Former Top Civil Servant Asks Who Is ‘Looking Out for Canada’s Interests’ Amid Turmoil in Ottawa

Storm clouds pass by the Peace Tower and Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug. 18, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A former clerk of the Privy Council and vice-chair of BMO Financial Group has written an op-ed questioning who in Parliament will stick up for Canada’s interests against the incoming U.S. administration, as Ottawa remains in political turmoil.

“The government has squandered our fiscal advantage, hollowed out our military, shattered our immigration system and shown little interest in our anemic productivity while economic, geopolitical and security threats to Canada rise to DEFCON levels,” Kevin Lynch wrote in a column published in The Globe and Mail on Jan. 2.

Lynch said in his piece, “Who is looking out for Canada’s interests?” that the current Liberal government is “barely breathing, let alone governing.” He noted that with the Liberals sliding in the polls and the other parties set to vote non-confidence, the party’s chances of being re-elected are “somewhere between bleak and Armageddon.”

According to a recent Angus Reid survey conducted between Dec. 27 and Dec. 30, the Liberal government has the support of just 16 percent of Canadians, while the Conservatives are supported by 45 percent and the NDP by 21 percent. Support for the Liberals fell after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned from cabinet on Dec. 16, the same day she was scheduled to deliver the Fall Economic Statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he is weighing his options over the winter break, as many voices inside the Liberal caucus are publicly calling for his ousting. While the next election is set to take place on or before Oct. 20, 2025, there has been speculation that the Liberal government may prorogue Parliament as it deliberates on its future.

Lynch said in the event of an election with Trudeau leading the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois may become the official opposition and cause the province to face another referendum on sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Lynch said, Canada is under threat from incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, who he described as being “drawn to weakness like a lion on the Serengeti.” Trump has threatened to place 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports if Ottawa doesn’t address border security issues, and has repeatedly called Trudeau the “governor” of Canada while making jokes about the country becoming the “51st” U.S. state.

With Canada’s next election potentially being held this spring, Lynch said that would leave a “lame-duck Trudeau government at the mercy” of Trump for several months, preventing the provincial premiers and parties in Ottawa from effectively coordinating to push back against the tariffs.

Lynch said the situation is made worse by the 2026 renegotiation of the North American fee trade deal beginning soon, which he said would likely include a “new set of outrageous Trump demands.” Trump has vowed to invoke the six-year renegotiation provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement that he negotiated during his first term from 2016 to 2020.

“The question on American and Mexican minds: Who speaks credibly for Canada?” Lynch wrote.