Canada’s unique identity, which is recognized across the world for bravery and sacrifice in defence of national values, and for the diversity and kindness of Canadians.”So there, right up front. A ‘unique identity.’ ‘National values.’How that will be received out West is the subject of what comes next, but it was a signal to Canadians generally that not only was Justin Trudeau gone, but that for nearly ten years, he had been fundamentally wrong about Canada, and the country's weakness today is largely attributable to his miserable attempt to remake it according to his own sophomoric opinions.Mr. Carney at least looks like a prime minister out of central casting, and gives the impression that adults are back in charge. One hopes that Trudeau, casually attired in gym shoes for this majestic occasion, felt like the chump he is.But as for people in Western Canada, what is Mr. Carney telling us through the SFT? Stripped of the syrupy words, is there anything in his vision of Canada as articulated by the King, that would cause Western independence seekers to think again?Short answer, 'no.' First, the statement that "the world is a more dangerous and uncertain place than at any point since the Second World War," is obviously pure fear mongering. While not overlooking the flash points of the moment in Ukraine, the Middle East and the South China Sea, the Cold War arms race and the threat of imminent nuclear destruction made life in the fifties and the sixties "dangerous and uncertain" to a degree unmatched since.Second, what the King delivered today was no more than the pablum Mr. Carney offered Canadians during the recent election campaign. Thus Canada is to become "the world’s leading energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy, while fighting climate change." In other words, the same old cake being eaten and had at the same time. I'll believe it when I see it.To speed up major projects that will catalyze our way out of trouble — how Mr. Carney loves that word — there will be a Major Federal Project Office to cut from five years to two years the time it takes to get a pipeline approved... but all while upholding Canada’s "world-leading environmental standards and its constitutional obligations to Indigenous Peoples." No doubt the bureaucracy will be established. But, forget the two years.Third, modular and prefabricated houses are to be the next generation's lot, they still want your guns and heaven help us, they want closer ties with Europe and are determined to protect the CBC and the right of Canadians to pay too much for butter through supply management..Fourth, while the Carney government makes much of its commitment to rebuilding Canadian defence, all the SFT said in the end was that it would "boost Canada’s defence industry by joining ReArm Europe to invest in transatlantic security with Canada’s European partners. And it will invest to strengthen its presence in the North which is an integral part of Canada as this region faces new threats."The SFT is not the place to expect exacting detail but it is illuminating that while the Carney government is talking about Europe, there is no mention of Indo-Pacific threats or allies, or enlarging the Canadian Armed Forces themselves, which must surely be the foundational task. (The number of trained soldiers ready to deploy is probably around 20,000. In other words, our G7 country with a population of 41 million has more than twice the number of posties as we have soldiers.)As for the border, new legislation is promised but frankly, as Mr. Trump recently demonstrated when he closed the US southern border that what was needed was not new laws, but a new president. The Government of Canada should try that..The SFT was also silent about some of the most odious projects of the last government, in particular the Online Harms Act (Bill C63.) This died on the order paper at prorogation, but that doesn't mean the control-loving catalyzer-in-chief won't bring it back. It wasn't in the 2021 SFT either, but it nearly became law.Bottom line, great pageantry and a skillful evocation of a past time in Canada during which Western Canadians saw less reason to be vocal about their ambitions for independence. However, notwithstanding today's colourful theatre and what appeared to be a genuine Canadian affection for King Charles, nothing Mr. Carney actually gave the King to read should give Western Canadians any hope that things will be different.Premier Danielle Smith has given Prime Minister Carney six months to satisfy the demands her government has made on him. So, let us give him six months. After that, the premier should feel free — indeed obliged — to go on to whatever next step she thinks appropriate to secure the future of all Albertans.
