HALIFAX—Call it diplomacy by humour.

French diplomats have joked that since Canada and Denmark share a land border on tiny Hans Island off Greenland, Canada could be fast-tracked to join the European Union. Prime Minister Mark Carney reportedly laughed at the playful suggestion.

But there is nothing funny about Canada’s political predicament with Donald Trump’s America. The nation that was once this country’s best friend and closest ally has become its biggest potential threat. Hyperbole? Not at all. Neither Russia nor China have threatened to annex Canada. Only predatory Trump has.  

Guess who was invited to U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra’s shindig on America’s 250th birthday? None other than Tamara Lich, a leader of the 2022 Trucker Convoy that paralyzed the national capital for days before authorities cleared the streets of the mob that wanted to topple the government without the bother of an election. Their memorandum of understanding called for a citizens committee to share governing power with the Senate and the governor general.  

For his part, the U.S. ambassador said he invited Lich to his party as a “media personality.” That is a strange way to describe someone who was convicted of mischief and handed an 18-month conditional sentence for breaking the law.  

For her part, Lich celebrated her attendance at the July 4 party on social media: “I had the opportunity to speak to Ambassador Hoekstra and thank him, the president, and the American people for their heartfelt support throughout the Freedom convoy and ever since.”  

U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, right, pictured at his July 4 party at his official residence in Ottawa. The Hill Times photograph by Stuart Benson

Lich was still serving her conditional sentence for her role in the 2022 protest and had to get special permission to travel to the party. She is now a contributor to the far-right media outlet Rebel News. In that capacity, Lich has attended and reported on separatist events in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Since then, Lich has asked the court for permission to go on a Caribbean cruise with Rebel News, and to visit the White House. She also wants to travel to Arizona to speak with right-wing comedian Rob Schneider. Rebel Media founder Ezra Levant said he believed “the U.S. embassy is ready to assist us.”

Much of the money for the so-called Freedom Convoy came from the U.S., buttressed by inspiration from the MAGA movement. Many of the members of Alberta’s secession movement have ties back to the Convoy protest. Canadian separatist leader Jeffrey Rath went to the U.S. government seeking a $500-billion line of credit to fund Alberta separation, should this fall’s referendum succeed in putting that option to a vote.  

Lich isn’t the only player undermining Canadian unity and sovereignty. President Trump’s tariffs are in part aimed at weakening Canada as a country. They are a not-so subtle mind game to diminish the faith of Canadians in their country. 

The U.S. president has tried to diminish Canada in other ways. Trump says he doesn’t care about CUSMA. He recently told Fox News: “Mexico and Canada need us, we don’t need them. The deal is important for them, it’s not important for us.” 

Despite Trump’s ignorant bluster, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, pictured on the Hill, dutifully flew down to Washington last week looking for a breakthrough in negotiations. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Despite Trump’s ignorant bluster, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc dutifully flew down to Washington, D.C., last week looking for a breakthrough in negotiations. In stark contrast to Trump’s Canada bashing, LeBlanc and Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman attended a “Canada-U.S. Friendship Day.” The event included a baseball game at Washington Nationals Park. Wiseman threw the opening pitch.  

Trump’s boast that the U.S. needs nothing from Canada is in keeping with his fact-averse approach to most subjects. Consider the invaluable things this country actually provides to America: the U.S. imports roughly 83 to 88 per cent of its potash from this country. It is a critical fertilizer component that keeps American farms productive. It is noteworthy that alternate Middle Eastern suppliers have been shut down by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Despite Trump’s blathering, the U.S. also gets about two-thirds of its imported crude from Canada—a whopping four million barrels a day. Trump seems to have forgotten that his own Midwest and Gulf Coast refineries have been built to process heavy crude from Canada’s oilsands. 

And it was Canadian hydro-electricity that kept the lights on and the air conditioners humming during the recent heat wave in the Eastern United States.

America also needs our critical minerals for defence and technology manufacturing. Nickel, cobalt, uranium, graphite, and rare earth elements are of strategic importance to the U.S. and Canada has a ready supply.   

Canada exported $8.47-billion in fish and seafood across the border in 2025. The most valuable exports were lobster, crab, and Atlantic salmon. The U.S. is also Canada’s largest seafood market, consuming more than two-thirds of our fishery exports—vital for U.S. food security.

It is important to note that these hard-to-replace exports are exempt from Trump’s 50 per cent U.S. tariffs scheduled to kick in on Aug. 19. Despite Trump’s nonsense, that’s strong evidence that America needs Canada for energy, technology manufacturing, and food. And as the water crisis continues to build in the U.S., with the Colorado River drying up, Canadian water may soon be America’s greatest need of all.

For those who may think the U.S. threat to Canada is exaggerated, a quick check of history is in order. The U.S. tried to take over Canada in 1775, and again in 1812. Trump’s annexationist impulse is the modern-day example of that predatory instinct. 


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As Carney has made perfectly clear, that will never happen. Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world, and most of what this country produces never crosses the border. Yes, Canadian export industries are, for now, dependant on U.S. customers. And if an economic rupture between the two countries happens, there will definitely be turbulence and pain here. But Canada will find new customers for products it has in abundance, and that the world needs. The EU is a reliable partner aligned with Canadian values. Canada is already shifting its trade to its second-most important trading partner in combined goods and services. 

The prime minister has started this process without poking a finger in the eye of America. He has, for example, wisely ruled out using energy as leverage in trade talks with the U.S. “Canadians are reliable,” Carney said while speaking recently to reporters in Calgary. “One of the biggest commodities—arguably the best—is trust. People trust us, and so, when you’re a supplier of a key commodity, key service, you’ve got to think really hard about not supplying.” Carney has said Canada has “lots of options” to find other markets. “Everyone wants to do more with Canada.”

Which is just to say that Trump—with his greed, bullying, and insults—is a political aberration that will pass. When that happens, America will return to its senses. And when that happens, the grand, deep, and mutually beneficial friendship between Canada and the U.S. will come back.  

Until then, the course is clear. Stand up to the bully who temporarily occupies the bully pulpit. Remind him that Canadians are fiercely independent, and will never be cowed by mere economic pressure.

Remember, Donald, we’re the guys who burned the White House in the War of 1812.

Michael Harris is an award-winning author and journalist.

The Hill Times