I wrote a piece earlier this year about how Canada and the U.S. could actually improve their relationship and come out ahead – both sides. A good old win–win. But if the last year has shown us anything, it’s that Trump’s idea of trade is more like win–lose. And most Canadians I know (myself included) are not impressed.
Instead of working things out or trying to understand how tightly our economies are linked, he went full steam ahead with tariffs and tough-guy talk. Steel? Tax it. Aluminum? Tax it. Finished goods? Throw a duty on those too. It’s like someone walked into a dinner party, flipped the table, and called it strategy.
Canadians are polite, but we’re not pushovers. And this kind of move – bullying trade partners with zero finesse – just made people angry. It made me angry. Tariffs don’t magically bring jobs back or fix supply chains. They mostly just make things more expensive and strain relationships. And if Trump thinks that’s a win, I think he’s missing the big picture.
Bruce MacKinnon’s brilliant cartoon in the Chronicle Herald really sums it up:
It’s like we’ve taken decades of steady trade, teamwork, and peace-of-mind between Canada and the U.S. and tossed it out the window for cheap political points. Newsflash: Canadians notice. And we don’t love being used as a punching bag for someone else’s ego.
There are real people on both sides of the border who just want to live, work, build, and trade. We don’t need drama. We need leaders who understand the difference between strong leadership and needless conflict.
Here’s hoping for better days – and better neighbors who see the big picture.
Jules Fauteux 