Okay, this image is a bit sensationalized, as the quote doesn’t specifically go with the picture—Councillor Lisa Robinson said those words, just not in that particular moment, posing proudly with Donald Trump Jr. at a Rebel News event. She said “no Elbows Up” at the April 29, 2025 Pickering Council meeting, while voting against a motion concerning the City of Pickering’s response to recent American tariffs.
[Mayor Ashe] “I think this is right in what people have been talking about for the last 37 days or something and that’s protecting Canada’s interest, and Elbows Up!”
[Councillor Robinson] (1:41:45 – 1:41:52)
“Oh gosh, here we go.”
[Councillor Robinson] (1:54:27 – 1:54:32)
“Oh, okay. The answer is no, thank you. And no “Elbows Up”. That’s really immature.”
Councillor Lisa Robinson portrays herself as a great patriot, yet she opposes unified Canadian pushback against American threats to our sovereignty. It may even be fair to say that she values President Trump and his agenda more than she values her own country.
We’ll get back to that, though. First some context:
The Agenda for the Council meeting can be found here. See Item 13 for the full text of the motion, “Pickering’s Response To U.S. Tariff Threats”
https://corporate.pickering.ca/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=259269&dbid=6&repo=PICKERING
Video of the meeting can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/live/pyWer4YZtNs?feature=shared with discussion of the relevant motion beginning at 1:27:45
Minutes for the meeting are available here:
https://corporate.pickering.ca/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=259367&dbid=1&repo=PICKERING
Robinson says “No Elbows Up!” So, what is “Elbows Up”? It’s a phrase inspired by hockey legend Gordie Howe, a record-setting generational talent, remembered not only for his phenomenal skill, but his tenacity and ability to defend himself on the ice. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7453276
Spoken by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, and made famous by Mike Myers, it’s a call for Canadians to stand up and defend ourselves in the face of American aggression, tariffs, and President Trump’s talk of making Canada a “51st state” via “economic force.” Trump suggests he could use ‘economic force’ to annex Canada
Councillor Robinson portrays herself as a great patriot, and never misses an opportunity for a photo op with the maple leaf, or a chance to boast of her love of Canada, while questioning the patriotism of her political rivals.
Here Robinson uses the giant flag at a Pierre Poilievre rally as a prop while running as a PPC candidate in the 2025 Federal election.
Now surely Lisa Robinson, proud, enthusiastic Candian, would support Canadians coming together to resist sudden aggression from our long-time ally, right? Right?
Apparently not, based on her dismissal of the “Elbows Up” expression of defiance and unity as “really immature.”
Before we get into that, though, let’s look at the motion, and Robinson’s stated objections to it.
These are the operative clauses:
Now therefore be it resolved that the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering requests:
- That the City of Pickering align its procurement strategies with any legislation or direction to municipalities that may be issued formally by the federal or provincial government in response to tariffs imposed by the U.S., to support a unified, cross-Canada approach that effectively leverages the considerable buying power of municipalities to support a broader trade and economic strategy in Canada;
- That the City of Pickering calls on the Federal and Provincial governments to take action to remove inter-provincial trade barriers between provinces as a response to U.S. tariffs and support Canadian businesses;
- That Council directs staff to adopt procurement strategies that prioritize Canadian and other non-U.S. goods and services over those of the U.S., where feasible;
- That City Departments conduct a thorough review of purchased goods and services to ensure, where possible, Canadian or Non-American goods, services or product standards are adopted;
- That the City of Pickering will engage, through the Economic Development & Strategic Projects Department, with local businesses and stakeholders to understand the potential impacts of proposed tariffs and to collaborate on strategies to strengthen the local economy
- That the Director Finance & Treasurer be directed to approve amendments to the City’s Purchasing Policy thresholds that would allow City staff more flexibility to support local businesses, particularly for low-dollar purchases of goods and services, and directly solicit bids from domestic suppliers, where applicable, while ensuring continued compliance with the Canadian Trade Agreements
- That the Director Finance & Treasurer be delegated authority to approve contract extensions in situations where negotiating an extension is favourable to obtaining bids, during this time of uncertainty, or where supply or pricing is likely to be impacted, and that this delegated authority be in effect for the duration of the 2025 budget year
- That the Director Finance & Treasurer be delegated authority to approve additional financing, specifically related to tariffs and retaliatory issues where current contracts or bids come in over budget or require an increase, that would otherwise require Council approval unless the additional funding relies on reserves or reserve funds, and that this delegated authority be in effect for the duration of the 2025 budget year; and,
- That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to The Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, all Durham MPPs, and Durham Region Council.
