2025 年 3 月 9 日晚上 11:46，作者：Pangambam S
阅读前总理让·克雷蒂安在 2025 年 3 月 9 日自由党领袖会议上的演讲全文。
[让·克雷蒂安：] 总理特鲁多、党主席、部长、副部长和议员们。晚上好。
今晚能来到这里对我来说是一个难得的机会。这是我参加的第九次自由党大会。这是我第七次在讲台上发言。我从未想过自己能在 91 岁时做到这一点。我仍然准备好战斗。
我还有战斗的斗志。很高兴今天看到这么多年轻人在场。这让我想起了我第一次参加自由党大会，当时我是拉瓦尔大学青年自由党的主席。 1958 年，莱斯特·皮尔逊当选自由党领袖。1958 年，你们中出生的人并不多，但他后来成为了一位非常出色的总理。
68 年来，我一直参加自由党大会。我一直参加自由党大会，因为自由党代表着什么。我一直参加自由党大会，因为自由党为改善加拿大人的生活所做的努力。我今天来到这里，是因为自由党在未来的日子、星期、月份和年月里最能为加拿大人带来更好的生活。
自由党的成就
自由党为加拿大人提供了加拿大养老金计划和医疗保险、权利和自由宪章、将原住民权利纳入加拿大宪法的两种官方语言、制定了严格的枪支管制法和平权行动。我们一直支持妇女的选择权。我们是率先允许世界上第二个允许同性婚姻的政党。
自由党是一个多元化、平等、宽容、开放和包容的政党。我们自由党人称其为加拿大的本质，自由党在六十年前给了我们红枫叶旗，它在二月十四日骄傲地飘扬在全国各地的家中，以展示我们对加拿大的爱国主义和热爱。
我要特别感谢前总理乔·克拉克、哈珀、马丁、坎贝尔，感谢他们与我一起团结全国加拿大人，自豪地展示加拿大国旗。
向贾斯汀·特鲁多致敬
但今晚，我想向贾斯汀·特鲁多致敬。我要向他致敬，感谢他带领自由党从第三名晋升为政府，并连续三次赢得选举。我想对他和他的团队所取得的成就表示敬意：加拿大儿童福利金减少了加拿大儿童的贫困，十美元的儿童保育费为众多女性打开了劳动力市场，为低收入加拿大人提供了牙科计划，以及他在环境方面所做的所有工作。女士们，先生们，这些都是自由党的政策。
加拿大的经济现实
现在让我们谈谈当下的经济现实，因为加拿大做得很好。我告诉你们，正如我多次说过的那样，加拿大并没有崩溃。
尽管受到批评者的攻击，但加拿大的人均赤字在七国集团中是最低的，比美国低五倍多。我们的人均债务在七国集团中是最低的。事实上，今天我们支付的每一美元税收仅占债务利息的 11%。与我们 1993 年成立政府时的情况相比，我们不得不为每一美元税收支付三十五美分。这是保守党留给我的一个小问题。
我们平衡了账目。我们从保守党手中接过了那个烂摊子，平衡了账目。我们有十年的盈余。保守党重新掌权，我们又负债累累。现在加拿大的通货膨胀率是百分之一点九。边境以南的通货膨胀率是百分之三点二，而且还在上升。你知道吗？我一生都在谈论创造就业机会。现在的问题是，我们正在寻找人力。这是一个难题，但总比相反的问题要好。
另请阅读：完整记录：卡马拉·哈里斯在佐治亚州萨凡纳的集会演讲
我要向政府、特鲁多先生和所有省级政府致敬，因为他们与市政当局一起制定了我们面临的疫情的最佳计划，比世界上任何其他国家都要好。我们的死亡率不到美国的一半。
今天，作为一个政党，我们正在选择一位新领导人。一位将接过劳里埃、圣劳伦特和皮尔逊衣钵的领导人，特鲁多的父亲，特鲁多的儿子，有一个非常漂亮的女儿。你知道，我已经够老了，可以这么说。我自己也是如此。我想说，这非常重要，我想借此机会说，今晚选票上的候选人的素质给我留下了深刻的印象。作为一名自由党人，我感到非常非常自豪。
房间里的大象：美国-C
加拿大关系
让我们来谈谈房间里的大象。几十年来与美国人建立的长期而富有成效的友谊，在我们眼前正在瓦解，正在成为一种难以言喻的东西。相互尊重、信任、互惠合作、友谊，这些长期以来一直是我们关系的特征，现在却让位于特朗普政府对我们国家的警惕和越来越公开的敌意。
