Two national days of celebration, two different countries, two different leaders with two very different messages.On Canada Day, Prime Minister Mark Carney offered a polished message of unity, courage, and conviction. He does this well. “We are strongest when we are united,” he told Canadians, praising diversity, kindness, and the national habit of building together.Only two days later at Mount Rushmore, President Trump marked America’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary by celebrating American exceptionalism — the oldest republic, the most free people in the world, the strongest military, and so on. Not much about the loveliness of diversity in togetherness.What works for you?Carney’s address was admittedly gracious. The old women (of both sexes) in eastern Canada who secured his majority would have been happy as he spoke of partnership over assimilation, of infrastructure forged in steel and determination, and of bold action on energy, hydro, LNG, and nuclear projects pursued with indigenous partners. He urged Canadians to “buy Canadian” and promised that courage, connections, and conviction would secure the country’s future. The rhetoric was inclusive and optimistic.But to borrow a phrase, ‘where’s the beef?’Which is the point here. Both speeches were intended to summon up national pride. But only one leader could offer the listener substantial accomplishments.Take the recent pipeline and Pathways carbon capture announcement with Premier Danielle Smith..Mr. Carney frames it as a nation-building project. Yet analysts estimate its roughly 90% public ownership and funding. Taxpayers in Alberta and across Canada are being asked to shoulder the heavy lifting through investment tax credits, provincial incentives, and backstopped financing, while detailed cost-sharing “remains to be negotiated.”Of course. Industry has long signalled it cannot carry the full burden of capital and operating costs for one of the world’s largest CCUS schemes.Meanwhile, contrary to the US passion for protecting free speech, Canada’s Liberal government continues to expand the state’s reach over information and expression.Bill C-9 removed longstanding religious “good faith” protections in hate propaganda provisions.Bill C-34 would create a powerful Digital Safety Commission with broad discretion to define harmful content and set age-verification and speech rules. These measures are sold as safeguards. Their practical effect is to raise the cost and risk of dissenting speech — precisely the debate required for genuine problem-solving.The results are visible in the numbers. Canadian GDP growth is forecast to remain modest, around 1.1% to 1.6% for 2026. That’s about half that of the US. Meanwhile, US unemployment hovers around 4.2%, compared to Canada’s 6.5% to 6.8%.Per-capita performance has been weaker still. Capital and talent continue to weigh opportunities south of the border, where regulatory certainty and energy abundance are more reliably delivered.President Trump’s Mount Rushmore address, by contrast, rested on tangible strengths. He honoured the founders and the constitutional order, defended national monuments against revisionism, and described an America that — whatever its divisions and debts — remains the world’s leading energy producer, technological innovator, and military power. They’ve just gone back to the Moon. (And were decent enough to take us along for the ride.).The United States has posted stronger growth momentum, lower unemployment, and continued attraction of investment.Trump could legitimately claim that, despite problems, America is still doing tremendous things: exporting energy, advancing AI, and projecting strength rather than managing decline. Most of it was done with private investment.Ironically, Mr. Carney’s speech praised the very qualities his government’s policies often constrain. Expansive speech regulation, subsidy-heavy “green” megaprojects, and layered approvals create friction where speed and certainty are needed. Diversity and inclusion are celebrated in principle; in practice, compelled speech and administrative definitions of acceptable opinion narrow the space for open argument. Nation-building is invoked, yet the pipeline and CCUS deals shift massive costs onto taxpayers while private actors stand back.These are not incidental side-effects. They are recurring design choices.Canada still possesses the human capital, resources, and institutions to achieve far more. But eloquent appeals to unity and conviction will not substitute for policies that actually lower barriers to investment, protect open debate, and let private enterprise — not government commissions and guarantees — drive results.President Trump could stand at Mount Rushmore and point to an America that continues to build, produce, and lead on a grand scale. Prime Minister Carney offered Canadians inspiring words. He had far less concrete accomplishments to talk about, largely because the policies his government advances so often work against the very objectives he praises.Canada can do better. We know that because in days gone by, we did. We were actually a more powerful nation at the end of the Second World War, with a population of 12 million, than we are today with a population of more than 40 million.But talk won’t do it. Nothing has come out of the Major Projects Office that wasn’t well on the way before it was established last year. The future Mr. Carney talks about will be earned only when words are matched by outcomes that reward enterprise, safeguard liberty, and deliver measurable progress rather than managed expectations.Both speeches were intended to summon up national pride. But only one leader really had much to offer.To put it simply, it’s time this country got out of its own way.
