‘You can only prepare for it’: MP-elect likens Trump’s unpredictability to weather

Calgary Confederation MP-Elect Corey Hogan speaks with Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins about being elected to represent the riding.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Michael Higgins: What are you bracing for as you embark on this voyage of a first-time Liberal MP hailing from a province covered in conservative blue?

Corey Hogan: It is, but it is also the biggest showing for the Liberals in terms of popular vote in two generations, since 1968. I know that there will be hard days, but I know there will also be good days, and I think this is a great opportunity to have a bit of a reset with the provincial government in terms of rhetoric, and just some of the files in general. I think Prime Minister Mark Carney will be happy for that reset, and I hope Premier Smith matches that energy and looks to be more constructive going forward as well.

MH: Alberta has come out swinging in the wake of the election, and to read some of the columnists, Albertans will get a vote on independence. How do you plan to convey the degree of discontent and frustration many Albertans are expressing when you arrive in the Liberal caucus?

CH: First, I think we need to be clear that while there is discontent, there’s often discontent, not just in Alberta, but other provinces. There’s nothing that really makes me think it’s actually higher, in a measurable sense, than it has been in the past.

You look at polling for the notion of separation in Alberta in 2019, it was about here or higher too, and yeah, not great. You certainly don’t want to see one in five Albertans thinking that maybe they’d be better off not in Canada, but I also think this is not a unique moment. This is not a new moment, this goes back decades.

We’ve had in Alberta, groups like the Western Canada concept in the 1980s. This comes up every now and then, but the vast majority of Albertans are proud Canadians, really love this country, want to make this country work, and they’re proud Albertans too, and they don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. I certainly count myself in that group of people.

MH: How much do you expect the degree of discontent to be amplified now that Alberta Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek has decided to resign his Battle River-Crowfoot seat, paving the way to a byelection for Pierre Poilievre?

CH: I actually feel, if anything, it will go the other way. It’s not in Pierre Poilievre’s interest to tear at the fabric of confederation, or suggest that this country is not going to work. He wants to lead this country and I think that there will be eyes on him, not just here in Alberta, but in Ontario, in Quebec and British Columbia, and they’re going to be judging his actions as well.

It could be very hopeful, and very helpful, frankly, to have him run here and just get that rhetoric a little bit cooled down because I don’t think the degree of separation support has increased, but I think the volume of it has, and I think the number of people who are watching and platforming these separation agreements has increased.

We’ve got to step back from that, (the) elections over, the rhetoric has to be reduced, and we’ve got to get on with the business of doing what’s right for this country.

MH: Your professional background includes time as a former deputy minister under both the Notley and Kenney governments, that’s NDP and UCP. How do you see that shaping or informing your approach to now building relations with the Smith government?

CH: I worked for the Liberal Party of Canada before that, too, so I’ve worked with all of the parties, and I want to keep working with all of the parties as a representative for Calgary Confederation.

There’s a funny thing you realize when you’ve worked for multiple political parties, especially when you go from NDP to UCP as I did there, which is that the rhetoric separates them more than the facts. If you just step back a bit and say, ‘What are we trying to do here? We’re all trying to get to net zero. We’re equivalent in very extreme language about timelines. Are we really going to risk this country over 10 years?’ I think that’s wild.

We’ve just got to dial it down. We’ve got to look at our common ground, our common policy intent, as we say in government circles, and try to get something better done for the people of Alberta and the people of Canada.

MH: How do you see Alberta demands for pipelines, changes in policies and federal regulations? How does that all factor into your conversation?

CH: Politics is politics, there are going to be strongly stated demands, and there are going to be responses that need to be given to them all, but I try to look for the common ground there and see if we strip that rhetoric away, if there’s not a better ground that’s possible.

So sure, Premier Smith put very strong wording out there, Prime Minister Carney and Premier Smith will be talking, I believe, next week and hopefully that talk is better than the words around it. I think behind closed doors Premier Smith will be more keen to have constructive conversations.

MH: As one of two Alberta Liberal MP-elects from this province, how important will it be for Alberta to have a voice at the cabinet table? Are you prepared to lobby for a ministerial portfolio?

CH: I’m happy and excited to be the MP for Calgary Confederation. My constituency is my primary focus. If the Prime Minister wants me to do more, I’m here to serve, and I’m happy to do that, but I do think it’s important that we have Alberta voices. It doesn’t need to be me, but I think that we do need an Alberta voice in government.

Regardless of whether or not I’m in cabinet, I will definitely be a strong Alberta voice and a strong Alberta voice that’s also a voice for a strong Canada.

MH: Your party was elected to deal with Donald Trump. What will you be watching for when Mark Carney meets face-to-face for the first time as prime minister with the U.S. president on Tuesday and what do you feel hinges on that meeting?

CH: Donald Trump is a bit like the weather, you can only prepare for it, you can’t actually predict it, and you can’t force it to be what you want it to be. Mark Carney is a brilliant negotiator, he’s meeting with a negotiator in Donald Trump. I’m sure there will be posturing by President Trump, and I am equally sure that the prime minister will be up to the challenge.

Whatever comes of that meeting, I think the prime minister’s words resonate with me. We’re going to have to come together as Canadians and find the best way forward as Canadians. That’s not as Liberals, that’s not as Conservatives, that’s not as New Democrats, that’s as Canadians.