这是我们从未见过的事情，但这是加拿大人不理解的事情，我认为大多数美国人也不理解，更不用说地球上的其他地方了。为什么？历史学家、记者、大学研究人员和国际政治专家正在试图理解一些不合理的事情。
好吧，在加拿大，我们举起手肘。我们正在共同努力，团结起来应对这一威胁——对我们的经济、我们的主权的威胁。换句话说，我们作为一个国家的存在本身。本周初，关税成为现实。如果仅从财务角度来衡量，只会有输家。但对加拿大人来说，这不仅仅是这些。这里涉及的不仅仅是金钱。我们热爱我们的国家和独立。我们热爱我们自己，因为我们在世界上是独一无二的。
抵制关税
我要向特鲁多政府和所有省长表示敬意，感谢他们在过去几周领导加拿大对抗对我们施加的毫无道理的关税威胁。政府完全有权进行报复，我向他们所有人表示祝贺。
如果有必要，各国政府可以考虑采取进一步行动——美国人可以穿的任何东西。对石油、天然气、钾肥、钢铁、铝和电力征收出口税真的很伤人。我们将用这笔钱建设加拿大所需的基础设施。例如，修建一条从阿尔伯塔省到魁北克省的天然气管道。阿尔伯塔省是我母亲的家，魁北克省是我父亲的家。所以，你知道，我认为如果我们这样做，加拿大的钢铁工人将能继续工作很长时间。
我可以继续说下去，但我时间有限。世界已经生活在一个基于规则的秩序下八十年了，这个秩序给我们带来了和平与繁荣。它使美国成为世界上最强大、最强大的国家。它让我们所有人每晚都能睡个好觉。而现在唐纳德·特朗普决定把这一切都抛到九霄云外。
另请阅读：文字记录：人工智能如何破解民主：劳伦斯·莱斯格
我们将度过非常艰难的时期，但我相信，我非常有信心，下一任总理将与总理、下议院所有政党的领导人以及世界各地的盟友一起，共同应对特朗普先生给全世界带来的挑战。
给特朗普上一堂历史课
也许说到总统，是时候给他上一堂历史课了。可能没有意识到，1776 年，本杰明·富兰克林在蒙特利尔花了一年时间试图说服人们加入美国革命。法语国家告诉他，“不要怜悯”。他们是对的。看看路易斯安那州的法语发生了什么。保皇党离开美国回到上加拿大和大西洋，下加拿大的法语国家一起建立了我们独立的国家。
1812 年战争期间，美国人来到现在的加拿大执行征服任务。他们在现在的魁北克被萨拉贝里上校击败，在现在的安大略省被伟大的土著酋长特库姆塞等领导人击败。我不知道。显然，当时有人烧毁了白宫。但我太老了，做不到。不。这是个笑话。
为加拿大挺身而出
但女士们先生们，我们一直是南方邻居的朋友和好邻居。但我们必须为自己挺身而出。从历史上看，尽管我们之间是友好国家，但我们也曾遇到过问题，但我们总能找到解决问题的方法。
我们过去曾与美国合作过，我告诉你们，未来我们还会继续合作。我们是好邻居、好朋友，但我们是一个自豪而独立的国家。但有时必须有人为加拿大挺身而出。我们必须时刻保持警惕，我作为部长和总理就是这么做的。
早在 1968 年，当美国人派出一艘没有悬挂加拿大国旗的曼哈顿号船通过我们的北部航道时，他们想证明这条航道是国际水域。作为北方事务部长，我飞往巴芬岛北端的庞德因莱特与他们对峙。我当时在路易斯圣劳伦特破冰船的指挥下。我打电话给船长。我说我一小时后就到，最好在桅杆上挂上加拿大国旗。当我到达时，桅杆上挂着一面加拿大国旗。我笑得很开心。
你知道，我们还有其他类似问题。你还记得纽芬兰，所谓的鱼战，
是的，当我们逮捕了那位房地产经纪人时。当我的朋友托宾在联合国用非法渔网大出风头时。是的。我们成功了。之后他们修改了国际法，因为有一个问题需要解决。我对此感到很自豪，而且那段时间很长。
我当时在西部旅行。我回来了。那是一周的早些时候。所以那是一周早些时候的星期四。所以我的妻子说，我们周末好好休息一下。我说，也许不是，因为我要向西班牙宣战。她没有睡觉。
