Ex-leader Harper says Canada should make ‘any sacrifice necessary’ to preserve independence from US
TORONTO (AP) — Old Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday that the country must make “any sacrifice necessary” to preserve its independence in the face of threats from President Donald Trump.
Harper, a Conservative prime minister He uttered these words in his speech at the unveiling of his official portrait for almost a decade, from 2006 to 2015.
Harper called this period dangerous and thanked the current situation Prime Minister Mark Carney for attending the launch “at a time of unprecedented challenges in our lives.”
Trump talked about making Canada 51st province and threatened the country with tariffs.
Republican president Pressure to take Greenland moody NATO allianceCanada sharing 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of road is alarming Maritime border with Greenland In the Arctic.
Harper did not mention Trump by name but called on Canada’s two major parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, to unite against threats to the country’s sovereignty.
“We must make every sacrifice necessary to preserve the independence and unity of this blessed land,” Harper said.
Harper said he hopes his portrait will be just one of many portraits of prime ministers of both parties that will remain on display for decades and centuries to come.
“But this, in these dangerous times, will require both sides, whatever their other differences, to come together against external forces that threaten our independence,” he said.
Harper also warned against “domestic policies that threaten our unity.” A secessionist moment in Alberta could garner enough votes to trigger a referendum on independence from Canada this spring.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said separatist support was around 30 per cent. Smith is pressing the federal government on the Pacific coast and the provincial government of British Columbia to approve a new oil pipeline to the Pacific.
Harper approved Carney’s resume when he applied to head Canada’s central bank while Carney was prime minister. He joked that the then-young man “seems to be continuing to enjoy some success.”
Carney later became governor of the Bank of England in 2013 and prime minister of Canada last year.
Carney thanked Harper for condemning those who threaten Canada’s sovereignty as Canada faces unprecedented attacks and trade pressures.
“He called on us to build a stronger Canada, less dependent on the United States,” Carney said. “He also took the time to give me advice, which I greatly appreciated.”
Carney also praised Harper for his economic management during the 2008 financial crisis.
Carney “came to Ottawa as a balanced-budget conservative. He rightly believed that governments should live within their means. But when the financial crisis hit, he didn’t let ideology stop him from doing what was necessary, running a deficit for five years to prop up the Canadian economy during the worst global downturn in generations.”
“Mr. Harper understood that you gain strength in good times to have the capacity to act in bad times.”
