The Carney government’s continued sacrificing of Trudeau-era digital policies on the altar of the USMCA is many things at once:
1. The trade talks are likely an excuse for Carney to get rid of policies he doesn’t like.
Ottawa to direct CRTC to scrap demands for streamers to fund local news, niche broadcasters
2. A signal that he is going to let the US tech giants run roughshod over the country (said nicely, that they will be subject to minimal regulation).
3. A signal of an intent to pursue deeper integration with the US, directly contradicting of his main election promise (and his Davos speech). …
4. A signal that Carney really, really wants a USMCA deal.
5. Most important: it’s a portent of the new Can-US normal. No matter how USMCA talks end, they can’t restore certainty to the relationship b/c the US has shown it can’t be trusted. Treating the USMCA differently is pure magical thinking. …
Gutting Canadian cultural regulations won’t satisfy the US because *there will always be another irritant on the table*. And, contra Carney’s Davos speech, it’s impossible to diversify enough to eliminate this vulnerability. What’s needed is the political will to defend Canadian policy autonomy.
In failing to defend Canadian cultural policy, Carney is also demonstrating that he doesn’t value Canadian policy autonomy, which is the very essence of sovereignty. He isn’t trading cultural regulation for a tariff deal. He’a trading away Canadian policy sovereignty.
Fun fact: this analysis flows directly from my 2011 dissertation (which became my first book, Copyfight), which focused on the potential for Canadian and Mexican policy autonomy in the face of US power.
When Canadian politicians work for US corps at our expense, we get the 51st state. Will check out your book! I was thinking similarly at the time but in energy flows.
We know now that Carney used his book, Value(s), as an instrument. A tool to shape his brand for his political goal. In practice, we’ve seen he doesn’t care about the climate emergency. In fact, he’ll throw gasoline on dry tinder. Why would we think his #ElbowsUp posture was any more genuine?
@parismarx:
when satire is reality
Carney assures Canadians that AI the fastest way to give all our money to US billionaires by Ian MacIntyre, June 6, 2026, The Beaverton
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Mark has unveiled his new federal AI strategy, promising Canadians that artificial intelligence technology is the most advanced, efficient way to surrender all of our collective wealth to US Tech oligarchs.
“AI is the technology of the future, specifically the future where 5 astronomically-wealthy Silicon Valley overlords control every resource on the planet,” Carney announced, reading a speech that had been prepared by ChatGPT.
The Carney Government’s new “AI for All” strategy will see Canada invest in homegrown AI technology that will fail to compete against trillion-dollar US systems, allowing the government to steadily contract out government services to American systems like OpenAI, Claude, and if they’re in the mood for some CSAM, GrokAI.
“Our laughably half-hearted efforts to spur Canadian AI sovereignty will make it much easier to eventually round up all of our national data, so that it can more easily be handed over en masse to US corporations so wealthy that we could never hope to regulate them,” Carney added, offering a thumbs up to a photo of a dead eyed Sam Altman.
Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, echoed the PM’s enthusiasm. “I know a lot more about fine art fencing than I do about AI, but I do know that it is imperative for us to hand all of our wealth, and most importantly natural resources, over to companies like Anthropic AI.”
“As Canada’s AI Minister I’ve had several high level meetings with Palantir’s junior marketing intern,” Solomon continued, “and Delcie explained to me how important it is for Canada to voluntarily submit the North American surveillance state they’re nearly done building.”
Carney added, “Once we Canadians have given these tech giants all our money and control, we won’t notice creeping AI psychosis, or how the technology is destroying critical thinking for an entire generation.”
And poison the drinking water remaining that frac’ers haven’t
Despite enthusiasm for the strategy, Carney acknowledged the difficulty of building Canadian’s trust that AI will effectively take all of their money and jobs.
“It doesn’t matter if the technology actually can perform people’s jobs or even turn a profit,” Carney added, “What is important is some very wealthy men told me that it could, and so that is why I’m asking all Canadians to empty their TFSAs and mail the money directly to Silicon Valley.”