但是，你知道，我们在西海岸遇到了另一个问题。你知道，我们有温哥华岛、大陆和加拿大水域。俄勒冈州和华盛顿州的渔民要去阿拉斯加，但他们不尊重我们的水域。所以我们威胁他们封锁加拿大水域的通道，迫使他们去公海。这是一个非常困难的问题。参议员维拉斯奎兹说，这几乎是一个战争问题。
所以我讨论了这个问题，并和我的朋友比尔·克林顿谈过，他说在加拿大南部，我无能为力。我说如果你做不到，我就会做点什么。他们被迫尊重我们的法律。有些人被告上法庭。之后，问题解决了，因为我们坚定地支持我们。
另请阅读：完整记录：特朗普在战场北卡罗来纳州集会
但八年来，我一直是比尔·克林顿的同事，他总是说加拿大是他最好的盟友。我是一个非常好的朋友，我们现在仍然是非常好的朋友。但我们一起努力，一起找到了解决方案。这也是未来会发生的事情。我们一直都是好邻居。
所以当我担任总理时，我也感到自豪，我不得不拒绝参与美国入侵伊拉克。这一决定告诉美国和世界，加拿大是一个自豪的独立国家。当然，商界非常紧张。他们害怕报复。所以我告诉他们，好吧。把美国人从我们这里购买的所有商品和服务的清单给我，因为他们喜欢我们。我还没有收到清单。
加拿大独立
所以我们将与他们合作，但他们必须理解，每个人都明白我们是一个非常自豪的国家。对我来说，我可以告诉你，有时我可以从一个老人对另一个老人说：“别胡说八道了。加拿大永远不会加入美国。”
我可以告诉你，我的父母不是来自纽约的百万富翁。他们是来自沙威尼根的工人。但我的母亲教我们要有礼貌。如果我像总统在过去几周对待我的总理和乌克兰总统那样对待任何人，她会为我感到羞耻。
我们不想成为美国人的原因是我们作为加拿大人的价值观。我们是自豪的加拿大人，是的，我们确实应该感谢特朗普先生。他让我们团结得前所未有。所以我想向他表示感谢，我想我会提名他为加拿大勋章获得者。我只是在开玩笑。
总理，我会周游世界。我去过联合国、七国集团、北约、英联邦、法语国家组织，以及五大洲的各种国际会议。当我回到加拿大时，每次我都会说，总理的工作可能是世界上所有国家中最轻松的。我认为，加拿大是工作效率最高的国家，比世界上任何其他国家都要高得多。这就是为什么有数以百万计的来自世界各地的人想来加拿大成为公民。
不久前有一项调查。他们问人们，如果必须重新开始生活，你想去哪里？加拿大排在第一位。为什么？因为加拿大是自由之地。
加拿大：机遇之地
[让·克雷蒂安：]加拿大是机遇之地、慷慨之地、宽容之地、稳定之地、法治之地。我们的土地是世界羡慕的对象。
加拿大将继续通过强大和自由的北方崛起。没有人会让我们挨饿，因为加拿大现在是、也将继续是世界上最好的国家。
相关文章
文字记录：关税为何有效——经济学家奥伦·卡斯解释特朗普关税的逻辑
文字记录：道格·麦格雷戈谈乌克兰和俄罗斯之间拟议的停火协议
文字记录：特朗普将重新谈判世界——埃里克·温斯坦
《The Heat：与杰弗里·萨克斯一对一》文字记录
《杰尚卡尔、斯塔布、亨茨曼、努赛贝、托奇谈 2025 年地缘政治转变》文字记录
Transcript of Jean Chrétien Addresses Tariff War During Liberal Leadership Speech
by Pangambam S
?Read the full transcript of former prime minister Jean Chrétien’s speech at Liberal Leadership Conference, March 9, 2025.[JEAN CHRÉTIEN:] Prime Minister Trudeau, President of the party, Ministers, deputy Ministers and MPs. Good evening.
