Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump has been courting controversy in Canada since his election victory, with threats to impose whopping tariffs on Canadian items and musings concerning the nation changing into “the 51st state.”
Whereas Trump’s feedback have drawn anger and worry amongst Canadians, response from Individuals who stay, examine or work in Canada has been blended — and largely influenced by how they voted within the presidential election.
Jacob Wesoky, the chief vice chair of Democrats Overseas Canada who’s finding out political science at McGill College in Montreal, mentioned he’s “extraordinarily” dissatisfied by the president-elect’s method to his nation’s “closest” ally.
“As an American dwelling in Canada, it’s actually unhappy to look at,” mentioned Wesoky, who voted for Trump’s rival Kamala Harris.
However Canadian-American Georganne Burke, a staunch Trump supporter, mentioned that whereas the incoming president could also be “a little bit of a troll,” she does not see his actions as dangerous to Canada. “He isn’t asking for something unreasonable,” she mentioned.
Trump’s first shot at Canada got here in November, when he mentioned he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports as quickly as he returns to the White Home on Jan. 20 — except the 2 international locations enhance safety alongside their borders with the U.S.
After outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump in Florida to debate the tariff risk, the president-elect began pitching the concept of Canada changing into the subsequent U.S. state, trolling Trudeau by calling him “governor” of the “nice state of Canada” in social media posts.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says ‘there is not a snowball’s likelihood in hell that Canada would turn into a part of the USA,’ remarks he posted to X on Tuesday, following U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s feedback saying he would use ‘financial pressure’ to soak up Canada into the USA.
The prime minister’s announcement Monday that he would step down after the Liberal get together elects a brand new chief solely appeared to additional embolden Trump, who claimed on his Fact Social platform that “many individuals in Canada LOVE being the 51st state.”
What began out as an obvious joke took one other flip Tuesday when Trump threatened to make use of “financial pressure” to make Canada the subsequent U.S. state and reiterated his tariff promise at a information convention in Florida. Trudeau responded by saying there “is not a snowball’s likelihood in hell” that Canada would turn into a part of the USA.
Trump is not ‘anti-Canada,’ says supporter
Canada is dwelling to greater than one million Individuals, together with guests on long-term visas and twin residents, in keeping with estimates from the Affiliation of Individuals Resident Abroad. Amongst them are many Republicans who voted for Trump, and who mentioned within the days earlier than Trump’s newest declaration that Canadians should not fear about his return to the White Home.
Burke mentioned Trump “is not anti-Canada” however he has good causes to be “very anxious” about the specter of what she referred to as “terrorism” alongside the border and Canada’s failure to fulfill NATO’s navy spending benchmark.
“He is saying: you understand what, time’s up, the U.S. is just not going be the ATM anymore for anyone, not Canada, not anyone else,” the Ontario resident mentioned.
“He is a little bit of a troll, whether or not individuals prefer it or not, individuals might say, oh, that is not presidential or no matter, however that is simply the way in which he’s,” she mentioned.
The federal authorities introduced final month that it will make investments $1.3 billion to strengthen border safety. Burke mentioned the outcomes of that pledge would possibly encourage Trump to delay the tariffs and wait to barter particulars with the subsequent Canadian authorities after Trudeau’s departure.
Renna Bassal, a longtime Trump supporter and an American who moved to Canada about 5 many years in the past, mentioned final week that Trump’s remarks about annexing Canada had been a joke aimed toward disrespecting and taunting Trudeau — not Canada as a nation.
Strategizing for the Liberal management begins, as Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne explains why he is “significantly contemplating” operating, and former Liberal MP Frank Baylis makes his pitch as the primary to announce his management bid. Plus, as president-elect Donald Trump says the U.S. might use “financial pressure” to soak up Canada, Trudeau says there “is not a snowball’s likelihood in hell” of it occurring.
The Montreal resident mentioned she is not positive Trump will make good on his tariff threats, and believes the heavy-handed method he has adopted is a “bargaining chip” forward of anticipated commerce negotiations between the 2 international locations.
She mentioned she stays optimistic about U.S.-Canada relations.
“Generally, you understand, he says issues that maybe he should not say, and I am hoping that this can be a kind of situations the place he is not going to comply with by way of on [tariffs],” she mentioned. “It could be extraordinarily unlucky, and I definitely hope that this does not occur.”
‘It is simply his type of doing issues’
Wesoky, the political science pupil concerned with Democrats Overseas Canada, mentioned Trump’s tariffs wouldn’t solely enhance the price of dwelling in the USA, but additionally hurt U.S. shoppers and companies as a lot as they might damage the Canadian financial system.
“So this rhetoric that basically goes in opposition to this relationship that’s constructed on belief and respect … I believe is just not solely harmful, nevertheless it’ll be detrimental to the U.S. financial system,” he mentioned.
Wesoky mentioned he is not positive that Trump’s considerations about Canadian border safety are reliable, however even when they had been, the difficulty must be dealt with by way of negotiations and collaboration.
Earlier than Trump escalated his annexation rhetoric on Tuesday, Ottawa had largely taken a measured method to the president-elect’s bluster.
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And that is likely to be the very best technique, in keeping with Mark R. Brawley, an American Canadian professor of worldwide relations at McGill College. As a substitute, Brawley recommended Ottawa might goal particular U.S. congressional districts with reciprocal tariffs to set off opposition to Trump’s plans from senators and representatives in these areas.
Brawley, who grew to become a Canadian citizen final 12 months after dwelling within the nation for nearly 35 years, mentioned Trump sees the individuals he’s negotiating with as opponents, not companions, and believes making outrageous remarks about them provides him a bonus.
“He thinks he is throwing them off stability and that provides him some sort of an edge,” he mentioned.
Trump has a behavior of exaggerating issues in order that he can take credit score as soon as they’re resolved, Brawley mentioned, and his stance on safety on the U.S.-Canada border could possibly be one instance of that.
“The entire concept that Canada can be a single state within the U.S. or that the U.S. needs Canada to be a state is sort of preposterous,” he mentioned. “It is simply his type of doing issues, so I would not take it too significantly.”
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