Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses the European Parliament. Photo courtesy European Union/Flickr.

Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won the last federal election on a platform of protecting Canada from Donald Trump’s imperialism. Eighteen months later, the prime minister’s strategy increasingly resembles the political and economic agenda associated with Ronald Reagan.

This is the impression one is left with following Carney’s much-hyped investment summit, which included announcements on airport privatization and a new “mega” tax deduction for corporations. The summit itself was the apex of a governance agenda largely centred on tax reductions and cuts to public services, the elimination of civil service jobs, the weakening of health and environmental regulations, and the acceptance of foreign ownership of Canadian resources and technology, along with submission to industry demands on national energy and digital policy. Last week, the government introduced changes to Canada’s Labour Code that will undermine the right to strike.

A clear, if unspoken, vision underpins these actions: the equation of private interests and economic goals with public needs and the objectives of the state; a determination to shrink the size, scope, and ambition of government; and a trust in market forces to solve complex societal challenges such as climate change and housing.

It is a vision closely associated with the political ascendancy of Ronald Reagan in the United States. Such a comparison cannot be pushed too far; the former American President did not invent neoliberalism, nor did previous Canadian governments refrain from pursuing elements of the project. Nevertheless, Reagan is a useful reference point for understanding the vision........

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