This is an exceptional opportunity for me to be here this evening. This is my ninth Liberal convention that I’ve participated in. And it’s the seventh time that I’ve spoken at the podium. I would have never thought that I could do it at ninety-one. I’m still ready to fight.
I have fight in me yet. It’s great to see so many young people in the room today. It reminds me of my first Liberal convention when I was the president of the young Liberals at Laval University. In 1958, when Lester Pearson was elected Liberal leader. In 1958, not many of you were born, and he then became a very good prime minister.
I have kept coming to Liberal convention for sixty-eight years. I have kept coming back to Liberal convention because of what the Liberal Party stands for. I have kept coming back because of what the Liberal Party has delivered to make the lives of Canadians better. And I am here today because it is the Liberal Party that can best deliver better lives for Canadians in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
The party is the party of diversity, equality, tolerance, openness, and inclusiveness. We Liberals call it the very essence of Canada, and it is the Liberal Party that gave us the Red Maple Leaf flag sixty years ago, which flew so proudly in homes across the country on the fourteenth of February to demonstrate our patriotism and love for Canada.
I want to say a special thank you to former prime ministers, Joe Clark, Harper, Martin, Campbell, for coming together with me to rally Canadians across the land to show the Canadian flag with pride, with a lot of pride.
Despite the attacks by the critics, Canada has the lowest deficit per capita in the G7, more than five times lower than in the United States. We have the lowest debt per capita in the G7. And in fact, the payment on the interest of the debt today is only eleven percent for each dollar of tax we pay. And compared to what we got when we formed the government in 1993, we were obliged to pay thirty-five cents in every tax dollar. That was a little problem the Tories left to me.
And we balanced the books. We took that mess from the Tories, and we balanced the books. And we had ten years of surplus. And the Tories came back to power, and we went back in debt. Now inflation is one point nine percent in Canada. It’s three point two and increasing south of the border. You know? I spent my life talking about job creation. Now the problem, we’re looking for manpower. It’s a difficult problem, but it’s better than the reverse.
I want to pay tribute to the government, to Mr. Trudeau, and to all the provincial governments for the fact that they have been with the municipalities put together the best program on the pandemic that we faced, better than any other country in the world. Our death rate was less than half of the United States.
Today, as a party, we’re choosing a new leader. A leader who will assume the mantle of Laurier and St. Laurent and Pearson, Trudeau’s father, Trudeau, the son, who has with him a very beautiful daughter. You know, I’m old enough to say that. And myself. And I want to say, that is very important, I want to take this moment to say how impressed I am by the quality of the candidates whose names are on the ballot tonight. It makes me very, very proud to be a Liberal.
This is something we’ve never seen, but this is something that Canadians don’t understand, and I think the majority of Americans don’t understand it either without mentioning the rest of the planet. Why? Historians, journalists, and university researchers and experts at international politics are trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense.
Well, in Canada, our elbows are up. We’re working together to unite to deal with this threat—the threat to our economy, our sovereignty. In other words, our very existence as a country. At the beginning of the week, tariffs became a reality. And there will only be losers if you measure it in financial terms alone. But for Canadians, it’s more than that. It’s more than money that’s at stake here. We love our country and our independence. We love who we are because we’re unique in the world.
