CANADA: A FUTURE STATE IN THE USA?
Immigration law
12 Dec
The looming threat of economic chaos prompted
the Prime Minister to travel to Florida on Friday to meet Donald Trump at the
president-elect's private club and residence.
They reportedly enjoyed a meal of steak and mashed
potatoes while discussing state matters, and the atmosphere seemed to be
amicable. However, Trump was seemingly unshaken in his stance, refusing to
fully retract his unreasonable threat to impose a 25% tariff on all goods
imported from Canada to the United States.
Mr. Trump threatened to impose tariffs if both
countries didn't stop the flow of drugs and migrants crossing the border
into the United States.
As reported by the outlet, Mr. Trudeau
urged Mr. Trump not to impose the new tariff, warning it would
devastate Canada's economy. In response, Mr. Trump allegedly remarked, "So
your country can't thrive unless it's taking $100 billion from the U.S.?"
His comments referred to the US trade deficit
with Canada.
Mr. Trump then proposed that Canada could join
the U.S. as its 51st state, a suggestion that reportedly led to nervous laughter from Prime
Minister Trudeau and others, according to Fox News.
The president-elect reportedly played along
with the joke, telling Mr. Trudeau that "prime minister" was a better
title, but that he could still serve as governor of the 51st state.
Mr. Trump allegedly continued the conversation
by suggesting that if Mr. Trudeau couldn't meet his demands, perhaps
Canada could be split into two states: one liberal and one conservative.
Despite the playful banter, the Canadian guests
reportedly described the dinner as "very friendly and very
positive."
During a three-hour dinner where crab and
oysters were served, Mr. Trump told the Canadian Prime Minister that Canada had
failed the U.S. by allowing illegal migrants from over 70 countries to cross
their shared border, according to two people at the table who spoke to Fox
News.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre commented
on Sunday,
expressing a semblance of sympathy: "Though I criticize Mr. Trudeau, I did
feel bad that he approached the meeting from such a weak position. Typically,
when a prime minister meets a U.S. president, they aim to make gains. What did
we hear from Mr. Trudeau? Nothing. He’s only trying to minimize losses."
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s public safety
minister who attended the dinner with Mr. Trudeau, said: "The prime
minister naturally talked about the importance of protecting the Canadian
economy and workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American
counterparts the negative impact those tariffs could have on their
economy and affordability in the United States as well."
The idea that we came back empty-handed is
completely false,” Mr. LeBlanc added. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr.
Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. The commitment from Mr. Trump to
continue working with us was far from empty-handed.”
Mr. Trump called the talks
"productive" but gave no sign of backing down from his tariff pledge-so
productive, in fact, that it sounds like the only thing he might’ve offered was
another round of steak and mashed potatoes.
After calling Trump's tariff threat
"unjustified" last week, Poilievre hinted on Sunday that Trump might
be onto something. He said Trudeau is a "weak leader" who has
"lost control of our border." Poilievre stood behind a sign that
read, "Fix our broken border."
Of course, Poilievre has a personal
interest in criticizing Trudeau and his government’s policies. And if
Canadian officials can do more to help the U.S. monitor its northern border
(like sending helicopters and drones, as Trudeau's government suggests), it
might be worth trying.
But it’s unclear what Canada would gain by
agreeing that its border is broken.
Trump seems particularly worried about fentanyl
making its way into the United States, and Poilievre, never missing a
chance for a point, pointed out that American seizures of the drug at the
Canada-U.S. border "tripled" from 2023 to 2024-guess Canada’s border
security is now the new hotspot for drug busts. Eh!
Bigger matters await beyond how much fentanyl
is crossing the border, like figuring out how to stop Mr. Trump from turning
every dinner into a political negotiation.
It's not certain that more action at the border
would solve the problem on its own, or that it would stop Trump from making
similar threats in the future. If anything, Trump's threat made before he’s
even president - looks like it might just be the start of another tough four
years (or more).
It is possible that the president-elect's plan
to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican imports could have
significant economic repercussions. Such a broad tariff risks disrupting
well-established supply chains, increasing costs for businesses and consumers,
and straining trade relationships with two of the U.S.'s largest trading
partners.
While it may aim to protect domestic
industries, the policy could invite retaliatory measures, impact jobs reliant
on cross-border trade, and complicate North American economic integration. A
balanced approach focusing on targeted measures and negotiation may yield
better long-term results.