The Ben Mulroney Show - Donald Trump brings back the 51st State Rhetoric after King Charles throne speech

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

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Welcome to the Ben Mulroney show on this Wednesday, May 28. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. I don't know where you find us. You might find us on podcast platform, you may find us on the streaming app or you may find us on the good old radio box. In any case, I thank you for helping us have a great conversation across this country. So yesterday was the throne speech. We've talked about that a lot. We will continue to do so. Afterwards, Mark Carney sat for an interview. We're going to break that down in just a moment. But I do want wanna point something out.

Earlier in the show, I said that when I criticize somebody, I'm gonna do it according to certain rules that I hold true, and I expect you to hold me to those rules as best you can. And one of the things I think is fair comment is when somebody says one thing and does another. Now, Mark Carney said, our new prime minister said that he will introduce legislation on interprovincial trade by Canada Day. That's what he that's his stated goal.

However, that is not what he campaigned on. He did not campaign on introducing legislation by Canada Day. He said not once, not twice, but five times that by Canada Day, all inter-provincial trade barriers would be gone. Now, those are two very different things. He said so on April 5th. He said so on April 17th. He said it again on the 20th, on the 21st, and on election night, he said, quote, we will build an economy, not 13, with the government committed to free trade in Canada

by Canada Day. And I think it's important to call things out when they warrant it. He got elected on a promise that he is now, for all intents and purposes, not keeping. And I think that's an important point. I think it's incumbent upon people like myself to call those things out.

Look, things take time, I get it. But you didn't say they were gonna take, no one told you to make the commitment to lift all inter-provincial trade barriers by Canada Day. You said that at your own, by your own volition. You said, I'm gonna do this by a certain date. And now you're saying that's not the date. Accountability matters, words matter, dates matter,

time matters. So these are important things that we have to call out when they happen. So after that, he sat down with David Cochran of the CBC. I've been critical of David Cochran, but this was a wide ranging interview. And I thought David acquitted himself quite well. And look, nobody is under any illusion

that the job that Mark Carney has is gonna be easy. There are a lot of issues that he needs to tackle. And people like myself, at least in these early days are gonna give him the runway to start getting those things done. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to this government, at least in the early days, until they show me that they are not worthy of that benefit.

So let's listen to some of the takeaways and then we'll talk about them on the other side. Here is Mark Carney telling David Cochran that Canada is looking to join major European major European build up by Canada Day. We need to do much more to secure our borders, to secure our Arctic, to secure Canada. So we're going to need to spend more. We recognize that now we're going to do it in a way that is in the best interest of Canada, with partners on which we can rely, get best value for money, but also make more of that

investment here in Canada. So we're growing jobs and livelihoods in our own country. You know, you know, this some may not have followed as closely, we're spending over 75 cents on every dollar of capital spend for defense goes to the United States. That's not smart. I don't disagree with him at all. I think if we can diversify where we like our military procurement, absolutely. If we can build a lot of that ourselves, if we can start building up sort of a military industrial complex for lack of a better expression, I'm all for it. The knock on effects of being able to build tanks and armaments and weapons here in Canada would be a boon to the economy. And if the government

wants to invest in helping set up those industries, I think the knock on effects will be quite beneficial. You know, he did he referenced in a not so subtle way, reliable partners, implying, I believe that, uh, that he doesn't view America as that reliable partner. But let's also not forget America does a lot of the heavy lifting for us. Our proximity to them sort of kind of ensures our safety, whether we pay them or not, whether we participate or not. I don't think America would take too kindly to a missile being shot by North Korea and landing in Vancouver.

I think they would view that as an assault on America. And I think we've counted on that for a very long time. And so it's nice to see, to hear that we have a prime minister who wants to start taking responsibility for our defense for our the to protect our sovereignty Arctic and otherwise. I like I like the words I need to see the action he continued talking about becoming defense partners with Europe. What's better if we spend more at home if we have diversified partnerships look part

of what's been happening in the last few months since I became Prime Minister is a number of conversations of increasing specificity with our major European partners so that we become defence partners with them, that we become part of a very big build out of their defence industrial base which will have big benefits for jobs here in Canada. We're making great progress on that. And by Canada today, we'd like to see something concrete there. Okay, good.

Like, again, I don't have a problem with that. If America is going it alone on a lot of fronts, then yeah, it's incumbent on us to go find other partners to work with. But partner is the key word, right? Like, partnership implies having skin in the game, putting money into the pot. And where we're gonna get that money, I have no idea.