If it is necessary, the governments altogether can consider going further—anything the Americans wear. Really hurts by imposing an export tax on oil, gas, potash, steel, aluminum, and electricity. And we’ll use that money to build infrastructure that is needed in Canada. For example, to build a pipeline for natural gas from Alberta to Quebec. Alberta, the family of my mother, and Quebec of my father. So, you know, I think that if we do that, that will keep the steelworkers working in Canada for a long time.
And I could go on and on, but I’m limited in time. So the world has lived for eighty years with a rule-based order that has brought us peace and prosperity. It has enabled the United States to be the strongest, the most powerful country in the world. It has allowed all of us to sleep well every night. And now Donald Trump has decided to throw it all out the window.
We are going to be living very difficult times, but I’m confident, I’m very confident that the next prime minister will work with the premiers, the leaders of all the political parties in the House of Commons, and allies around the world to stand together to meet the challenges that Mr. Trump is creating for the whole world.
During the war of 1812, Americans who came to what is now Canada on a mission of conquest. They were defeated by Colonel de Salaberry in what is now Quebec and by leaders like the great indigenous chief Tecumseh, in what is now Ontario. And I don’t know. Apparently, some burned the White House at that time. But I’m too old to do it. No. It’s a joke.
We have worked with and collaborated with the United States in the past, and I’m telling you, we will do so in the future. We are good neighbors and friends, but we are a proud and independent country. But sometimes one must stand up for Canada. We must always be vigilant, and I did so as minister and as prime minister.
Way back in 1968, when the Americans sent a ship, the Manhattan, with no Canadian flag through our northern passage, they wanted to prove that the passage was international water. As Minister of Northern Affairs, I flew to Pond Inlet at the northern extremity of Baffin Island to confront them. I was under Louis St. Laurent icebreaker. I called the captain. I said I will be there in an hour, and it’s better to have the Canadian flag at the mast. When I arrived, there was a Canadian flag at the mast. And I had a big smile.
You know, we had other problems of the same nature. You remember Newfoundland, the so-called fish war, when we arrested the estate, yes. When my friend Tobin made a great show at the UN with the illegal nets. Yes. And we were successful. They changed the international laws after that because there was a problem that needed to be fixed. And I’m quite proud of it, and it was quite a time.
I was traveling in the west. I came back. It was early week. So it was a Thursday early week. So my wife said, we’ll have a good rest for the weekend. And I said, perhaps not because I’m declaring war to Spain. She did not sleep.
But, you know, we had another problem on the West Coast. You know, we have Vancouver Island, the mainland, and Canadian waters. And the fishermen from Oregon and Washington State were going to Alaska, but they were not respecting our water. So we threatened them to block the passage on Canadian water and forced them to go in the high seas. It was a very difficult problem. The senator Velasquez said it was almost a question of war.
So I discussed that, and I talked with my friend Bill Clinton, and he said that south of Canada, there’s not much I can do. I said if you cannot do something, I will do something. And they were forced to respect our laws. Some were taken to courts. And after that, the problem was solved because we stood for us strongly.
But for eight years, I was a colleague of Bill Clinton, and he would always say that Canada was his best ally. And that I was a very good friend, and we still are very good friends. But we worked together, and we found solution together. And this is what will happen in the future too. We’ve always been good neighbors with anybody.
So I was proud too when I was prime minister, and I had to say no to the participation in the American invasion of Iraq. That decision told the United States and the world that Canada is a proud independent country. Of course, the business community was very nervous. They were afraid of retaliation. So I told them, okay. Give me the list of all the goods and all the services that the Americans are buying from us because they like us. I’ve not received the list yet.
I can tell you that my parents were not millionaires from New York. They were workers from Shawinigan. But my mother taught us good manners. She would have been ashamed of me if I had treated anyone the way that the president treated my prime minister and the president of Ukraine in the last few weeks.
The reason we don’t want to become American is because of our values as Canadians. We are proud Canadians, and, yes, we owe in fact, we owe a debt of recognition to Mr. Trump. He has united us as never before. So I want to say thank you to him, and I think I will propose him for the Order of Canada. I’m just kidding.
