The contrast in leadership between the US and Canada was on full display Tuesday, as Donald Trump reveled in his trade war while Justin Trudeau tried to rally Americans and Canadians alike.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows that there is no point in reasoning with Donald Trump. Explaining to the US president why his tariffs are a bad idea is like trying to convince a toddler not to get those Skittles in the candy aisle by pointing out their lack of nutritional value.
That is why he is taking his case straight to the American people in the hopes that they understand who will be to blame for higher prices (or them losing their jobs), and that the only way they can put an end to this catastrophe is for them to reach out to their elected officials (not named Trump).
“I want to speak first directly to the American people,” Trudeau said in an address hours after Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on Canadian exports. “We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country.”
The Dow Jones is down 1,300 points, or three percent, since Trump announced on Monday that the tariffs, which had been postponed for a month, would go into effect today.
While the US president may have hoped that he would be able to bully his northern neighbor into submission, Trudeau said Canada would retaliate.
“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake,” he said. “And should [Trump’s tariffs] not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war.”
That is not quite right. Politically, Trudeau and his Liberal Party may be the winners.
Ever since Trump won the election in November and started talking about annexing Canada, they have been gaining in the polls. In fact, they have taken the lead over the Conservative Party for the first time in four years ahead of the country’s election later this year.
And that highlights the difference between the leadership on both sides of the border.
For Trump, the trade war will likely be a political loser, and yet he is the one pursuing it even though regular Americans, his voters, will be hurt. For Trudeau, it will provide a bump in the polls ahead of a crucial election, and yet he is the one trying to end it amicably.
Of course, taking on Trump, who is despised in Canada, is also a political winner. According to a recent poll, a stunning 27 percent of Canadians say they now view the US as an “enemy.”
Canadians may need that newfound animosity toward a long-time friend and ally to help them endure a trade war that will also harm them.
“I won’t sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do,” Trudeau said. “We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day. Because this country is worth fighting for.”
And Trump?
Well, he reacted to Trudeau’s announcement that Canada would retaliate by calling the prime minister “governor” and promising to ramp up his trade war further.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