That's up to Mark Carney to figure out in his big giant brain. But of course, the conversation ultimately got to where so many people have a lot of question marks. Mark Carney's stance on pipelines. Here's, here's part of that conversation. Because I know you said you want to create an energy superpower, clean and conventional energy. A pipeline is a possibility, but not a certainty. And Alberta would say one at minimum is what is needed. Maybe three to the north, to the east and to the west.

This is what the premier said. Is that a reasonable expectation for the Premier of Alberta? And the frustration over this, and you know as someone who grew up in Edmonton, it's driving a lot of the resentment to the national government in Alberta. So as Prime Minister, how do you confront that? Well, I think there's a couple of things. One is let's recognize a few facts

in terms of pipelines that have been built to tidewater and projects opening up, whether it's TMX, whether it's Cedar LNG, and beyond. There's a series of LNG projects that more can be done, more should be done, and from our perspective, more will be done. So we will be moving through this process to make these types of projects possible. Okay, credit where credit is due. David Cochran asked the perfect question. It encapsulated everything.

The government's role in tamping down on a separatist movement that could find purchase in the land of Alberta. And I don't know what it is about this topic that makes it so hard for Mark Carney to give a declaratory definitive statement. He said words. And I guess he continued with more words. We don't begin and end the conference. It's remarkable in some circles this conversation starts and ends with pipelines. That is not what it's become politically. That is not what it's become for Canada.

Canada is a nation. Canadians want, yes, they want energy pipelines that make sense. They also want grid interconnections,ions between our clean grids. They want actually less carbon, so they want carbon capture and storage pathways project to move forward. They want broader corridors, for example, you know, Grays Point in Nunavut, that open up whole swaths of the country to new trade. They want critical minerals so that we are sovereign in the most important components

of the future. That was a delicious word salad. May I have another? How do you confront the separatist sentiment that is there in Alberta? Is there a possibility of a referendum next year? I mean, how do you approach it? This is the greatest country in the world. And this is a country that works.

It's a government that's committed to working with Canadians across the country. And I'll, maybe, I know you're pressed for time now. You're pressed for time. One of us were both pressed for time. I got things to do. Yeah, okay. On this issue of national importance,

we need a leader who's willing to go to the mattresses. I need the rubber to meet the road and it didn't. You are listening to the Ben Mulroney Show and I thank you for that. Welcome back. Yesterday was, I thought, a beautiful day for Canada. I thought the fact that the King of England, the King of Canada, came to Ottawa to read the throne speech of the incoming liberal government was note perfect.

You know, we can discuss whether or not you agree with the priorities of this government. That is not the conversation I want to have right now. I thought it was a demonstration of Canada's history, our institutions, and what makes us a unique part of North America. I thought it was beautiful. I thought the people in attendance,

with the exception of Justin Trudeau's shoes, were perfect. Everything was great. And I think it showed our friend Donald Trump that we are not a 51st state, that we cannot be a 51st state, that we are unique and distinct, and there is not an artificial line

that was drawn between Canada and the United States. It means something. It matters. There's a reason it is there. I don't think you like that. I don't think you like that at all. I think he saw the, uh, the, the, the performance, the pageantry, the pomp, and I, I don't know if he got jealous or irked or a miffed. I don't know what it was, but he took to his truth social. And he had some interesting words. He harkened back to a conversation last week about the Golden Dome, which is a missile defense system,

I believe modeled on the Israeli Iron Dome that he wants to build for continental protection and defense that he said would cost $175 billion. US Canada said that they would like to have the conversation about potentially joining the Golden Dome. I'm not against that on its face. Well, he is what he came back with yesterday. I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome system, that it will cost 61 excuse me, $61 billion if they remain a separate but unequal

nation but will cost $0 if they become our cherished 50 first state, they are considering the offer. First of all, not for nothing, it might as well be 61 trillion because we can't afford that. I think we all know that. This is what the prime minister's office responded and apparently quite quickly. The prime minister has been clear at every opportunity including in his conversations with president Trump that Canada is an independent sovereign nation and it will remain one.

Canadians gave the prime minister a strong mandate to negotiate a comprehensive new security and economic relationship with the United States to that end the prime minister and his ministers had wide ranging and constructive discussions, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, yes, what we're witnessing in real time is that Mark Carney's promise to have Donald Trump

recognize our sovereignty and be respectful of us doesn't hold water. It was never gonna happen. I didn't believe it. A lot of people did. I was not one of them. And if you go back about a week, the US ambassador to Canada had this to say about the 51st state talk. I was in the meeting, you know, where the the two part meeting, we had the scrum with the president and Carney, which were I think they handled the 51st state issue, boom, gone.

