Canada

“He wants us to recognize that Canada enjoys a very special relationship with the U.S. that no other country in the world enjoys, and just show the respect of taking seriously the fact that they’ve got people dying and they want it to stop,” Danielle Smith said, referencing the fentanyl overdose crisis, Trump’s stated reasoning for the tariff threat.

In an interview on CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, Smith said the comparison many Canadian officials are making — that the amount of fentanyl seized at the Canada-U.S. border is a fraction of that seized at the Mexico-U.S. border — is “not a very persuasive argument.”

“We should stop making excuses,” Smith said. “Stop saying, ‘Yeah, but we’re not as bad as the other guys.’ We should just say, ‘Yes, we agree, and we’re going to take care of our part of the issue, so you don’t have to worry about us anymore.’”

Canadians are feeling an undeniable sense of betrayal after Trump declared a trade war against America’s northern neighbor and longtime ally. Trump keeps threatening Canada’s sovereignty and and vowing to put sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian products, though Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday afternoon the tariffs will be postponed by at least 30 days after he promised more cooperation on the border.

In Canada, discussion and disapproval are everywhere. Canadian hockey fans have even been booing the American national anthem at recent National Hockey League games. Addressing the nation this past weekend, Trudeau channeled the betrayal that many Canadians are feeling, reminding Americans that Canadian troops fought alongside them in Afghanistan and helped respond to myriad crises from wildfires in California to Hurricane Katrina. “We were always there standing with you, grieving with you, the American people,” he said.

The Canadian jitters, some worry, could go beyond the moment. “The damage is going to be long-lasting,” said Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto. “The Americans won’t be trusted anymore. The 51st state stuff is just contemptuous. It treats Canada like we don’t even exist.”

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At the end of the day, Canada is many things. But above all else, we’re a bunch of grudge holding motherfuckers. You’ve taken your shot at us, so now we won’t rest until we get you back.

In a recent statement, CUPE National President Mark Hancock bluntly accuses Danielle Smith and Kevin O'Leary of being "traitors" to Canada:

"Danielle Smith and Kevin O'Leary are traitors to Canada in the simplest sense of the word. They're happy to sell out Albertan workers and Canadian workers as long as it means keeping the bonus cheques rolling for their CEO friends.

This isn't the first time Danielle Smith has turned coat and crossed the floor, but as we saw in 2014, Danielle Smith isn't exactly an expert at picking the winning side.

Meanwhile, Pierre Poilievre has been quiet as a church mouse when it comes to Mr. Trump's attacks on Canada and Canadian workers. Does Mr. Poilievre serve Canadians, or is he just another servant for the billionaires and big oil like Smith and O'Leary?"

Really interesting op-ed given that Trump was complaining US banks aren't allowed in Canada:

President Donald Trump’s chief economist, Stephen Miran, a Harvard-trained PhD and hedge fund strategist nominated to chair the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, wrote in November “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System.”

...

He points to the 2018-19 tariffs the first Trump administration imposed on China (and the Biden administration retained) as proof his theory has merit and that it “should inform analysis of future trade conflicts.” In that case the Chinese currency fell, the U.S. dollar strengthened, and the trade deficit remained. But the important thing is that inflation was manageable, China got the message, and new revenue was raised for the U.S. Treasury, according to Mr. Miran.

We will need to come to terms with the fact that the U.S. will assess its relationship with us based on a criteria matrix that includes, as Mr. Miran suggests, if Canada “opens its markets to U.S. firms in the same way America opens its markets to foreign firms operating stateside.”

This has implications for Canadian agricultural supply management, the telecom sector, restrictions on investments, service barriers to online streaming and barriers to digital trade such as the digital service tax.

Original: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-how-are-we-so-befuddled-at-us-tariffs-when-its-all-been-so-obvious/

Canada cannot win a trade war with the US. When we are on our knees he's going to ask for Yukon, nwt and nunavut. Saying basically nobody lives there and we don't need it. He can easily buy out northern Canadians by offering lots of money or citizenship and the other 39 million Canadians will reluctantly agree it's the best compromise.

He knows climate change is real and it makes the north more and more viable every day due to its resources and shipping route.

Another obvious hint at this was traitor Danielle Smith suggesting US military bases in the north just last week.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/21475759

Saw this on bluesky and thought I'd share here since I think there's a lot of trans folks trying to find ways out of the US and this could potentially help in the future.

Language matters.

The President is empowered by a Congress controlled by a narrow majority. Rather than the individual they have chosen, I am pissed at the Republican party. And disappointed in the American people. The guy? He was always that way and would have continued to be so at a safe distance from the levers of power without his enablers.

It is the American and especially Republican relationship with Canada that is important in this situation. Those are what endure, that person is only momentarily significant. So, where we can choose the narrative, I think that's important to focus on.

Plus I suspect he likes the sound of his own name.