Tom’s Take: A picture worth a thousand words as Three Amigos meet in Ottawa

If you want to know what was really on the minds of the three North American leaders, look closely at the photo-op as they all sat down for their one and only meeting.

Beside Justin Trudeau on one side was his environment minister. On the other side, his minister of international trade.

Barack Obama, meanwhile, sat with his Secretary of State, his head of Homeland Security and his national security advisor.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto featured his finance minister.

The picture was worth a thousand words. Canada wanted this to be about trade and climate change, the Americans wanted to emphasize security and intelligence, and for the Mexicans it was about money.

As it turned out, everyone got their issues addressed to some degree, but most of it by way of statements of good intentions. These summits aren’t designed to do much more than that. What is important though, are the images.

1:52 Trudeau announces Mexico, US and Canada forming North American climate change ‘partnership’

• Trudeau announces Mexico, US and Canada forming North American climate change ‘partnership’
• Obama arrives at Parliament Hill in Ottawa; shakes hands with kids waiting
• Mexican president praises Trudeau, says he’s “making Canada stand out in the world”
• President Obama arrives in Ottawa for Three Amigos summit
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau greets President Obama in Ottawa
• Trudeau, Obama, and Nieto pose for ‘family photo’ in Ottawa
• Trudeau to host presidents of U.S., Mexico for Three Amigos Summit

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Three relatively young, liberally inclined leaders, at ease with each other, wanted the world to see one thing: a North America dedicated to the idea of a multi-state trading bloc.

Or, to put it another way, they wanted you to see the opposite of Brexit, and the antithesis of Donald Trump.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: Or, to put it another way, they wanted you to see the opposite of Brexit, and the antithesis of Donald Trump.

The leaders even agreed to support and pursue the Trans-Pacific Partnership trading bloc of Pacific nations. That’s saying a mouthful, considering that neither Canada or the United States has declared themselves in favour of it. But the TPP was mentioned to double down on the main point, which is that globalization is still a worthwhile goal.

It was odd that the North American version of that was absent from the final text. Apparently NAFTA is the deal that dares not speak its name. But it’s under attack, and losing popular ground.

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During the American presidential race, Hillary Clinton has said it needs to be revised, while Donald Trump has said it needs to be scrapped. Much the same sort of things that one Barack Obama was saying when he first ran for president in 2008. In that election, he whipped up the crowds in America’s rust belt by promising to dramatically renegotiate NAFTA, and if that couldn’t be done, then scrap it.

WATCH: Three Amigos Summit: What did the leaders agree on? Vassy Kapelos reports.

3:10 Three Amigos Summit: What did the leaders agree on?

The crowds went wild. So did Canada and Mexico. They were quickly mollified, though, when Obama’s campaign sent a secret message saying he really didn’t mean what he was saying. Politics, ya know? All three countries accepted the wink and the nod. 

Unfortunately for Canada and Mexico, no one let the American voters in on the ploy and they dislike NAFTA more now than they did then. Trump knows that and is playing it like a Stradivarius. Even Canadians have come to have a disdain for the trade deal. A recent poll shows only 25 per cent of Canadians really like NAFTA, 25 per cent hate it, everyone else is … meh. Mexico is quietly freaking out.

If NAFTA does take a hit, and people are either happy about it or don’t care, the march away from globalization will quicken its step.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: If NAFTA does take a hit, and people are either happy about it or don't care, the march away from globalization will quicken its step.

It doesn’t matter that undoing the deal would play havoc with our economies, any more that it mattered to a majority of Britons that a Brexit would harm them. The truth isn’t enough anymore.

There’s a rising tide of people who feel marginalized by the global economy, who feel they’ve been had. They look at how much of their money went to Wall Street after 2008, only to be used to grant huge bonuses to the perpetrators of the world-wide economic meltdown. In the U.S., they see the disappearance of the middle class and its values and blame that on everything from immigrants to NAFTA.

WATCH: Trudeau, Obama, and Nieto pose for ‘family photo’ in Ottawa

1:23 Trudeau, Obama, and Nieto pose for ‘family photo’ in Ottawa

The three champions of global trade were all smiles on Wednesday in Ottawa, but there was a hint of desperation in their eyes. Obama may be popular, but he’s a lame duck, soon to leave the stage. Pena Nieto is unpopular at home and has only 18 months left in his presidency. Only Justin Trudeau is at the beginning of his run.

Who knows what the next summit may look like, if there even is one? Remember, Stephen Harper cancelled the last Three Amigos gathering when he determined there wasn’t much to talk about.

Defending a global outlook when the current is running the other way isn’t easy. It’s like trying to explain water to a fish. Even if the fish gets it, he’s not likely to be impressed.

This is a time for those who believe in a cooperative worldview to engage the debate. Merely relying on images projecting a happy sort of confidence won’t be enough.