The premier of a Canadian province launched a blistering attack on U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday, calling him a “bad person” and “not to be trusted” and urging Canada to keep fighting rather than rush to make concessions in trade talks with Washington.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Canada has leverage in the talks even as his province weighs restoring U.S. alcohol sales at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s urging to help secure a deal that would avert threatened 50% U.S. tariffs.
“Everybody knows the American president by now, he’s erratic, he’s irresponsible, and he’s not to be trusted. And this is the person that we were supposed to make a deal with, and we’re going to make additional concessions for it. That’s why I say you can’t make a good deal with a bad person, because who’s to say it’s not going to be undone?” Kinew said.
Well, I object to the need to somehow relate everything to an American frame of reference. The two systems are fundamentally different, and the roles are not really analogous. Far better to say, “Like a Prime Minister, but for a province.” What’s hard about that?
It’s misleading, because the scope of powers is nowhere near that of a true Prime Minister. The former analogy is useful when explaining to a non-Canadian.
The scope of the powers is virtually identical within their jurisdictions. Provinces are clearly not going to be negotiating international treaties, for instance, but they are going to be negotiating inter-provincial relations.
This is the part where I think the analogy falters because it requires understanding of the scope of what they can negotiate, which you would only know if you’re Canadian. The provinces are subservient to federal regulations. The delineation of responsibilities is a uniquely Canadian trait.
My objection centres around the wording, “Premier is essentially the same as a US Governor”.
Not, “similar”, or “somewhat the same responsibilities”, “essentially the same”.
Yes, lots of countries use the term “Governor” for the leaders of states and provinces. But specifying, “US Governor”, adds a ton of baggage to the term that essentially makes the statement incorrect.
It’s a Parliamentary system, a different form of government and the roles are not “essentially” the same.