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National Post

Chris Selley: Canadian protectionism is on the march

It gets harder by the week to distinguish Canada's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionism from … well, protectionism, as opposed to something more sophisticated, calculated or intelligent. I argued recently that there's no good reason for BC Ferries to pay over the odds for new vessels if a Chinese shipyard can build them on time and for the best price — but of course I understand the unique sensitivities around China, just as I do those around the United States. Article content Article content But now consider this headline from hell in the Toronto Star this week: 'Everyone wants the new TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) subway cars to be made in Canada.' Article content Article content 'Everyone' in this case is all three levels of government involved: Toronto city council, led by an NDP mayor; the provincial government, led by a Progressive Conservative premier; and the federal government, led by a Liberal prime minister. So, not literally everyone, though I get the sense we're not far away from the latter, even as we're supposedly trying to project a free-trading image to the world. Right and left are united, at least rhetorically, on the 'buy Canadian' thing. When Rob Ford won the Toronto mayoral election in 2010, bringing brother Doug along with him to city council, one of their major complaints against former mayor David Miller was that under his watch, the city had paid far too much for new subway cars in order to ensure they were built by Bombardier in Thunder Bay, Ont. — which is more than a 15-hour drive from Toronto, and which many Torontonians probably couldn't place on a map. Article content Article content As the 'Canada is not for sale' premier, Doug Ford is now David Miller. 'I am requesting that the City of Toronto recognize this historic opportunity and consider a sole-source procurement with Alstom, which would support Ontario workers in Thunder Bay and across our province,' Ford's provincial Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria wrote recently to the city. (Alstom, a French company, gobbled up Bombardier Transportation in 2021.) Article content 'With the procurement of these subway trains, I am supportive of any action that accomplishes a build Canada option in a manner that is consistent with the city of Toronto's legal obligations,' federal Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson wrote to Mayor Olivia Chow this week. Article content Any action? If I'm Alstom right now, I'm seeing nothing but dollar signs. Article content It's one thing to rule out American or Chinese companies. I wouldn't — the best deal is the best deal — but it's at least coherent: China is not a Canadian ally, and Trump is taking dead aim at the Canadian economy. But the past few decades have seen a very welcome move away from protectionism in public-transit procurement.