The snipe was pure Trump insult comedy. His showman shtick is to thrill and entertain supporters while confusing and alarming opponents.
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The most alarming comment about Canada-U.S. relations this week? It did not come out of the mouth of incoming President Donald Trump, even as he outraged many people with his social media troll job of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with governor Justin Trudeau of the great state of Canada,” Trump said on Truth Social about his dinner at Mara Logo with Trudeau and others. “I look forward to seeing the governor again soon so that we may continue our in-depth talks on tariffs and trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all! DJT”
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The snipe was pure Trump insult comedy. His showman shtick is to thrill and entertain supporters while confusing and alarming opponents, especially those who lack a sense of humour.
But no need to worry. Trump’s barb means Trudeau is in his bad books, but it doesn’t mean he and Trudeau can never resolve Trump’s threat of a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian exports to the U.S.
Much more of a problem is Trudeau’s attitude. By far the most alarming statement was Trudeau’s own take. In a discussion Monday hosted by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau summarized Canada’s position but appeared to have not one clue about the nature of this border conflict.
This isn’t a trade war, it’s a culture war. Trump is targeting Trudeau and his dangerously permissive policies on drugs and immigration, which were a source of social and economic anguish in Canada long before Trump ever raised them.
Free trade between Canada and the U.S. isn’t the cause of the fight, even if Trump adores tariffs and is using them as a stick to threaten Canada. Canada’s proliferation of illegal drugs and out-of-control immigration are the issues.
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But as Trudeau pontificated in Halifax, talking for more than five minutes straight in answer to one question on the matter, not once did he mention any of the following words — illegal drugs, fentanyl, border security, immigration, illegal migrants.
Trudeau’s own focus was on how tariffs will hurt American consumers, driving up prices on oil, gas, electricity, steel and aluminum. Trudeau also noted that Trump says things to destabilize his negotiating partners and inject some chaos into the equation. “One of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic now. Knowing that these (Trump tariffs) would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously. But it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic, not go around making our opponent’s arguments for him but making our arguments in a significant and united way.”
If this dispute were only about trade, Trudeau might have a point about not making Trump’s argument. But that’s not what this is about. Refusing to mention legitimate issues and alarming trends when it comes to illegal drugs and migrants amounts to a denial of vital U.S. interests.
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As we all know by now, this is Trudeau’s own shtick. His refusal to take responsibility for weak-to-horrid policies has been noted by Canadian voters who can’t wait to vote out him from office. It’s hard to imagine this shtick will work with Trump, who is on to Trudeau, having previously referred to him as “weak,” “two-faced” and a “far left lunatic.”
Trudeau concluded his spiel with this thought. “We are looking for a win-win with the United States where American businesses and citizens will do well and Canadian businesses and citizens will do well.”
But how can Trudeau get a win for Trump and the Americans if he doesn’t realize how fed up they are with leaky borders?
A win for the U.S. would be Trudeau getting serious about the proliferation of fentanyl super labs in Canada, which the influential Washington Post — no friend of Trump — identified as an issue in December 2023. “The spread of clandestine fentanyl labs in Canada has the potential to undermine U.S. enforcement efforts and worsen the opioid epidemic in both nations.”
A win would be Trudeau figuring out how to cope with the 2.4 million newcomers here on various kinds of permits, who must leave the country in the next two years, many of them undoubtably looking for a fast move to Trump’s U.S.
A win would be getting on top of the troubling trend that saw 19,000 migrants cross into the U.S. from Canada in 2024, which is more than the previous 17 years combined.
Is Trudeau prepared to own and to fix any of that? If not, Canada risks losing in international trade like we haven’t lost in decades.
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