The McKinley comparisons to Trump are no longer theoretical. They are baked into policy.
Tariffs are rising. Protectionist industrial strategies are being rolled out. American trade is now openly transactional, backed by executive muscle and shaped by economic nationalism.
This is the new normal for Canada’s closest friend and largest trading partner.
This weekend, Canadians mark Victoria Day, a holiday that often slips by quietly, ushering in the summer with family, friends, BBQs, cottage trips, and the first real long weekend of the year. But its symbolism runs deeper. Named for a monarch who ruled with longevity, not flair, and who helped shape the institutions we inherited, Victoria Day reflects something distinctly Canadian: restraint, continuity, and quiet confidence. It is an oddly appropriate backdrop for the kind of leadership we should be thinking about now.
Trump has openly touted President William McKinley as the model for his approach to power. McKinley governed at the turn of the twentieth century with high tariffs, an assertive industrial agenda, and a focus on expanding American territory and influence through economic might. It is no surprise Trump finds inspiration there.
The pressure on Canada to respond is growing. There are calls to match tariffs with tariffs, to repatriate supply chains, to get serious on foreign investment, and to diversify our trading relationships.
But we need to remember that Canada cannot out-McKinley the United States. We cannot beat American protectionism by mimicking it. That playbook does not work for us.
Canada needs a different model of leadership. One rooted not in confrontation but in construction. Not in theatre but in nation-building. Not in dominance but in confidence.
Canada has always chosen a different path. Our national symbol is a beaver, not a bald eagle. All Canadians have American and British friends who find that funny and tease us for it. They just do not get it. Why would we choose a beaver as our national symbol? After all, their emblems, the eagle and the lion, are apex predators. Symbols of dominance and conquest. But that is not what Canada is about. The beaver builds. Slowly. Quietly. Permanently. It reshapes the world around it through persistence and design. That is the kind of leadership we need now. In an era when American politics is loud, aggressive, and transactional, Canada should respond with patience, focus, and national purpose. We need to take the long view.
We need a Prime Minister who governs like Louis St Laurent.
Affectionately known as Uncle Louis, St Laurent led Canada through a different kind of global disruption. The Second World War had ended. The global order was being rebuilt. New alliances were forming. The Cold War was beginning. At home, Canadians were anxious but hopeful. They did not want bluster. They wanted stability, vision, and mature leadership.
For eight years, St Laurent’s Government delivered. He expanded the social safety net. He built the Trans-Canada Highway and the St. Lawrence Seaway. He helped bring Newfoundland into Confederation. He anchored Canada in NATO and the United Nations. He was not flashy. But he built things that lasted.
Mark Carney’s Government now faces a different but equally serious set of challenges. A more protectionist United States. A fractured global economy. A polarized domestic landscape. Rising pressure to respond boldly and to retaliate when Canada is squeezed.
But Carney was not elected to mimic Trump. He was elected to steady the country. To offer competence. To rebuild trust.
It has been said that Canadians elect a showman when they are bored and a statesman when they are uncertain. That is certainly how this campaign played out. But the campaign is over. Now it is time to govern.
Mark Carney campaigned as a modern-day Uncle Louis. Calm. Capable. Steady. It was a promise many Canadians were ready to believe in.
But so far, it remains only that. A promise.
What happens next will determine whether Carney fulfills that promise or allows it to fade. If he governs like St Laurent, with quiet confidence and national purpose, the country will be better for it. If he gets pulled into gimmicks or tries to outmaneuver Trump on Trump’s terms, the promise dies.
Canadians do not expect perfection. But they do expect seriousness. They want leadership that builds, not postures. That speaks to the whole country, not just the base. That leaves something behind.
Trump is governing like McKinley. We should not try to match it. We should offer something better. Something durable. Something ours.
Carney said he would be that kind of leader. Now we find out if he meant it.
We still need an Uncle Louis.