Beyond AB: February 18, 2026

What's new with Conservatives, Liberals, and the U.S.? Good news and bad news.

Federal Conservatives are in a dark place

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a call for national unity at the unveiling of his portrait in Ottawa, Bowmanville-North Oshawa MP Jamil Jivani insulted Canadians while on vacay in Washington, and we were treated to a sort of surprise announcement that the Conservatives, led by super popular (with delegates in Calgary, anyway) Pierre Poilievre, lost another MP to the Liberals.

I’ve written far too many words trying to explain why Mr. Harper’s words fell on deaf ears in conservative circles. Don’t worry, I saved them, but they’re far too detailed for today. The best summary I can give is that Stephen Harper stumbled into government and felt he had to protect that, so, he governed from a place of continuity and collaboration that he otherwise would not have. It makes his legacy look different today, and that, combined with the fact that he is apparently a solid federalist, gave him the position from which to say the following:

I sincerely hope that mine is just one of many portraits of Prime Ministers from both parties that will continue to be hung in the Parliament of Canada for decades and centuries to come […] but that will require that in these perilous times both parties whatever their differences, come together to preserve the independence and unity of this blessed land.

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, February 3, 2026

On the one hand, Stephen Harper gets it, but I also understand why he does— because he stumbled into governing during times when he had to put Canada first and that meant setting his ideological goals aside. The party he led is no longer the one he created, and the state of the world is not what it was then. I can’t say for certain if he was always a statesman or if his experience in government led him to become one, but the realities facing Canadian leaders today is very different than when he was Prime Minister and he recognizes that— even if a few of his successors have not.

Political games have always been afoot but what we’re seeing now is on an entirely different level. The reality we face today isn’t just that they’re missing the right slogan, or the perfect messaging or strategy to undermine the governing party, it’s far more consequential. I can admit that since Pierre Poilievre didn’t understand that during the election, he then allowed his caucus to be populated with loyal footmen rather than a strong opposition that could be a government in waiting. I don’t begrudge him his decisions, I just accept that he was building his own little empire instead of something that would be good for Canada or Canadians.

It’s important because it’s how we ended up with Jamil Jivani, MP for Bowmanville-North Oshawa, whose claim to fame is that Vice President J.D. Vance was once his roommate and he can get an audience with the Veep because of it (not that he would comment on it during the election when, after Donald Trump’s stated threats to put economic pressure on Canada to force us into giving up our sovereignty and his subsequent tariffs to push it along made it seem like a liability instead of a strength).

Well, that dim-witted fool headed down to Washington to talk about trade, with all the pomp and authority of a nobody from Alberta who wanted to negotiate the province becoming the 51st state. Except that Mr. Jivani can get a meeting with the Veep instead of low-level staffers.

So, Mr. Jivani heads down to Washington without even the well-wishes of his party leader, let alone that of the actual governing party. However, the Prime Minister did recommend a meeting first with Dominic LeBlanc, who has been the point person on trade with the U.S., because he is not a fool.

While he’s down there, Mr. Jivani can’t pass up the opportunity to sit down with the Trump-approved blog-turned-media outlet (yeah, I get the irony) during which he says that Canadians aren’t doing themselves any favours by throwing “anti-American hissy fits”. Well fuck you, too, Jamil.

We aren’t having “anti-American hissy fits”, we’re choosing not to spend our time and money in a country whose leader threatens our sovereignty, or economy, and our way of life. Maybe being on the government payroll doesn’t allow you to understand that reality for Canadians. Sorry, not sorry.

And to this, the leader of the Conservative Party says “he speaks for himself”. So, now we’re taking the Danielle Smith school of “hands-off leadership” classes are we?

Unfortunately, it probably is exactly that. Danielle Smith, Alberta’s Premier, is bending so far over for her misguided and misinformed base that her head is almost entirely up her own arse, is willing forcing herself into these contortions because she doesn’t want her party to split up. She’s pretty certain that the moderate conservatives still won’t vote NDP, so she’s laying down for the separatists.

