{"id":2405025,"date":"2025-02-21T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canada-wasnt-ready-for-trump-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T08:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:05:54","slug":"canada-wasnt-ready-for-trump-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/canada-wasnt-ready-for-trump-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada wasn\u2019t ready for Trump &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcanada-wasnt-ready-for-trump-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2405025&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses\u2063 the impact of President Donald Trump&#8217;s trade threats against canada, \u2064specifically his assertion that\u200d U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">businesses \u2064face unfair barriers<\/a> in the Canadian market. Trump has alleged that \u200cU.S.banks cannot operate\u200c freely in Canada and expressed dissatisfaction with the amount of American agricultural products purchased by Canadians. even though he temporarily held off on imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, concerns about potential \u2062trade wars have created political turbulence in Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has struggled\u200b to \u2064manage these threats, facing diminished popularity and \u2064an early election due in part to the pressure \u2062of\u200b Trump&#8217;s tariffs. \u200bThe\u200d political ramifications \u2062are significant, as national pride \u200dis rising in Canada, with\u200b some seeking to distance themselves from\u200d U.S. influence, \u200ddespite years of\u200c economic integration between\u2062 the two nations.<\/p>\n<p>The article outlines how Trump\u2019s proposals, including reciprocal \u200dtariffs and increased access\u2064 for U.S. banks in Canada, could alter the economic \u200dlandscape.While Canadian banks\u2064 may face regulatory hurdles, many U.S. banks already operate within canada. Trump&#8217;s demand\u200c for greater access and \u2063the ongoing tariff threats could \u2064disrupt the stability of Canada\u2019s economy, which is heavily reliant \u200don trade with the U.S., frequently enough exceeding\u200b interprovincial\u2063 trade.<\/p>\n<p>the article emphasizes the growing tensions in U.S.-Canada relations under Trump\u2019s \u200dgovernance and the resulting political and\u200c economic\u2062 challenges for Canada.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Canada wasn&rsquo;t ready for Trump<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1974217\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">President Donald Trump<\/a> has been threatening a trade war with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Canada<\/a>. One contention is his charge that the markets of America&rsquo;s northern neighbor are not truly open to many U.S. businesses. He promises trade turmoil until he feels that the northern border is more secure and American businesses are getting a fairer shake.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Canada doesn&rsquo;t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there. What&rsquo;s that all about?&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump asked in a Feb. 3 post on his Truth Social account. He complained about unspecified &ldquo;many such things&rdquo; before moving on to drug war concerns, and later&nbsp;opined that Canadians do not purchase enough U.S.-raised and -grown food for his liking.<\/p>\n<p>Though&nbsp;the president&nbsp;delayed his decision to impose&nbsp;a 25% tariff on most products shipping from Canada for 30 days, the threats have continued to come fast and furious &mdash; on Canadian goods generally, lumber, aluminum, and other products.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trudeau&rsquo;s failure,&nbsp;Liberal gains?<\/h2>\n<p>After Trump&rsquo;s reelection to a nonconsecutive second term and before his inauguration, three-term Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed up at the then<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rfk-jr-tapped-as-hhs-secretary-the-controversies-surrounding-trumps-cabinet-pick-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"RFK Jr. tapped as HHS secretary: The controversies surrounding ...&#039;s cabinet pick - Washington Examiner\">-president-elect&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.&nbsp;Canada&rsquo;s leader&nbsp;tried&nbsp;in November 2024&nbsp;to talk&nbsp;the former and future president&nbsp;down from&nbsp;the threat of&nbsp;a trade war.<\/p>\n<p>Trump told, or perhaps trolled, Trudeau that there was an easy way to avoid&nbsp;the coming&nbsp;tariffs. Canada has long been nicknamed America&rsquo;s 51st state. Simply make that official and tariffs would no longer be an issue,&nbsp;Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>That&nbsp;proposal did not get a welcome reception, to put it mildly,&nbsp;with folks north of the 49th parallel,&nbsp;who&nbsp;are, on the whole, against&nbsp;annexation. A YouGov poll taken around the time of Trump&rsquo;s inauguration found 77% of Canadians did not like the idea.&nbsp;That&nbsp;rejection&nbsp;is having knock-on political effects.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The effect of Trump&rsquo;s tariff threats has been staggering, thoroughly upending federal and provincial politics,&rdquo;&nbsp;Paul Tuns, author of the Trudeau biography <em>The Dauphin<\/em>, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>For instance,&nbsp;&ldquo;The Ontario&nbsp;[provincial]&nbsp;government has used the tariff threat as an excuse for an early election&rdquo; &mdash; about 18 months early.<\/p>\n<p>Tuns said Trudeau&nbsp;&ldquo;was already unpopular and probably on his way out.&rdquo;&nbsp;The threat of tariffs helped to ease him out of office sooner rather than later, by Trudeau&rsquo;s admission. His Liberal Party will elect a new leader and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uk-govt-lockdown-to-last-12-months-expect-repeated-vaccinations\/\" title=\"UK Govt: Lockdown to Last 12+ Months, Expect Repeated Vaccinations\">prime minister<\/a> on March 9,&nbsp;and a national election will likely be held shortly after.<\/p>\n<p>Trudeau&rsquo;s party had been seen as a dead man walking but now, maybe not.&nbsp;&ldquo;There is a rejuvenation of Canadian pride, which is often expressed as being &lsquo;not American,&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;Tuns said.