White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently reiterated the threat that President Donald Trump is poised to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian goods as early as Feb. 1.
A wise policy in the face of a trade war with our neighbour would be for this country to join forces with other allied nations to diversify our trade and political ties. The problem is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has isolated us with his thoughtless prattling and casual insults.
Since he became prime minister, we have become detached from our connection to the Commonwealth, an organization that represents more than 2.5 billion people in 56 independent nations around the world. No, it’s not a remnant of colonialism. Membership in the Commonwealth is voluntary. If we’re no longer best friends and trading partners with the U.S., then we need other alliances around the globe.
We were recently shut out of the AUKUS deal between Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. to acquire nuclear submarines, throwing into doubt our membership in the so-called Five Eyes security partnership with those countries. Questions were raised as to Canada’s reliability as a partner in that group.
Trudeau has sanctimoniously lectured foreign leaders such as Italy’s Georgia Meloni about matters that are none of his business. In 2023, right before private bilateral talks during a G-7 Summit, Trudeau told her that “Canada is concerned about some of the positions Italy is taking on in terms of LGBT rights.”
If any foreign leader chastised him for a domestic policy, Trudeau would be indignant. But he throws insults out like grenades, with little concern for the collateral damage when they explode.
The most infamous incident — and possibly what prompted Trump’s animosity toward Canada — occurred in 2019. In a scene that looked more like a Mean Girls movie than the NATO summit that it was, Trudeau, then-British prime minister Boris Johnson, French President Emanuel Macron and others were caught mocking Trump on a hot mic at Buckingham Palace. Trump called Trudeau “two-faced” afterwards.
And we’re wondering why he’s so intent on tariffs.
Geographically, this country is a huge land mass. Politically, we’re an island unto ourselves. We’re isolated from the world and cut off from the old friends and allies we desperately need right now.