{"id":843860,"date":"2026-08-03T06:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T06:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/843860\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T06:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T06:26:11","slug":"theres-nothing-funny-about-canadas-political-predicament-with-trumps-america-the-hill-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/843860\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s nothing funny about Canada\u2019s political predicament\u00a0with Trump\u2019s America – The Hill Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

HALIFAX\u2014Call it diplomacy by humour.<\/p>\n

French diplomats have joked that since Canada and Denmark\u00a0share a land border on tiny Hans Island off Greenland, Canada could be fast-tracked to join the European Union.\u00a0Prime Minister Mark Carney reportedly laughed at the playful suggestion.<\/p>\n

But there is nothing funny about Canada\u2019s political predicament\u00a0with Donald Trump\u2019s America.\u00a0The\u00a0nation that was once this country\u2019s\u00a0best friend and closest ally has become its biggest potential threat.\u00a0Hyperbole? Not at all. Neither Russia nor China have threatened to annex Canada.\u00a0Only predatory Trump has.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guess who was invited to U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra\u2019s shindig on America\u2019s 250th birthday?\u00a0None other than Tamara Lich,\u00a0a leader of the 2022 Trucker Convoy\u00a0that paralyzed the national capital\u00a0for days before authorities cleared the streets of the mob that wanted to topple the government without the bother of an election.\u00a0Their memorandum of understanding\u00a0called for a citizens committee to share governing power with the Senate and the governor general.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For his part, the U.S. ambassador said he\u00a0invited\u00a0Lich to his party\u00a0as a \u201cmedia personality.\u201d\u00a0That is a strange way to describe\u00a0someone who was convicted of mischief and handed an 18-month conditional sentence for\u00a0breaking the law.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For her part, Lich celebrated her attendance at the July 4 party\u00a0on social media: \u201cI 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.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"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 <\/p>\n

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\u00a0Rebel News.\u00a0In that capacity,\u00a0Lich has attended and reported on separatist events in Saskatchewan and Alberta.<\/p>\n

Since then, Lich\u00a0has asked the\u00a0court for permission to go on a Caribbean cruise with\u00a0Rebel News,\u00a0and 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 \u201cthe U.S. embassy is ready to assist us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the money for the so-called Freedom Convoy came from the U.S., buttressed by inspiration from the MAGA movement.\u00a0Many of the members of Alberta\u2019s secession movement have ties back to the Convoy protest. Canadian separatist leader Jeffrey Rath went to the U.S.\u00a0government seeking a $500-billion line of credit to fund Alberta separation, should\u00a0this fall\u2019s referendum\u00a0succeed in putting that option to a vote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lich isn\u2019t the only player undermining Canadian unity and sovereignty.\u00a0President Trump\u2019s tariffs are in part\u00a0aimed at weakening Canada as a country.\u00a0They are\u00a0a not-so subtle mind game to diminish the faith of Canadians in their country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S. president has tried to diminish Canada in other ways.\u00a0Trump says he doesn\u2019t care about CUSMA. He recently told Fox News:\u00a0\u201cMexico and Canada need us, we don\u2019t need them. The deal is important for them, it\u2019s not important for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Despite Trump\u2019s ignorant bluster, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, pictured on the Hill, dutifully flew down to Washington\u00a0last week looking for a breakthrough in negotiations. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade <\/p>\n

Despite Trump\u2019s ignorant bluster, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc dutifully flew down to Washington, D.C.,\u00a0last week looking for a breakthrough in negotiations. In stark contrast to Trump\u2019s Canada bashing, LeBlanc and Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman attended a \u201cCanada-U.S. Friendship Day.\u201d\u00a0The event\u00a0included a baseball game at Washington Nationals Park. Wiseman threw the opening pitch.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s boast that the U.S. needs nothing from Canada is in keeping with his fact-averse approach to most subjects.\u00a0Consider the invaluable things this country actually provides to America:\u00a0the 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.\u00a0It is noteworthy that\u00a0alternate Middle Eastern suppliers have been shut down by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite Trump\u2019s blathering, the U.S. also gets about\u00a0two-thirds of its imported crude from Canada\u2014a whopping\u00a0four million barrels a day. Trump seems to have forgotten that his own\u00a0Midwest and Gulf Coast refineries have been built to process heavy crude from Canada\u2019s\u00a0oilsands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Canada exported $8.47-billion in fish and seafood across the border\u00a0in 2025.\u00a0The most valuable exports were lobster, crab, and Atlantic salmon.\u00a0The\u00a0U.S. is also Canada\u2019s largest seafood market, consuming more than two-thirds of our fishery exports\u2014vital\u00a0for U.S. food security.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that these hard-to-replace exports\u00a0are exempt from Trump\u2019s\u00a050 per cent U.S. tariffs scheduled to kick in on Aug. 19.\u00a0Despite Trump\u2019s nonsense, that\u2019s strong evidence\u00a0that America needs\u00a0Canada for energy,\u00a0technology manufacturing,\u00a0and food.\u00a0And as the water crisis continues to build in the U.S., with the Colorado River drying up, Canadian water may soon be America\u2019s greatest need of all.<\/p>\n

For those who may think\u00a0the U.S. threat to Canada is exaggerated, a quick check of history is in order.\u00a0The U.S. tried to take over Canada in 1775, and again\u00a0in 1812. Trump\u2019s annexationist impulse is the modern-day example of that predatory instinct.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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As Carney has made perfectly clear, that will never happen.\u00a0Canada is the 11th largest economy in the world, and most of what this country\u00a0produces never crosses the border. Yes, Canadian export industries are, for now, dependant on U.S. customers.\u00a0And if an economic rupture between the two countries happens,\u00a0there will definitely be turbulence and pain here.\u00a0But Canada will find new customers for\u00a0products it has in abundance, and that the world needs. The EU is a reliable partner aligned with Canadian values.\u00a0Canada is\u00a0already shifting its trade to its second-most important trading partner in combined goods and services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The prime minister has started this process without poking a finger in the eye of America.\u00a0He has, for example, wisely ruled out using energy as leverage in trade talks with the U.S. \u201cCanadians are reliable,\u201d\u00a0Carney said while speaking recently to reporters in Calgary. \u201cOne of the biggest commodities\u2014arguably the best\u2014is trust. People trust us, and so, when you\u2019re a supplier of a key commodity, key service, you\u2019ve got to think really hard about not supplying.\u201d Carney has said Canada has \u201clots of options\u201d to find other markets. \u201cEveryone\u00a0wants to do more with Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is just to say that Trump\u2014with his greed, bullying, and insults\u2014is a political aberration that will pass.\u00a0When that happens, America will return to its senses.\u00a0And when that happens, the grand, deep, and mutually beneficial friendship between Canada and the U.S. will\u00a0come back.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Until then, the course is clear.\u00a0Stand up to the bully who temporarily occupies the bully pulpit.\u00a0Remind him that Canadians are fiercely independent, and\u00a0will never be cowed by mere economic pressure.<\/p>\n

Remember, Donald, we\u2019re the guys who\u00a0burned the White House in the War of 1812.<\/p>\n

Michael Harris is an award-winning author and journalist. <\/p>\n

The Hill Times\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \n <\/p>\n

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