Prime Minister, I would travel across the world. I went to the UN, to the G7, to NATO, to the Commonwealth, to the Francophonie, and to all sorts of international meetings on the five continents. When I came back to Canada, each time I would say that the job of being prime minister is perhaps the easiest of any country in the world. Canada is the country that works the best, I think, much better than any other country in the world. And it’s why there are millions and millions of human beings from all over the world who would like to come and become Canadian citizens.
There was a survey not long ago. They were asking the people, where would you want to go if you had to start again your life? And Canada was number one. Why? It’s because Canada is the land of freedom.
Canada will continue to rise through North Strong and Free. Nobody will starve us into submission because Canada is and will remain the best country in the world.
This is an exceptional opportunity for me to be here this evening. This is my ninth Liberal convention that I’ve participated in. And it’s the seventh time that I’ve spoken at the podium. I would have never thought that I could do it at ninety-one. I’m still ready to fight.
I have fight in me yet. It’s great to see so many young people in the room today. It reminds me of my first Liberal convention when I was the president of the young Liberals at Laval University. In 1958, when Lester Pearson was elected Liberal leader. In 1958, not many of you were born, and he then became a very good prime minister.
I have kept coming to Liberal convention for sixty-eight years. I have kept coming back to Liberal convention because of what the Liberal Party stands for. I have kept coming back because of what the Liberal Party has delivered to make the lives of Canadians better. And I am here today because it is the Liberal Party that can best deliver better lives for Canadians in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.
Liberal Party Achievements
It is the Liberal Party that has given Canadians the Canadian Pension Plan and Medicare, the Charter of Rights and Freedom, the two official languages that put the indigenous rights into the Canadian constitution, brought in tough gun control laws, affirmative action. We have always supported women’s right to choose. We are the party who led the way to permit the second party in the country in the world to permit same-sex marriage.The party is the party of diversity, equality, tolerance, openness, and inclusiveness. We Liberals call it the very essence of Canada, and it is the Liberal Party that gave us the Red Maple Leaf flag sixty years ago, which flew so proudly in homes across the country on the fourteenth of February to demonstrate our patriotism and love for Canada.
I want to say a special thank you to former prime ministers, Joe Clark, Harper, Martin, Campbell, for coming together with me to rally Canadians across the land to show the Canadian flag with pride, with a lot of pride.
Tribute to Justin Trudeau
But tonight, I want to pay tribute to Justin Trudeau. I want to pay tribute to him for taking the Liberal Party from third place to government and to three successive election victories. I want to pay tribute to what he and his team have accomplished: Canadian Child Benefit that reduced the poverty for the children in Canada, the ten dollars childcare that opened the labor market to so many women, the dental plan for low-income Canadians, for all the work he’s done on the environment. Ladies and gentlemen, these are Liberal policies.Canada’s Economic Reality
And let’s talk about the economic reality of the moment now because Canada has done well. This I’m telling you, as I’ve said so many times, Canada is not broken.Despite the attacks by the critics, Canada has the lowest deficit per capita in the G7, more than five times lower than in the United States. We have the lowest debt per capita in the G7. And in fact, the payment on the interest of the debt today is only eleven percent for each dollar of tax we pay. And compared to what we got when we formed the government in 1993, we were obliged to pay thirty-five cents in every tax dollar. That was a little problem the Tories left to me.
And we balanced the books. We took that mess from the Tories, and we balanced the books. And we had ten years of surplus. And the Tories came back to power, and we went back in debt. Now inflation is one point nine percent in Canada. It’s three point two and increasing south of the border. You know? I spent my life talking about job creation. Now the problem, we’re looking for manpower. It’s a difficult problem, but it’s better than the reverse.
I want to pay tribute to the government, to Mr. Trudeau, and to all the provincial governments for the fact that they have been with the municipalities put together the best program on the pandemic that we faced, better than any other country in the world. Our death rate was less than half of the United States.