Clause #9 was amended before voting, to include “all Durham MPs”, as proposed by Councillor Nagy.
Robinson expressed concerns about potential extra costs to taxpayers, the need for “mechanisms…to ensure full public reporting”, the lack of a “financial impact analysis” and potential bypassing of council’s authority on spending decisions. You can find her portion of the debate beginning at the 1:36:15 mark of the council meeting video linked earlier in this article. You’ll hear City staff provide her with detailed responses to each of these concerns—for one, all changes in products and vendors to favour local and Canadian suppliers would still need to fit into the existing 2025 budget plan. You’ll notice too that Clause #3 says “prioritize Canadian and other non-U.S. goods and services over those of the U.S., where feasible” and not, as Robinson says “if we just stick with all Canadian, and if the prices don’t suit us, we’re still going to go ahead and do it anyways”. That said, these seem like reasonable questions to ask.
The thing is, though, even if you agree with her here, the way Robinson handled the situation was politically useless, and did nothing to address those concerns. She did nothing to try and correct what she felt was wrong with the motion, or potentially detrimental to taxpayers. Faced with a motion that was clearly going to pass, with her as the lone vote against, Robinson seemed focused on establishing justifications for her “No” vote, rather than taking steps to mitigate what she perceived as issues:
[Councillor Robinson] (1:40:55 – 1:41:14)
I understand that, I was just asking about the mechanisms which we don’t have any. Why is Pickering rushing to grant emergency purchasing powers and change procurement policy when neither the federal or the provincial governments have issued formal orders to any municipalities as of yet?
[Councillor Robinson] (1:41:45 – 1:41:52)
So really, we’re only rushing into this because other municipalities are, is what you just said Mr. Mayor
[Councillor Robinson] (1:48:48 – 1:49:55)
So, I’m sorry, I can’t support this motion tonight, based on those reasons. And not, you know, and just having, you know, everyone make decisions and spend money without having to come to Council. I understand the whole entire process.
And I just, I can’t get behind that. So, thank you very much for your time.
Again, even if you agree with her concerns, she has done nothing useful to address any of them, nothing but impotent posturing.
What could she have done?
She could have proposed amendments to the motion, to add clauses that would require more detailed reporting from City Staff, or to limit some of the expanded authority being granted to the Director Finance and Treasurer, or to create a lower dollar value threshold at which spending decisions must come before Council. She could have motioned for deferral until next month, pending more information from City staff about potential financial impacts. That is how a competent, effective politician who is legitimately concerned about aspects of a motion goes about trying to address those concerns.
Had the Mayor not said “Elbows Up”, provoking a response from her, Robinson might have come out of the meeting looking only incompetent and ineffective. Instead, we got a glimpse into her other motives for opposing the promotion of Canadian products and businesses, protecting Canadian jobs, and working cooperatively with all levels of government to protect Canada’s sovereignty:
“Oh gosh, here we go!”
and
“No Elbows Up!”
and
“I can’t move forward with this where I think possibly that, I mean, when this was first brought to our attention when, I think it was Councillor Brenner that brought it forward at the time, I had said it seemed like, you know, this was more retaliatory in nature.”
Robinson claims to support Canadian businesses and Pickering jobs:
[Councillor Robinson] (1:52:14 – 1:52:28)
“Well, no, no, no, no, I don’t think that’s fair, Mr. Mayor, because no, I just told you I’m supportive of standing up for Canadians’ businesses, and I support protecting Pickering jobs.”
So why does she oppose a motion to protect those things, rather than trying to work with the rest of Council to address the aspects she objects to, so that she can also vote in favour? Why did she oppose pulling American liquor from LCBO shelves? (Check the AI image of liquor bottles here—it’s hilarious. Whisboy!)
Why did she portray removal of U.S. flags from Mississauga’s public spaces, and booing of the American anthem as “betrayal of allies”, instead of taking offence at our supposed ally making explicit verbal and economic threats against our very existence as a sovereign nation?
Why did she mock and dismiss Canadians’ concerns about tariffs, that stand to have a serious impact on our economy, and which, as mentioned previously, are part of a stated plan by the US President to make us a state through economic force?
You don’t need to like Trudeau, the Liberal Party, or the carbon tax, to be upset about a Councillor who wraps herself in the Canadian flag, and then sides with America in a trade war, and that is exactly what Robinson is up to here.
Why? Well, because despite her patriotic photo ops, Robinson’s true loyalty is to Trump-style Far Right politics, not to Canada.
