'If Liberal words and good intentions were tradeable commodities, Canada would already be the richest nation on earth'

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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s well-crafted and eloquently delivered speech at Davos has been widely noted, and I want to start by offering some praise of my own. The Prime Minister is right to restate what many have said for years: Canada must become more self-reliant, less dependent and work with like-minded countries to advance our interests. Conservatives are, as always, willing to work with him to turn these words into results.

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What stood out was when he pointed out “the gaps between rhetoric and reality.” That is especially true here at home. If Liberal words and good intentions were tradeable commodities, Canada would already be the richest nation on earth. Unfortunately, after a decade of promises and grand speeches, Liberals have made our economy more costly and dependent than ever before.

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After nearly a year of Prime Minister Carney, things have only gotten worse: the deficit has doubled, food inflation is double that in the U.S., housing costs are the worst in the G7, and no pipelines are approved or anti-development laws removed. The military has massive recruiting and equipment shortfalls. There is still no free trade between provinces, no crime laws passed and the prime minister’s signature promise of negotiating a win with the U.S. is unfulfilled. Indeed, U.S. tariffs have more than doubled on Canada, while Mr. Carney’s promised counter-tariffs have vanished with his elbows.

These unkept promises — which all followed grand speeches and announcements — make us especially vulnerable to the world’s dangers. We have had enough words. Now, we need results. Now, we must unblock our resources. Now, we must approve pipelines. Now, we must bolster our military to protect our soil, sea and sky. Now, we need to crack down on foreign interference, threats and intimidation of our people from hostile powers like China, Russia and Iran.

The last five years have shown we can’t count on others. Our closest neighbour and largest........

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