Today, as a party, we’re choosing a new leader. A leader who will assume the mantle of Laurier and St. Laurent and Pearson, Trudeau’s father, Trudeau, the son, who has with him a very beautiful daughter. You know, I’m old enough to say that. And myself. And I want to say, that is very important, I want to take this moment to say how impressed I am by the quality of the candidates whose names are on the ballot tonight. It makes me very, very proud to be a Liberal.
The Elephant in the Room: U.S.-Canada Relations
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Long and fruitful friendship with Americans built over decades, which is falling apart before our eyes and is becoming something which is difficult to name. Mutual respect, trust, reciprocal cooperation, friendship, which have long characterized our relationship are now giving way to wariness and more and more open hostility from the Trump administration towards our country.This is something we’ve never seen, but this is something that Canadians don’t understand, and I think the majority of Americans don’t understand it either without mentioning the rest of the planet. Why? Historians, journalists, and university researchers and experts at international politics are trying to make sense of something that doesn’t make sense.
Well, in Canada, our elbows are up. We’re working together to unite to deal with this threat—the threat to our economy, our sovereignty. In other words, our very existence as a country. At the beginning of the week, tariffs became a reality. And there will only be losers if you measure it in financial terms alone. But for Canadians, it’s more than that. It’s more than money that’s at stake here. We love our country and our independence. We love who we are because we’re unique in the world.
Standing Up to Tariffs
And I want to pay tribute to the Trudeau government and all the premiers for the way they have led Canada in the last few weeks in confronting the menace imposed on us with tariffs completely unjustified. Governments have absolutely right in retaliating as they are, and I congratulate all of them.If it is necessary, the governments altogether can consider going further—anything the Americans wear. Really hurts by imposing an export tax on oil, gas, potash, steel, aluminum, and electricity. And we’ll use that money to build infrastructure that is needed in Canada. For example, to build a pipeline for natural gas from Alberta to Quebec. Alberta, the family of my mother, and Quebec of my father. So, you know, I think that if we do that, that will keep the steelworkers working in Canada for a long time.
And I could go on and on, but I’m limited in time. So the world has lived for eighty years with a rule-based order that has brought us peace and prosperity. It has enabled the United States to be the strongest, the most powerful country in the world. It has allowed all of us to sleep well every night. And now Donald Trump has decided to throw it all out the window.
We are going to be living very difficult times, but I’m confident, I’m very confident that the next prime minister will work with the premiers, the leaders of all the political parties in the House of Commons, and allies around the world to stand together to meet the challenges that Mr. Trump is creating for the whole world.
A History Lesson for Trump
And perhaps speaking of the president, it is time for a little history lesson for him. Probably does not realize that in 1776, Benjamin Franklin spent a year in Montreal trying to convince the people to join the American Revolution. And he was told by the Francophone, “no merci.” And they were right. Look what happened to the French language in Louisiana. The loyalists left the USA to come back to Upper Canada and the Atlantic, and the Francophone of Lower Canada, together, they built our independent country.During the war of 1812, Americans who came to what is now Canada on a mission of conquest. They were defeated by Colonel de Salaberry in what is now Quebec and by leaders like the great indigenous chief Tecumseh, in what is now Ontario. And I don’t know. Apparently, some burned the White House at that time. But I’m too old to do it. No. It’s a joke.
Standing Up for Canada
But ladies and gentlemen, we have been friends and good neighbors with our southern neighbors. But we must stand up for ourselves. Historically, despite our friendship, we have had problems, but we always found a way to solve them.We have worked with and collaborated with the United States in the past, and I’m telling you, we will do so in the future. We are good neighbors and friends, but we are a proud and independent country. But sometimes one must stand up for Canada. We must always be vigilant, and I did so as minister and as prime minister.
Way back in 1968, when the Americans sent a ship, the Manhattan, with no Canadian flag through our northern passage, they wanted to prove that the passage was international water. As Minister of Northern Affairs, I flew to Pond Inlet at the northern extremity of Baffin Island to confront them. I was under Louis St. Laurent icebreaker. I called the captain. I said I will be there in an hour, and it’s better to have the Canadian flag at the mast. When I arrived, there was a Canadian flag at the mast. And I had a big smile.