They did it with a smile on their face. Okay, so probably not, right? And that leads me to what I said off the top. I believe that our show of independence by way of reminding the world of our very close link to the crown, our participation in the Commonwealth, our leadership as an independent nation

expressed through that throne speech, Miff the guy, and I'd love to hear from you, give us a call here at the Ben Mulroney show. What do you think of Donald Trump reverting to really, in my opinion, unhelpful behavior? This is not the same as what we witnessed under Justin Trudeau. I believe his government, uh, by way of petty and petulant comments by some of his ministers, as well as things that he has had said, were antagonistic to the president. It was like poking,

poking a bear and they knew they were poking a bear. And the result was some pretty toxic relations, uh, between the president and our government. This is not that Canada expressing itself by way of honoring our institutions in our history, by way of honoring our King, by way of celebrating the opening of Parliament, as we do with every new Parliament, is simply us being us. And there is nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, there is every reason to be proud of it. Some people might not have liked it, and that's fine. We can disagree on that. I didn't, I very much was proud

of what I witnessed yesterday. And that is what makes us distinct from our American neighbors amongst other things. So yesterday was not a deliberately antagonistic attempt to upset the president. He just happened to get upset. That's on him as far as I'm concerned. But let's hear what you have to say.

Hey, Frank, welcome to the Ben Mulroney show. Ben. Yes, sir. Proud to speak to you for the first time ever. Thank you very much for calling. Hey, Ben, let me ask you something. The king was just here, right? Yes.

And we were like all curtsying and cowtowing to him. But are we an independent country or are we part of the great Commonwealth? Well, we're part of the Commonwealth. He is our- What does that mean? I remember Justin's father really just, you know, just kind of disgraced himself in front of the Queen a long time. He did a pirouette.

He did a pirouette. I'm pretty sure that's ancient history. No, the king is our head of state. It's a symbolic position that recognizes our history as a former British colony. And that colonial past has evolved into the Commonwealth, which is a set of independent nations that were former colonies of the British Empire. That's what it is. A lot of new Canadians, Ben, do not like the British Empire. Well, I mean, never like them at all. Okay. I'm wondering, would they rather join the most powerful country in the world, benefit from the highest dollar in the world. Like we get a jump

of like from what are we? Listen, George, George, we're not here. We're not here to debate the merits of whether or not we should join. Oh, sorry, Frank, we're not here to debate whether we should join them, the merits of joining America. That's what we're talking about. I mean, every time Donald says something, everybody gets all hell bent. I don't own Canada. I don't own Canada. I just think about my own best interest. Yeah. Listen, listen, and some people are like you, Frank. Some, some people are like you and, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you are not,

you'd rather be part of China Ben. That's not that choice isn't on the table. Frank. I think it is. Don't they have a police state in Canada now? I police forces in Canada looking after their own ex Pat Frank, we're going down a rabbit hole. Not not listen, I appreciate the call. And I hope you do call back my friend, you have a good day. And I do appreciate the call Frank call back anytime. But that's that's not where this conversation is going. And look, some people don't place the value that I do on our history, our institutions, what makes us different. Some people think we are very similar, similar

enough to the Americans that you can have a go at becoming an American, you want to have that conversation, go right ahead. I suspect far more people are going to align at least generally with me than with that view of this country. George, welcome to the Ben Mulroney show. Hey, good morning, Ben. Well, I mean, Canada is a very fairly new country to young country. We're part of the British and we fought the French. So I mean, this thing about Canadian identity, I get it. The only true Canadians in this country are the native Indians, everybody else we came from somewhere. That's my first point.

My second point is with the golden dome that they're talking about. Canada now is saying they want to join Europe. Me being from Greek background, and I go every year, Turkey invades Greek airspace, naval space, sea space every year. The Europeans say nothing. You think the Europeans are going to defend Canada? Well, first of all, a great many of those European nations are members of NATO and it's right there in the contract to join NATO. An attack on one is an attack on all.

If we got attacked, the Brits would be the first and the French would be the first lined up to defend us. So that's already baked into our relationship. I don't know, I don't know George if, well, hold on George. I don't know. I don't know, George, if well, hold on, George, I don't know that what what he's suggesting is, I think it's, it's, it's a deepening of the military relationship on a number of fronts, not the least of which, looking to the UK looking to

companies that are based in Europe for military procurement, 75% of our military procurement right now comes from the United States. I think that was his point. But anyway, I want to thank everybody for calling in. I really do appreciate it. as long as I have clothes airlock seven. Rick! Seth, please let me out. Rick put you in there for a reason, speed. Mom, just ask! Get back here!

This is for your own good! Rick and Morty, new season, Sundays on Adult Swim. Stream on Stack TV. Get your mouth rounded.