<\/p>\n<p>The Trudeau biographer explained that&nbsp;&ldquo;while nationalism and national pride are often associated with right-wing parties, in Canada, the Liberal Party has been the party that has most successfully wrapped itself in the red and white maple leaf.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Conservative Party, led by&nbsp;Albertan&nbsp;Pierre Poilievre, had built up a commanding lead over Trudeau in the polls of about 20 points.&nbsp;That has shrunk to about 10 points as Poilievre&nbsp;has&nbsp;been forced to&nbsp;&ldquo;pivot from opposing the domestic carbon tax to opposing foreign tariffs,&rdquo;&nbsp;Tuns said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Canada&rsquo;s predicament<\/h2>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s threats cut deep because they are a real threat to Canada&rsquo;s economy. Canada has a population roughly one-tenth the size of America&rsquo;s. Its landmass is larger than the continental United States, even including Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>Yet&nbsp;most Canadians are clustered within about 100 miles of the American border, which runs from Maine to Washington state on an east-west axis. Why is that?<\/p>\n<p>The main reason for the&nbsp;clustering&nbsp;of Canadians&nbsp;is simple: the U.S. The Canadian and American economies have become so integrated that there is often more economic activity between provinces and the states to their south than among one another.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Eight of 10 provinces do more trade in goods with the U.S. than with the rest of Canada, including all the large provinces,&rdquo; Tuns said.<\/p>\n<p>Ontario is Canada&rsquo;s most populous province and home to its capital, Ottawa.&nbsp;It does about &ldquo;four times the amount of trade in goods with the U.S. than the rest of Canada,&rdquo; Tuns said because Canada&rsquo;s manufacturing&nbsp;base&nbsp;is &ldquo;highly integrated into the supply chains of the American industrial midwest around the Great Lakes.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This trend preceded Trudeau, but he did&nbsp;next to nothing to improve matters,&nbsp;Tuns said. In America, states can do little to mess with interstate commerce. Canada has significant interprovincial trade barriers that are a drag on the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Alberta&rsquo;s&nbsp;United Conservative&nbsp;Premier Danielle Smith recently put out the figure of $350 billion, in Canadian dollars, to be saved annually by knocking those barriers down.&nbsp;And there is finally some momentum behind doing just that.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump&rsquo;s shock therapy<\/h2>\n<p>The latest trade threat from Trump is what he calls reciprocal tariffs, announced on Feb. 13. The president explained that this meant&nbsp;&ldquo;whatever Countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them &mdash; No more, no less!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That would seem to let Canada off the hook for the most part. But then Trump&nbsp;pulled the football. &ldquo;For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider Countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a Tariff, to be similar to that of a Tariff,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Of course,&nbsp;Canada has a VAT,&nbsp;or&nbsp;a &ldquo;value-added tax,&rdquo;&nbsp;on most goods purchased. In 2020, this tax&nbsp;amounted to about&nbsp;13% of the national government&rsquo;s total revenues, according to the Tax Policy Center.<\/p>\n<p>If Trump wants to boost American business, a reciprocal tariff for the VAT is a quirky way to go about it. In normal, nonpandemic times, the VAT is, quantifiably, a huge boon to American businesses just over the border. Canadians travel south in great numbers, to take advantage of America&rsquo;s structurally lower prices.<\/p>\n<p>But if it came down to it, if the VAT was the only thing standing between free trade and a trade war, Canada&rsquo;s national government could probably be moved to&nbsp;scrap the VAT and put up taxes elsewhere to make up some of the&nbsp;gap.<\/p>\n<p>That remedy is fairly straightforward.&nbsp;It&rsquo;s likely to be more complicated for Canadian regulators and politicians to deal with Trump&rsquo;s demand for such things as increased access to Canadian markets for U.S. banks.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump exaggerates that U.S. banks cannot operate in Canada,&rdquo;&nbsp;Tuns said, citing the fact that &ldquo;more than a dozen U.S.-based banks operate in Canada,&rdquo;&nbsp;in some form.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3322769\/judge-reinstates-merit-systems-protection-board-chairwoman-fired-by-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JUDGE REINSTATES MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD CHAIRWOMAN FIRED BY TRUMP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Still, he conceded that U.S. banks &ldquo;face some regulatory hurdles&nbsp;[in Canada]&nbsp;as well as a consumer sector that is controlled by a small number of banks.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Many&nbsp;observers&nbsp;characterize&nbsp;the&nbsp;Canadian banking&nbsp;sector&nbsp;as a somewhat closed &ldquo;oligopoly.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump is pushing for American banks to have greater market participation. If he gets his way, that could shake things up for Canadian consumers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jeremy Lott is the author of <\/em>The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1974217\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1974217\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada was unprepared for Trump&#8217;s trade war threats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2692,"featured_media":2405026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Biz.Cover_.022625.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3957,32402,5894,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2405025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-canada","tag-international-relations","tag-politics","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Biz.Cover_.022625.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2692"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405025"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2405030,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405025\/revisions\/2405030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2405026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}