You know, we had other problems of the same nature. You remember Newfoundland, the so-called fish war, when we arrested the estate, yes. When my friend Tobin made a great show at the UN with the illegal nets. Yes. And we were successful. They changed the international laws after that because there was a problem that needed to be fixed. And I’m quite proud of it, and it was quite a time.
I was traveling in the west. I came back. It was early week. So it was a Thursday early week. So my wife said, we’ll have a good rest for the weekend. And I said, perhaps not because I’m declaring war to Spain. She did not sleep.
But, you know, we had another problem on the West Coast. You know, we have Vancouver Island, the mainland, and Canadian waters. And the fishermen from Oregon and Washington State were going to Alaska, but they were not respecting our water. So we threatened them to block the passage on Canadian water and forced them to go in the high seas. It was a very difficult problem. The senator Velasquez said it was almost a question of war.
So I discussed that, and I talked with my friend Bill Clinton, and he said that south of Canada, there’s not much I can do. I said if you cannot do something, I will do something. And they were forced to respect our laws. Some were taken to courts. And after that, the problem was solved because we stood for us strongly.
But for eight years, I was a colleague of Bill Clinton, and he would always say that Canada was his best ally. And that I was a very good friend, and we still are very good friends. But we worked together, and we found solution together. And this is what will happen in the future too. We’ve always been good neighbors with anybody.
So I was proud too when I was prime minister, and I had to say no to the participation in the American invasion of Iraq. That decision told the United States and the world that Canada is a proud independent country. Of course, the business community was very nervous. They were afraid of retaliation. So I told them, okay. Give me the list of all the goods and all the services that the Americans are buying from us because they like us. I’ve not received the list yet.
Canada’s Independence
So we will work in collaboration with them, but they have to understand, and everybody understands that we are a very proud country. And for me, I can tell you that sometimes I can say this from one old guy to another old guy: “Stop this nonsense. Canada will never join the United States.“I can tell you that my parents were not millionaires from New York. They were workers from Shawinigan. But my mother taught us good manners. She would have been ashamed of me if I had treated anyone the way that the president treated my prime minister and the president of Ukraine in the last few weeks.
The reason we don’t want to become American is because of our values as Canadians. We are proud Canadians, and, yes, we owe in fact, we owe a debt of recognition to Mr. Trump. He has united us as never before. So I want to say thank you to him, and I think I will propose him for the Order of Canada. I’m just kidding.
Prime Minister, I would travel across the world. I went to the UN, to the G7, to NATO, to the Commonwealth, to the Francophonie, and to all sorts of international meetings on the five continents. When I came back to Canada, each time I would say that the job of being prime minister is perhaps the easiest of any country in the world. Canada is the country that works the best, I think, much better than any other country in the world. And it’s why there are millions and millions of human beings from all over the world who would like to come and become Canadian citizens.
There was a survey not long ago. They were asking the people, where would you want to go if you had to start again your life? And Canada was number one. Why? It’s because Canada is the land of freedom.
Canada: The Land of Opportunity
[JEAN CHRÉTIEN:] Canada is the land of opportunity, the land of generosity, the land of tolerance, the land of stability, the land of rule of laws. It is our land that is the envy of the world.Canada will continue to rise through North Strong and Free. Nobody will starve us into submission because Canada is and will remain the best country in the world.
Related Posts
- Transcript: Why Tariffs Work – Economist Oren Cass Explains Logic of Trump’s Tariffs
- Transcript: Doug Macgregor on Proposed Ceasefire Deal Between Ukraine and Russia
- Transcript: Trump Will Renegotiate the World – Eric Weinstein
- Transcript of The Heat: One-on-One With Jeffrey Sachs
- Transcript of Jaishankar, Stubb, Huntsman, Nusseibeh, Tocci on Geopolitical Shifts in 2025