Allowing Jamil Jivani to insult Canadians, and flaunt his U.S. alliances, allows Mr. Poilievre to play to both sides of his membership base which is almost a 50/50 split between Canadians who think Donald Trump is pond scum and those who support him. That Conservatives who are now equally as aligned with treason as patriotism is a feature of their leadership— not a bug.

With that being said, though, there are positive signs that decent people with conservative values know they are not powerless.

It began with Nova Scotia’s Chris d’Entremont, then Ontario’s Michael Ma, and now, Alberta’s Matt Jeneroux.

On X

Mark Carney may be a legitimate liberal in Alberta but he’s a bona fide progressive conservative anywhere else in Canada. These are not normal times, no matter how much those representing the Conservative Party today wish they were. The longer they deny that reality, the more likely it is that others will leave, too.

The remaining Conservative members can keep pointing the finger at Mark Carney— I agree he looks like he’s moving in a much more positive direction for Canada than Pierre Poilievre— and they might even be able to keep selling the “fake conservative” line, but eventually they are going to have to look at the leader.

The leader who has been unable, or unwilling, to acknowledge the outside threats to Canada, and Canadians. The leader whose approval ratings are so low that in some conservative circles, he is being referred to as “the Justin Trudeau of the Conservative Party”. Just like Justin, I’m sure Pierre will get the message eventually.

If anyone you know is stuck in a conservative media bubble

Canada’s Prime Minister hasn’t just been flying around the world for “photo ops”. Mark Carney’s Davos speech highlighted an end to carrying on as if nothing had changed. It signaled an end to hoping the current tensions with our largest trading partner would be resolved when someone reasonable was in charge again.

Yet, it also spoke of new beginnings; not that we knew there were major moves underway at the time.

Canada has signed a defence agreement with the E.U. is officially the first non-European country to be part of their SAFE (Security Action For Europe) program, which will allow Canada to order with other E.U. countries on military needs procurement, and Canadian companies will be able to bid on filling them as well. The program also allows for loans to member states for procurement purposes.

The Prime Minister of Canada is also spearheading trade talks between the E.U. under CETA (Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement) and Indo-Pacific countries under CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) of which Canada is a member of both.

“It’s the opportunity to have a rules-based trading bloc of one and a half billion people with complementary economies, and also provides a basis potentially for further expansion out of that,” the prime minister said.

The CPTPP trade bloc includes Canada, the U.K., Japan, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and other Pacific nations.

The plans would bring nearly 40 nations on opposite sides of the globe closer together to reach a deal on so-called rules of origin. These rules determine the economic nationality of a product.

A deal would allow manufacturers throughout the two blocs to trade goods and their parts more seamlessly in a low-tariff process known as cumulation.

Carney said Canada is “in a unique position” to push talks forward with the 27 nations of the EU as it’s both a member of CPTPP and has the CETA trade deal with Brussels.

POLITICO EU, February 18, 2026

While constituents in Jamil Jivani’s riding in southern Ontario have been abandoned by U.S. car manufacturers over Trump’s tariffs, the Prime Minister has been inviting the many other auto manufacturers around the globe to consider the skill sets and infrastructure in the province. “Made in Canada” autos may look different in the future, but they will still be produced in Ontario.

U.S. Good news, bad news

After a solid year of lawmakers in the U.S. doing little to exercise their power over the President of the United States, the tide appears to be turning— sort of. House legislators voted 219-211 to terminate tariffs against Canada, but the Trump Administration has said they had a workaround if that happened. The Supreme Court has yet to release their decision on whether the President can unilaterally act without Congressional approval.

Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to slide, but Gallup won’t be updating the public’s opinions on that each month anymore. After 80 years, they suddenly decided it just wasn’t working for them.

Behaviours from those higher level Trump supporters are reportedly growing more erratic. Lindsay Graham has either entered his DGAF era, or, he’s doing his best impression of a control freak who just discovered he’s already been losing control. It’s both potentially optimistic because if they are starting to feel the pushback, they are scared, but worrisome, because they might go crazier before they’re taken down.

Oh, and the U.S. is fast becoming a main source of disinformation in Canada. Because of course they are.

Final thoughts

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