Except for the week before Quebec’s election, the US
presidential election will soon dominate Canada’s media and make or break the
best dinner parties and barbeques across the country. People will be thrilled
when their American favorite has a good day. They’ll mutter about Stephen
Harper and the weather when he slips.
In the midst of this drama, however, Canadians will be told:
it’s only television. Once they’ve decided who should lead their system, charming and savvy Canadian diplomacy will look after
your affairs.
Three of the best known diplomats in this glamorous Canadian
industry gave a civics lesson to Globe and
Mail readers this morning on how to work US government.
Gotlieb, Kergin, and Robertson are modest about Canada:
Canadian issues in Washington are seen as
“domestic”; Canada’s just another “special interest that can’t
contribute to campaigns.” That’s why skillful, sensitive, patient, and
pro-active Canadian diplomacy is so important.
They conclude on an upbeat note that, however, dirties their
diplomacy with politics:
“So we work the
system, using all our access points, starting with our able ambassadors. But
regardless of the frustrations, experience tells us that the best card that any
Canadian prime minister has to play is his ability to talk directly to the
president and engage him in those picayune condominium issues that come with
sharing a continent.”
Fellow Canadians, we know their politics are fascinating,
but when their election is over, please leave Washington to the professionals.
It’s their hope that with a friendly word on those precious
4- to 6-inch briefing notes for the president that the president will decide that the
“domestic” interest articulated by the Canadian prime minister should be given
equal time—and weight—against a countervailing American interest that is
supported by American votes.
They do not dwell on another strategic problem: to get
Washington’s attention, Canada must always take the initiative—take the bigger
risk.
Relying on leaders and their diplomats effectively leaves the
pace of progress on continental integration and development, in the first, to
Canada’s prime minister—and his sense of what he dare try to do.
Stephen Harper happily (if rather modestly) worked with
Barack Obama on Canadian concerns such as the survival of the auto industry and
red tape at the border. He built up personal goodwill by supporting controversial
US actions in the Middle East. All this
was politically easy in Canada, even with a minority in the Canadian House of
Commons, simply because Barack Obama is immensely popular across Canada.
But, what if the US elects Mitt Romney in November?
Gotlieb, Kergin, Robertson, and waves of other cross-border
experts stand ready to open doors all over a new Republican administration.
However, how can they help Canadians feel as comfortable about Harper’s trips
to a Romney White House?
Without Obama and a vote in US elections, Canadian politics
would likely shift: improving the rewards of being a vigilant Canadian nationalist
and increasing the risks of being a continental opportunist.
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