Michael Ignatieff: The risks that Prime Minister Carney took in confronting the Americans in his Davos speech make sense if you believe, as he must do, that he and Canada have nothing left to lose by speaking out, and nothing left to gain by keeping silent. If Carney has concluded that the chances of renewing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement are close to zero anyway, he gambled that Canada’s economic future couldn’t be further damaged by blunt truth-telling at an international forum.
If, however, the prime minister’s speech threw away a deal that could have been reached, he will pay the political price, and Canada’s economy will pay a heavier price still…