Former Liberal foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy called out Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “bootlicking” approach in dealing with the Trump administration, following the Liberals’ recent decision to rescind the digital sales tax.
“When do we stop pretending it’s all part of some clever negotiating strategy that justifies bootlicking in hopes of tariff concessions?” wrote Axworthy in a Substack article on Friday called Had Enough Cringing?
Axworthy was appointed foreign affairs minister from 1996 to 2000 under former Liberal prime minister Jean Chrétien. During his tenure, he oversaw the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines in numerous countries.
“Are we not cringing to realize how quickly Canada fell into step?” continued Axworthy.
“Pushed along by corporate Canada and their Ottawa acolytes, a government elected on a wave of genuine patriotism rushed to enter secret negotiations on trade and security—offering up who knows what concessions in hopes of cutting a deal.”
Axworthy later lamented Carney’s latest back-pedalling regarding the digital sales tax after Trump threatened to end all trade talks with Ottawa unless the tax was dropped.
“Canada folded… handing an important victory to Mr. Trump,” wrote Axworthy. “So much for the bold ‘Elbows Up’ Election of just two months ago. We’re back to forelock-tugging diplomacy — taxing Big Tech is too provocative for Mr. Trump’s sensibilities and troubling to the American oligarchs.”
When the decision to remove the tax was announced on Monday, it marked a sharp reversal from the government’s position only days before.
On June 27, Champagne told reporters the tax remained “in force” and confirmed Canada would continue with its implementation, despite widespread opposition from the U.S. government and Canadian business groups.
Axworthy noted that removing the tax set in motion a pattern that any time “Trump harrumphs, we comply.”
“What else will we quietly surrender? Cultural industries? Environmental standards, Agriculture security ,Arctic sovereignty? Wait till Stephen Miller whispers in the presidential ear that Canadian immigration policy supports diversity,” he wrote.
He went on to tell Canadians to “forget any dreams of a more sovereign, self-directed Canada,” claiming that the Liberals were only “doubling down” when it came to Canada’s reliance on the U.S.
“Watch for a coming budget that slashes social programs and international aid to cover expanding military commitments — the unspoken cost of appeasement,” he said.
Axworthy said in an interview with the Canadian Press on Wednesday that during the Liberal leadership election, he’d endorsed then-candidate Chrystia Freeland over Carney because he lacked political experience.
“I don’t think he’s ever knocked on that door or gone to a constituency meeting until he became a leadership candidate,” he said.