As a Canadian whose primary academic interests have always been the literary and philosophical traditions of the West, I was not, up until the recent past, much interested in politics. Yet I was always aware of a certain amount of resentment in this country against our neighbour to the South for its apparent assumption that as the most powerful nation on the planet, it is somehow exempt from the rules of civility essential to all positive international discourse. I fully understand that not all Americans share this arrogance, yet Trump’s recent antics absolutely reek of it.
While Donald Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on Canadian products had the positive effect of getting our Prime Minister to immediately attack the issue of our porous borders, which is a major concern of the U.S. President, the long term impact of those tariffs, imposed today, Mar. 4., would seem to be negative for both countries involved. Clearly unconcerned with the health of Canada’s economy, Trump has invited automakers in this country to escape his tariffs by coming to the States. Given that this is easier said than done, it is estimated that within 10 days plants in both countries may need to shut down due to our governments’ intentional attacks on the supply chain. I have just read that the L.C.B.O., the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, has banned all American products from its shelves. Indeed Premier Doug Ford is threatening to cut off the flow of Hydro Electricity to millions of Americans in N. Y., Michigan and Minnesota! The simple fact is that the U.S. economy relies significantly on both Canadian materials and customers. That the population of The States, as a market for Canadian products, is approximately ten times that of Canada, is largely responsible for the trade deficit so obnoxious to Trump. The question, then, is whether his punitive tariffs represent a rational approach to America’s economic problems, or a mindless, arrogant attack on its closest neighbour and ally?
Our Prime Minister, whose response to Trump’s tariffs is no less aggressive than Doug Ford’s, recently expressed his regrets for the unfolding situation: “I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. And we don’t want to hurt you, either.” Oddly, while staunch political enemies such as Trudeau and Ford clearly agree on this issue, certain conservative websites which I generally respect are blaming Trudeau for exacerbating our rift with the States. This would seem to be an obvious example of political partisanship supplanting simple common sense. Trudeau is no more responsible for our “war” with the U.S. than is Israel for the present conflict in the Middle East!
Trump has brazenly declared his intent to “take other country’s jobs.” It is a statement rife with the arrogance which, as I stated previously, led many Canadians in the past to resent the U.S.. At the same time, however, his desire to make America great again [i.e., M.A.G.A.] seems a perfectly valid justification for his assaults on open borders, D.E.I. fanaticism, excessive government spending, etc., etc.. The many “conservative” commentators whom I admire, hopefully, will have the courage to denounce Trump for his bullying tactics while nevertheless continuing to defend the underlying rationality of many of his views. Complicated times, indeed!
P.S. Oops! Have just read that Trump has put a 1 month delay on the imposition of tariffs on Canadian automotive parts in response to the complaints of various U.S. manufacturers whose costs would be seriously impacted by those tariffs. How did he not realize this before his recent spate of pronouncements? While I have little respect for Joe Biden’s intellect, is Trump equally impaired? Several progressive commentators, in response to the Leftist charge that anyone who voted for Trump in 2024 must be an idiot, honestly admitted that among those millions were many who held their noses while supporting him because they felt they had no other option. It is for these rational American conservatives that I pine, though it seems quite possible that Trump may continue to amend his policies in response to their obviously negative repercussions.