Mark Carney was in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, to meet with the Emir and get a commitment on “strategic investment” in Canadian infrastructure projects, while the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra serenaded them with old CanCon hits. Carney also invited the Emir to visit Ottawa later in the year. The problem? Qatar is a pretty brutal dictatorship that employs slave labour, has no women’s or LGBTQ+ rights, and they play a role in being middlemen for a number of listed terror groups in the name of mediation and facilitation of conflict resolution. But hey, they have money and access in the Middle East, and they might want to partner with Canada for humanitarian and development work, which is darkly ironic considering the cost of that money.
When are we gonna forge "a new strategic partnership" with a country that actually respects democratic values and the rule of law instead of rule by law?
— Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 (@emmettmacfarlane.com) 2026-01-18T19:08:26.335Z
Meanwhile, Carney has brushed off Doug Ford’s concerns about the EV deal with China, and there seems to be this expectation that they can get investment to build these cheap EVs in Canada, but I have doubts about this considering that the reason they’re cheap is because they are being subsidized to overproduce for foreign market consumption so that they can get a foothold in those markets, and undermine them in order to create a tech monoculture. Carney also said that he’s “concerned” about Trump’s threats over Greenland, and it sounds like we may send some additional troops there, even though we already have an existing presence.
Ukraine Dispatch
Russian drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday have left 200,000 Ukrainians without power.
Good reads:
- Carney says that he wants to be on Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza because of the humanitarian crisis, but the “details are being worked out” (like the $1 billion fee).
- The next phase of the gun buyback programme was unveiled over the weekend, and interested gun owners have two months to declare their interest in participating.
- Michael Kovrig says that Carney’s tone and message in China was “worrisome,” and that the “new world order” line was a poor way to express issues.
- The Conservatives intend to push their tough-on-crime agenda even harder, even as the Liberals have already started adopting performative changes that won’t work.
- Kevin Carmichael talks to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem on the year with the G7 presidency, the international order, and trade imbalances.
- Patricia Treble posits that Trump’s latest tariff attacks on the UK and Europe could scuttle his planned visit by King Charles.
- Paul Wells muses about European fortitude in the current moment, as well as Carney’s travels and choices with whom he is engaging for new trade markets.
- My weekend column pokes at the problem with how we run leadership contests in this country, and why parties keep trying to justify making them longer and longer.
Odds and ends:
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Are you sure that the PRC subsidizes EV’s? Everything I have read says the opposite. The auto industry in China is reported as being a cut-throat industry, working on very narrow margins and export is a way to make money as much higher prices in export markets are still low to foreign buyers.
BTY why does Carney want to to join a Trump property development company that is going to steal anything it can get? And pay ! billion dollars for the honour ?