The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge Is Carney Leading a Post-America World?
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May 5, 2026 
Althia Raj, a Toronto Star columnist on Canadian politics, and Rob Russo, an international analyst at The Economist, unpack Mark Carney’s Europe pivot. They discuss media framing of a 'post-America' world, Canada's trade and strategic cards like critical minerals and energy, tensions within the Liberal caucus, and risks around pharmacare, child care funding and pipeline politics.
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Europe Lags Economically And Militarily
- Europe is behind the US and China on economic, technological, and military metrics, making deep alignment risky.
- Rob highlights stalled CETA ratification and Europe's sclerotic growth as tangible limits to Canada's Europe-first strategy.
Use Critical Minerals As Canada's Negotiating Card
- Do leverage Canada's critical minerals and energy as bargaining chips with Europe rather than only offering generic energy promises.
- Althia Raj notes Europeans asked for critical minerals at the summit, not just Canadian energy supplies.
Canada's Tightrope With Trump Over USMCA
- Canada's negotiating posture balances signalling other options against not provoking Trump into punitive trade moves.
- Althia explains Ottawa says it won't pre-negotiate away its position and is awaiting the US to call talks, accepting uncertainty costs.