On Tuesday, September 15, Stephen Harper stood up in Toronto to give the closing speech at the first Canada Investment Summit.
The room was packed with some of the world's largest investors. Many of them probably expected a partisan jab.
Harper led the Conservative Party for more than a decade. Just last year, he accused Mark Carney of overstating his role in the 2008 financial crisis.
Instead, he endorsed Carney's biggest gamble.
"This had to be a very difficult decision, but I do believe that our government had no choice but to take this path," Harper said.
The path he meant was Ottawa walking away from trade talks with Washington.
He called the break sad. He warned there would be significant costs. And he said Canada "must pursue diminished reliance upon the United States."
When a former Conservative prime minister and a sitting Liberal one land on the same conclusion, partisanship has left the room. What remains is national strategy.
Canada is now running a live experiment. Can a middle power hedge against its closest ally without breaking itself in the process?
The Night the Talks Ended