“Parliament should be meeting today,” the elder statesman told a rally of 1,000 people in Ottawa Sunday.
Parliamentarians need to return to the House of Commons to pass an all-party resolution in support of Canada as the country grapples with American aggression, elder statesman Lloyd Axworthy said Sunday afternoon.
“Parliament should be meeting today,” Axworthy told more than 1,000 people attending a Parliament Hill rally. “I would ask the next prime minister, before you call an election, recall Parliament so that before we get into the competition, we also get on with what unites us.”
The 85-year-old Axworthy, who was a Liberal MP for almost three decades and Canada’s minister of foreign affairs during the late 1990s, was among the speakers at a hastily convened rally meant to affirm Canada’s sovereignty in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-Canadian rhetoric and on-again-off-again tariffs on Canadian goods.
Axworthy spoke hours before the Liberal Party of Canada was to announce its new leader, who will succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Responding to Trump, Canada’s politicians need to move forward with a clear sense of “who we are as Canadians” rather than just “spitballing,” Axworthy said.
“The tariff war is just beginning,” he said. Trump, he said, is Canada’s “adversary … a megalomaniac who has only one thing in mind, power and greed.”
Trump, Axworthy said, is after more than just Canadian resources. “He wants to destroy the things that have given us, as Canadians, who we are, what we are and where we should go,” said Axworthy.
“That human rights are important, he thinks is a joke. That democracy is the right way to govern, he thinks that’s a sign of weakness. That we have respect for other people and have diversity and equality, he thinks that they’re simply a fool’s game.”
Evening Update
He also warned that Canada’s next federal election is under threat by Trump and his adviser, billionaire Elon Musk, “who have the money and the power and the platforms to interfere … to make people distrust who we are.
“We have to be ready for it and we have to realize that our democracy is too important to give away,” Axworthy said.
He called on Canadians to act according to their values by ensuring that “people who are going to suffer pain” as a result of U.S. tariffs “are given full regard.
“We are paying a price. There’s no question about it, but we have to withstand it,” Axworthy said.
He likened the challenges that today’s Canadians will face to the hardships that his parents’ generation faced during the Second World War.
“Maybe we’re not being faced with the kind of fascism that was there in 1939, but we’re facing an adversary to the south of us,” said Axworthy.
Other speakers at the so-called Elbows Up, Canada rally who urged Canadians to stiffen their spines included Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and comedian Shaun Majumder.
“I have never been prouder to be a Canadian than I am today,” Sutcliffe said.
Referring to the nearby National War Memorial and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who died in their service to Canada, Sutcliffe said, “We are grateful for their sacrifice, and we will not let anyone threaten our country … . We will honour the resolve and commitment of those soldiers, of those people who fought for our country, and we will always fight for Canada.”
Coming days will not be easy, Sutcliffe continued. “It might even be painful for a while,” he said. “But we are going to come out stronger. We are going to come out a better country.”
Newfoundland-raised Majumder, an actor and comedian best known for appearing for years on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, said he had recently relocated with his wife and two daughters from the U.S. to Nova Scotia.
“We have moved back to Canada because we believe in this place,” Majumder said.
He urged the crowd to stay united, even as issues drive wedges between Canadians.
“Don’t let them try to divide you,” said Majumder. “We can disagree on all kinds of policies. We can disagree on immigration. We can disagree on financial stuff. It doesn’t matter. We’re still Canadian.”
Have tariffs changed how you shop, run your business, or manage expenses? We want to hear how they’re affecting your daily life. Let us know what’s different in the comments.
Our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark our homepage and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed.
