The patriotism Canadians are exhibiting from coast to coast in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s bizarre threats of launching a tariff trade war against us has been a positive development in an otherwise alarming reality.
That reality is that Canada will lose an all-out confrontation with Trump on tariffs, and if they are high enough, wide enough and long enough, they will be devastating because of our much smaller economy compared to our southern neighbour.
To be clear, while promising to buy Canadian is a good thing in its own right, it’s best to keep in mind that up to now, our expressions of patriotism haven’t come with a significant cost.
That’s because while Trump has been threatening tariffs from his first day in office on Jan. 20, so far nothing substantial has happened.
His latest deadline for us to meet his demands on border security and what he says are our unfair trading practices is March 4, although that could change on a moment’s notice based on his erratic record up to now.
Creating chaos with ever-changing demands and deadlines is obviously a Trump negotiating tactic to keep his opponent — us — off guard.
But at the end of the day, the only way out of this is through a negotiated settlement with the Americans on trade that was scheduled for review next year under the Canada, United States, Mexico agreement (CUSMA) when it comes up for renewal.
That’s the deal Trump himself ratified during his first term in office in January 2020, which he is apparently no longer happy with even though he described CUSMA at the time as: “The largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history. All of our countries will benefit greatly.”
Obviously, our federal government can’t negotiate meaningfully until it knows what Trump’s bottom line is and Trump’s negotiators can’t do it until they know who is in charge of the Canadian government, given the looming federal election here.
In that context, our patriotism will only truly be tested if there is a tariff/trade war because at that point it will come with actual costs.
If that happens it will be vital for all Canadians to display the unity and resolve we have up to now.