{"id":262694,"date":"2026-01-25T03:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/262694\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T03:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:56:17","slug":"three-more-speeches-paul-wells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/262694\/","title":{"rendered":"Three more speeches – Paul Wells"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cHe did WHAT?\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been enjoying telling friends who work for a living about Mark Carney\u2019s Thursday-afternoon speech at the Liberal cabinet retreat planning forum. <\/p>\n

\u201cDid Carney give some kind of\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. He launched his national-unity campaign on the Plains of Abraham.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHe did WHAT?!\u201d<\/p>\n

The speech, which the prime minister delivered to reporters and cameras before kicking off two short days of behind-closed-doors cabinet deliberations, was clearly designed to achieve multiple purposes. In many ways, as a summary of recent and imminent domestic policy, it was quite good. You can read it here<\/a>. I suspect little of it will be remembered beyond the location of its delivery and some of its more optimistic interpretations of 19th-century history. <\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t in Quebec City on Thursday and Friday, but I get the distinct impression the PMO swiftly realized the speech wasn\u2019t going over well. Carney spoke early Thursday afternoon. The text wasn\u2019t promptly emailed to reporters, as usually happens. When it finally did, many hours later, it carried the title \u201cSpeech of the prime minister delivered on the Plains of Abraham.\u201d By the time it went up on the PM\u2019s website, even later, the location was changed to \u201cat the Citadelle of Quebec,\u201d which is synonymous \u2014\u00a0the fort is dug into a hill in the park \u2014\u00a0but sounds nicer.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the part of the speech that served up a lob to a generation of Quebec newspaper columnists: <\/p>\n

From the Great Deportation of the Acadians to the Durham Report following the Patriots\u2019 Rebellion, there were efforts by some to impose that model \u2013 assimilation, the familiar logic of conquest.<\/p>\n

But in the end, that is not the path Canada took.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

First, through the resilience of Francophones. A resilience sometimes quiet, often combative, but always determined to preserve a language, a culture, and an identity.<\/p>\n

Then, through pragmatism.<\/p>\n

British authorities quickly understood that one does not govern 70,000 people against their will, especially with unstable American colonies to the south.<\/p>\n

And so, throughout our country\u2019s history, decisions were taken to build something different. Here. Together.<\/p>\n

It was never a straight line. Progress came through tension, compromise, and sometimes failure. But again and again, Canada chose a different path.<\/p>\n

From that choice \u2013 initially practical, even self-interested \u2013 something remarkable emerged. Not a myth. Not a miracle. But a growing commitment that coexistence could make us stronger, that we can build an identity which not only respects our differences, but also celebrates them.<\/p>\n

Reactions here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a> and here<\/a>. tl;dr: la survivance was harder than Carney portrays, and the notion that francophones had allies among anglophones is really not going over well.<\/p>\n

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois leader who\u2019s well-positioned to win this year\u2019s Quebec election, was already heading into an important weekend party convention when Carney spoke on Thursday. Plamondon announced he\u2019ll throw out his prepared speech for Sunday and deliver a point-by-point rebuttal to Carney. Quebec Liberal MPs heading into a weekend caucus meeting today were asked repeatedly by reporters whether Carney should apologize to Quebecers. \u201cI didn\u2019t see the speech,\u201d Marc Miller said, which is probably both true and not a hearty endorsement.<\/p>\n

I have thoughts, as somebody who considers himself an anglophone ally of francophones, but in any Quebec (or Alberta) referendum I won\u2019t have a vote. The short version of my thoughts: Every right I enjoy today is enjoyed by every Canadian, and that\u2019s a story worth telling. But maybe not on the Plains of Abraham. That establishes a certain mood.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably best that Carney gave this speech on a weekday in January, two days after the speech of his life. It would have been worse to deliver it on the second or third day of a Quebec secession referendum campaign. There\u2019s probably one coming. Carney has time to take his discourse into the shop. He will want to devote significant resources to a post-mortem, the preparation of better lines, and plenty of rehearsal in lower-exposure venues. The stakes are not low. Also, good luck to Jo\u00ebl Lightbound, Carney\u2019s Quebec lieutenant, as he learns how to talk to reporters. I sent three boats<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Volodomyr Zelensky spoke at Davos too, dozens of people did, but it got less coverage than Mark Carney because there was less surprise. Guy who\u2019s fought Putin to a stalemate wishes he had more help, ho hum. <\/p>\n

The tone was more surprising. The New York Times heard it the way I read it<\/a>: \u201cZelensky laces into Europe,\u201d offering \u201camong his most scathing critiques\u201d of the continent whose leaders like to see themselves as better allies than Donald Trump\u2019s US. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a link to the text of Zelensky\u2019s Thursday remarks<\/a>. What he said isn\u2019t far from what Scott Bessent or JD Vance in full troll mode might say. Stripped of only the most perfunctory expressions of courtesy, Zelensky\u2019s tone with regard to the EU and NATO is close to contempt.<\/p>\n

