Donald Trump threatened tariffs to divide the Canadian people. It worked.
I wish Canadian leaders had the same courage as México's President.
Before the current tariff crisis, certain groundwork had been laid by right-wing elements on both sides of the Canadian-American border.
For one, the Republican Party of the United States and the Conservative Party of Canada are in alignment, sharing informal ties and collaborating in certain aspects.
This has manifested with Fox News targeting Prime Minister Trudeau, and manufacturing a dystopic perception of Canada among their American audience. In addition, Fox News has amplified Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party to that same audience.
But Fox News’ reach is not limited to the United States; many Canadians also consume Fox News content, forming a large periphery audience. This means that the above Canadian-focused content does not just manufacture public perception in America, but also directly targets the Canadian public.
Finally, the Conservatives have targeted the CBC, which as a public broadcaster threatens the dominance of corporate media. Some of that corporate media includes Canadian publications with American ownership interests, such as right-wing monopolistic conglomerate Postmedia.
In conclusion? American fascists and their Canadian collaborators have created a parallel media ecosystem. This right-wing alliance of alternative media pumps out propaganda to their cross-border audience, which degrade support for Canadian sovereignty.
At the same time, they seek to acquire Canadian media to shape their output through editorial mandates. Media they either cannot acquire or they cannot control they seek to dismantle through a variety of means.
In doing so, they have primed the pump for Donald Trump and his ambitions for the North America; large swaths of the Canadian public have been inducted into his fascist ideology. With Trump’s victory, I knew that Canada would be at immediate risk in the near-term.
And with his threat of 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and México? I was proven right, immediately. Our sovereignty is threatened by brazen demands from the fascist American President to change Canadian border policy, regardless of what the Canadian or Mexican peoples want for ourselves.
On Wednesday at 17h00 Eastern Time, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke with all the premiers, concerned by the severity of Trump’s threat. At the end of that meeting, he claimed to the press that all the First Ministers would be presenting a “united front”.
This “united front” proceeded to be immediately broken by the premiers, before federal politicians could even finish speaking to the media.
Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta attacked Trudeau without hesitation. She claimed that we shouldn’t “underestimate the personal animus between [Trump and Trudeau]” and that we should question whether Trudeau is even the appropriate leader for us.
Her counterpart in Ontario, Doug Ford, went a step further, meeting with American border enforcement agencies without his federal counterparts, immediately aligning Ontario Provincial Police with Donald Trump’s policy demands.
Doug Ford, as a matter of note, has described himself as a Republican, and called his support of Donald Trump “unwavering.” By his own admission, he has aligned himself with Donald Trump’s political faction.
Premier François Legault of Québec’s CAQ outright legitimized Donald Trump’s fearmongering on immigration, and claiming that Trudeau must “reassure Mr. Trump.” Even the premiers from so-called progressive parties piled on, taking Donald Trump’s side over that of Canadian interest.
Liberal Premier Andrew Furey of Newfoundland and Labrador and NDP Premier Wab Kinew of Manitoba both claimed that, somehow, conceding to Trump’s demands might assist Canadian policy goals.
All the First Ministers have become feckless rats, scurrying away at the sight of a challenge, immediately abandoning any notion of a “Team Canada” approach. They have given into nebulous demands from a fascist despot, without Trump even needing to clarify proper orders.
These snivelling worms have done the worst thing you can do under the threat of fascism: they have obeyed in advance. They are collaborators.
Prime Minister Trudeau, for his part, doesn’t actually understand what Trump wants from him. The fact that he thinks this is a matter of policy concerns me greatly; I do not believe that the Prime Minister or his staff in the PMO understand the true severity of their situation.
Trump does not want to change Canada’s policy; he wants to change Trudeau. He wants to replace Canada’s Prime Minister, and Canada’s governing party. He wants the Liberals to be out, and the Conservatives to be in.
Donald Trump is creating chaos which enables Trudeau’s Conservative opponents in Canada, because Trump wants to weaken Canada and empower sycophants who will hand Canada over to American fascism.
Through his collaborators in American and Canadian media, Donald Trump created a fake problem, and then proposed a fake solution. Canadian Conservatives now claim only they possess the fake solution, and that Trudeau is the root cause of the fake problem.
The end result: Donald Trump gains power over Canadian affairs, and Pierre Poilievre, or whichever quisling Trump’s faction decides they like better, gets to be at Trump’s side, and reap the privilege of their gilded cage.
So, how has Prime Minister Trudeau approached Donald Trump’s border demands and tariff threats? Did our Prime Minister take a bold, principled stand for our sovereignty? Did he openly challenge the ulterior motives of his fellow First Ministers in this crisis?
No. Of course he didn’t! He and his entourage flew on a private jet to Mar-a-Lago, where they dined and feted with Donald Trump and his sycophants. In doing so, Justin Trudeau became the first G7 leader to meet with Trump before his upcoming inauguration.
I’m glad that Canada is giving up any pretense of principle so that we can get on our knees and grovel for mercy. I am sure that appeasement with satisfy this fascist leader, as appeasement usually has! That’s why Neville Chamberlain secured “peace for our time”, and the First World War was the only World War!
As Canada has rushed to throw México under the bus during this crisis, I have contrastingly gained sincere admiration for the Mexican people and their leadership. Full and proper credit must be given to the President of México, Claudia Sheinbaum; she is taking a much firmer stance than our Canadian leaders.
Rather than fly to meet Trump on his terms, President Sheinbaum instead called him from her office. She sternly set forth that México was already handling their country’s affairs as they saw fit, and that the United States should stop blaming México for America’s societal failures.
Then, when Donald Trump made a statement on social media claiming she had capitulated to him during that call, she put out her own response that México’s policy is “not to close borders, but to build bridges” and that her government would respect the human rights of migrants.
For all that Canadians wax about our commitment to Canadian values, I see that President Sheinbaum has embraced the principles of acceptance and kindness more than we have. We should, quite frankly, be humbled in comparison to México.
The willingness to help people is not a Canadian value; it is first and foremost a human value. We are not superior to our neighbours, and we should never act like it. Instead, we should admire when our neighbours show the strength of their principles, especially when they do so better than ourselves.
Perhaps Canada could learn a lesson from President Sheinbaum’s courage, and select new First Ministers whom are not so craven. But I would not be surprised if we never do choose the path of bravery; Canada seems tragically committed to the course of appeasement.
I am not optimistic about our prospects for weathering the coming storm, especially if we maintain our current heading. And furthermore?
I would not be surprised to see México come out ahead of our country in the years to come.