The US president has inadvertently united the country against him – and now his tariffs may make Canada rethink its dependence on US trade
Donald Trump is rather obviously the worst thing to happen to Canada since, well, the last time Americans tried to invade. But another possibility is brewing, if in a quiet, careful, Canuckian way: that he could also be one of the best.
Trump’s threats towards Canada appear delusional. But it’s useless to ask if his remarks about the “51st state” are a joke. He doesn’t joke about things he doesn’t want, and the jokes are designed to soften the ground. He says Canada is freeloading militarily (because the two countries both defend the Arctic). He says the US is subsidising Canada economically (because Americans buy Canadian oil). He says fentanyl is flooding over the border (it isn’t). He wants to renegotiate that border, calling it “artificial” (like every other border on Earth). Now he has taken concrete action, slamming 25% tariffs on the crucial car industry (which was better integrated with the US in 1965 to help American companies sell more American cars). Trump’s 90-day global tariff pause, announced Wednesday, does not apply to the tariffs on Canada.
Chris Michael is a Guardian US live news editor, host of the Reverberate podcast and editor of Seascape: The State of Our Oceans
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