Back in the fall, I figured that if Trump somehow got elected, things would get bad , but I didn't expect them to get this bad and this crazy. I can't possibly comment on all of the insanity going on south of the border, but being Canadian, I do want to focus on one thing: Trump's irrational delusion that Canada should become "the 51st state".
If you know anything about Canada, you will know that it's NOT going to happen. This is what happened the last time somebody tried to take over Canada.
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| The British burning Washington |
I don't remember Canada being mentioned much, if at all, during the election campaign. But it cropped up in a comment at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trump and the Canadian prime minister; a comment that was thought to be a (rather inapproriate) joke at the time, but may have been the first shot in a campaign by the Trump regime to undermine the Canadian economy.
This article from the New York Times (gift link) goes into some detail about the discussions between Trudeau and Trump and reveals that the US wants to renegotiate agreements on water sharing and treaties setting the location of the border between the two countries.
On those calls, President Trump laid out a long list of grievances he had with the trade relationship between the two countries, including Canada’s protected dairy sector, the difficulty American banks face in doing business in Canada and Canadian consumption taxes that Mr. Trump deems unfair because they make American goods more expensive.
He also brought up something much more fundamental.
He told Mr. Trudeau that he did not believe that the treaty that demarcates the border between the two countries was valid and that he wants to revise the boundary. He offered no further explanation.
The border treaty Mr. Trump referred to was established in 1908 and finalized the international boundary between Canada, then a British dominion, and the United States.
The Globe and Mail reported on this as well, going into some detail about negotiations to update the agreement governing water from the Columbia river, (gift link) which originates in British Columbia.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised the 61-year-old Columbia River Treaty among a list of grievances with Canada during a call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month, a source in Ottawa said.
The agreement, which is currently under renegotiation, co-ordinates hydroelectric power production and flood control along the 2,000-kilometre Columbia River flowing from B.C. through the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and has long been seen as a model of international water co-operation.
During a Feb. 3 phone call between the two leaders, Mr. Trump read from a four-page memo listing U.S. irritants with Canada that the Prime Minister and Canadian officials believed was an attempt by the President to soften him up as part of the tariff negotiations, the source with direct knowledge of the conversation said.
The President, reading the memo, said the treaty was unfair to the United States and that it needed changes Canada had yet to agree to.
This post by Zoe Ellen Brain on Facebook is a good timeline of events up to March 11.
Trump's imposition of tariffs, his gaslighting about fentanyl crossing the border, and his "51st state" comments has ignited a firestorm of reaction in Canada. I'm going to link to several articles from Canadian writers.
In The Globe and Mail, Kristen Hopewell has a suggestion for how Canada can retaliate against Trump's tariffs.
For Mr. Trump, weakness is a provocation. Canada needs to respond to his aggression forcefully and with strength. Retaliating against U.S. goods alone is not enough. Today, it is no longer manufacturing but technology, services and intellectual property that lie at the heart of the U.S. economy. Companies such as the Magnificent 7 (Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc.) – which make up 35 per cent of the S&P 500 – are the foundation of America’s current global economic dominance. The U.S. has a large services trade surplus, and knowledge-based industries that rely heavily on IP account for more than 40 per cent of U.S. GDP. This is where Canada’s retaliation needs to be targeted.
Canada should explore more innovative forms of retaliation, including a ban on American social-media platforms such as X and Facebook, digital streamers such as Netflix Inc. and online retailers such as Amazon. An alternative to an outright ban is to jack up digital-services taxes on these companies to levels equivalent to Mr. Trump’s tariffs.
This is from Charlie Angus.
Trump's gang, on the other hand, are thriving on the chaos, uncertainty and fear in America. But the reality is that a deeply divided nation will not put up with the shocks caused by destroying the greatest trade relationship in the world. Even the MAGA voters will start to question the cost of satisfying whack-job ideology. It doesn't bode well for any long-term adventurism.
And they didn’t factor in the determined resistance of the Canadian people.
They thought we would just roll over.
As if.
Canadian economic and political resistance has thrown Trump. He is scrambling to find a way to keep the high ground. But Canadian resistance has only grown stronger.
This political and economic resistance will be key in the coming months and years. That is why the boycott is such an important weapon.
A unified Canada will never be defeated by a nation distracted by its own political chaos and dissension.
And on Facebook, Danny Ivan has written a long post with a series of suggestions about what Canada can and should do to combat Trump and his regime. Here's a small part:
What Canada Must Do—Right Now
This is no longer about preparing for a worst-case scenario. We are in the scenario.
1. Confront Trump’s Lies Immediately
• The Carney government must publicly and aggressively counter Trump’s fentanyl disinformation campaign.
• Demand proof of his accusations and expose his economic destabilization strategy.
2. Prepare for Economic War
• Strengthen trade partnerships with the EU and Asia to break dependency on the U.S.
• Prepare emergency trade measures to counteract tariffs and economic sabotage.
Canadian public reaction has been overwhelmingly against the idea of joining the US in any way, shape, or form. The US anthem has been booed at hockey games, "Buy Canadian" movements are spreading across the country, and people are cancelling plans to travel to the United States.
I'm gong to close with a few videos.
First, "Not Your 51st". "This song is a bold and ironic remake of the U.S. Marine Hymn, turning a patriotic American anthem into a defiant Canadian protest song against Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation. Originally repurposed as a pro-Trump campaign song in 2016, we’ve flipped the script—using the same tune to reject his trade war tactics and his suggestion that Canada could become the 51st state."
Next, "MAGA Man (A Neil Young Parody - Canada Ain't Your 51st State)". "Canada has always been a good friend to America—but that doesn’t mean we’ll roll over. With some in the U.S. floating the idea of annexation, this is a Canadian response to the madness. Inspired by Neil Young’s Southern Man, this parody, MAGA Man, calls out the chaos, corruption, and threats to democracy south of the border."
Finally, an update of a Canadian classic.
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