\u201cEurope hasn\u2019t even tried to build its own response\u201d to the bloody repression of protests in Iran,\u201d he said. \u201cToo often in Europe, something else is always more urgent than justice.\u201d \u201cNo security guarantees work without the US.\u201d \u201cEurope loves to discuss the future but avoids taking action today.\u201d <\/p>\n

And two remarkable broadsides, aimed at the basic question of whether NATO can function without the United States \u2014\u00a0or even wants to.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Europe relies only on the belief that if danger comes, NATO will act.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no one has really seen the Alliance in action. If Putin decides to take Lithuania or strike Poland, who will respond? Who will respond?<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, NATO exists thanks to belief \u2013 belief that the United States will act, that it will not stand aside, and will help. But what if it doesn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

And\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Russian warships are sailing freely around Greenland, Ukraine can help \u2014 we have the expertise and weapons to ensure not one of those ships remains. They can sink near Greenland just as they do near Crimea. No problem \u2014 we have the tools, and we have people. For us, the sea is not the first line of defense, so we can take actions, and we know how to fight there. If we were asked, and if Ukraine were in NATO \u2014 but we are not \u2014 we would solve this problem with the Russian ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the first flush of resilience after the full invasion began in 2022, it\u2019s been fashionable in some Western circles to remark that Ukraine deserves to be in NATO. But the question Zelensky has begun to ask is whether NATO deserves to have Ukraine in it.<\/p>\n

Everyone\u2019s been on a sugar high since Tuesday because Mark Carney said the middle powers can do without the United States. Zelensky asks, with the urgency of a man nearly four years past the scheduled date of his execution: Do what? And when is everybody planning to start? <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On Friday in Calgary<\/a>, Pierre Poilievre will give the next speech I want to talk about, to Conservatives in convention assembled before they vote on whether he will keep his job. Voting and hospitality suites will open simultaneously. I haven\u2019t heard from a Conservative who thinks Poilievre will lose the vote outright. I haven\u2019t heard from many who believe, enthusiastically, that he\u2019s the leader the party needs. Enthusiasm can be an unreliable guide anyway. I suspect he\u2019ll pass this test. There\u2019ll be others later. There always are, for anyone in politics.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives under Poilievre won more of the popular vote in April than the Liberals under Justin Trudeau or the Conservatives under Stephen Harper ever did, but Mark Carney\u2019s Liberals won more, and more ridings, which is how we count elections anyway. My read of every horse-race poll is that the Conservatives must be counted the underdogs but could well win. I\u2019d vote to keep Poilievre if I held a party card. I\u2019m also not sure he\u2019s the party\u2019s best leader. I just don\u2019t know who\u2019d be better. The names one hears aren\u2019t persuasive. The NDP since 2017 has shown the danger in kicking a leader out without a plan. <\/p>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

After I posted Poilievre\u2019s statement<\/a> (not a speech) in rebuttal to Mark Carney\u2019s Davos speech, it was fun to read all the comments from people who were surprised he can make a coherent argument. He\u2019s been doing that for years, although it\u2019s not all he does. It was also fun to see people respond so positively to Poilievre\u2019s use of the basic civil tone most Canadians expect from one another. Guess it\u2019s never too late to start.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written tens of thousands of words on Poilievre. In 2022 I listed some questions<\/a> I\u2019d ask if I ever got an interview, thus ensuring I haven\u2019t since. I maintain that if he ever does become prime minister, some one-chili-pepper questions from me will be quite literally the least of his problems. But I can\u2019t make a man\u2019s decisions for him. <\/p>\n

Sometimes I\u2019ve done my best to explain his behaviour, on his feuds with journalists<\/a> or with political opponents who probably didn\u2019t even know they were his political opponents<\/a> until he started calling them names from a safe distance. <\/p>\n

I thought \u201cAxe the tax\/ build the homes\/ Fix the budget\/ Stop the crime\u201d might be significant on the day Poilievre first said it in public<\/a>, in a post that finished: \u201cPoilievre\u2019s tight focus on pocketbook issues resembles nothing so much as the message Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper and Jean Chr\u00e9tien used, in different ways at different times, when each ended a decade of rule by their opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

I discussed in detail his ambitious plan to take working-class votes from the Liberals and NDP when he spoke to a union crowd<\/a> in Gatineau. I lost a few subscribers when I wrote a long account of Poilievre\u2019s year-end 2024 interview with Jordan Peterson<\/a>, but in hindsight it stands as one of the most astonishing displays of hubris I\u2019ve seen. \u201cWe\u2019re stronger than any political party has been \u2014 well, maybe even in my lifetime,\u201d he said, four months before losing the next election. <\/p>\n

My most recent long post about Poilievre followed his appearance in November at the Economic Club of Toronto<\/a>. On Friday we\u2019ll see whether I\u2019ll get to write more. I try to learn things every day, and I suspect that at least half of what I do needs improving. It was amazing to watch Poilievre spend half of 2025 insisting he gets everything right the first time. He seems to have scraped out some room for humility as the year wore on. My gentle advice to the Conservative leader is to hang onto that humility even if he has a good night on Friday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHe did WHAT?\u201d I\u2019ve been enjoying telling friends who work for a living about Mark Carney\u2019s Thursday-afternoon speech…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,113,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-262694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}