Now that Canadians have been given a one-month reprieve from President Trump’s threatened arbitrary 25-per-cent tariffs, it’s safe to assume media and politicians north of the world’s longest undefended border will quickly revert to old bad habits.
After a brief, uncomfortable stab at appearing to be a team player, we can probably expect federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to get back to complaining about how “Canada is Broken” sometime today.
Postmedia’s Alberta political peanut gallery sprang into action with comedic speed in response to Mr. Trump’s unexpected flip late yesterday, which as surely as night follows day will have flopped back to new threats as the beginning of March approaches.
“From traitor to saviour – Smith’s plan was crucial in staving off tariffs,” cheered the headline over Calgary Herald’s Don Braid’s effort at restoring Ms. Smith’s self-tarnished reputation.
“Trudeau is no hero – he finally did what Trump and Danielle Smith wanted,” booed the headline over Calgary Sun scribbler Rick Bell’s contribution to the official Postmedia narrative.
Links are provided in the event readers wish to read the entire columns, but, really, you can spare yourselves the effort. The headlines speak for themselves and, alas, they do not reflect reality.
Messrs. Braid and Bell’s efforts notwithstanding, history is unlikely to absolve Ms. Smith.
After all, one of President Trump’s favourite bullying techniques is the bait-and-switch, and, having squeezed a few concessions out of Canada and Mexico that he can brag about to his supporters, he will soon switch to new demands. Indeed, he already has … U.S. banks must come to Canada! (Never mind that they’re already here, as if reality had anything to do with anything the man says.)
As Robert Reich wrote in his Substack column yesterday, the point of Mr. Trump’s bullying is the show. “Look behind what’s happening and you’ll see that Trump is employing two techniques to gain more power than any U.S. president has ever wielded,” the former U.S. Secretary of Labour in the Clinton Administration wrote.
The first is to show he can mete out huge punishments and rewards, whether or not they’re justified. “It’s a show of strength.”
The second is to keep everyone guessing. “What makes an abusive parent or spouse, or an abusive dictator, or Trump, especially terrifying? They’re unpredictable. They lash out in ways that are hard to anticipate.”
Dr. Reich continued: “What’s next? Who knows? That’s the whole point. … The practical consequence is that an increasing number of so-called ‘leaders’ – in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, and around the world – are telling their boards, overseers, trustees, or legislatures: ‘We have to give Trump whatever he wants and even try to anticipate his wants, because who knows how he’ll react if we don’t?’”
This is exactly what Ms. Smith has demanded of the prime minister and what he has at least in part delivered. Canada will be weaker for her effort and the division she has sown. And the problem is, it’ll all change again tomorrow, and we’ll give up a little more.
Indeed, as Mr. Trump has proved, the United States is now incapable of making and keeping almost any agreement. As soon as we have renegotiated the latest “free trade” deal, we will be presented with new demands.
Mr. Trump is going to say, as comedian Billy Connolly put it in his famous skit about old-time British labour leaders: “I want it now! I want it yesterday! And I want f*ckin’ more tomorrow! And the demands will all be changed then, so f*ckin’ stay awake!”
Canada needs to f*ckin’ stay awake.
A good place to start, I suppose, might be to eliminate internal trade barriers, a solution trotted out by Canadian politicians of all stripes since Mr. Trump was returned to the White House.
Sadly, that won’t be as easy as Mr. Poilievre makes it sound. For one thing, if you want to truck hay from Alberta to British Columbia, and B.C. says you’ll have to unload your truck and repack it to B.C.’s standards, is that a safety regulation or a trade barrier?
Section 121 of the Canadian Constitution Act, 1867, says “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.”
You’ll often read this described as meaning it requires free trade between provinces.
The interpretation of the courts since the 1920s, though, has been that this means only that section 121 bars the levying of customs duties, tariffs in other words, on goods moving between provinces.
And whether Mr. Poilievre likes it or not, Canada remains a federation – although the tech-bro coup engineered by Mr. Trump’s billionaire supporters south of the 49th Parallel shows that it may be possible to ignore or even discard constitutional limits, or perhaps entire constitutions. (In that event, what do U.S. soldiers who have sworn to uphold the Constitution do? We’ll see, I guess.)
But as long as Canada is a federal state as now constituted, Ottawa lacks the jurisdiction to impose free trade, Mr. Poilievre’s promises notwithstanding. And don’t imagine Alberta won’t scream about it if Ottawa tries.
So while Canada’s provinces may feel the need for freer trade right now, we can be confident that as things settle down in the Excited States – as is bound to happen eventually – provincial enthusiasm for free trade between provinces will wane too.
Don’t expect anything like that to be possible at Trump speed, no matter who our prime minister is.
“…having squeezed a few concessions out of Canada and Mexico that he can brag about to his supporters, he will soon switch to new demands.”
With apologies to Mr Kipling:
And that is called paying the Don-geld;
But we’ve proven it hither and yon,
That if once you have paid him the Don-geld
You never get rid of the Don.
“For one thing, if you want to truck hay from Alberta to British Columbia, and B.C. says you’ll have to unload your truck and repack it to B.C.’s standards, is that a safety regulation or a trade barrier?”
It’s both, of course. It’s also (if that example is real, as opposed to hypothetical) a darn good reason for Alberta and B.C. to get together, have a little chat about the physics and philosophy of hay-packin’, and shake hands on whatever set of regulations the two sides’ experts on the subject agree is most reasonable. Trade barrier removed! Safety maintained! And if the two sides’ experts can’t bring themselves to agree, they can always try again next year.
Elimination of interprovincial trade barriers won’t happen “at Trump speed”, as you rightly say, but we can still work on reducing their number and severity. Tackling difficult problems incrementally and haphazardly is better than not tackling them at all. We can make some headway here and there, and strengthen our economic and geopolitical position in the process.
Corwin:
I know that he is unpopular in the woke circles in which I run, but having grown up literally blocks from the hotel in which Rudyard Kipling once abided for a few days, I am a child of a colonial era in a place that still proudly thought of itself as a colony, and sometimes that jingoistic old boy is just so good that he makes my hair stand on end.
We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!
I think I’ll publish the whole thing on the blog tonight, circumstances permitting.
As to the hay example, it is real, or was, anyway. A more accessible example might be jurisdictions like Quebec that require winter tires in winter, and less sensible jurisdictions that don’t.
DJC
On behalf of the great unwashed? Can we haz winter tires on rental cars? Just asking for the dead!
Yes a crisis concentrates minds wonderfully, or as we say in Canada, reasonably well under the circumstances. Now that the immediate crisis has passed and we have at least a brief reprieve, we will go back to bickering with each other. Hopefully Trump will find others to torment for a while, after all it is a big world, before he possibly eventually gets back to us again.
As for Poilievre’s inter provincial free trade idea, surely the career politician knows that fantasy isn’t ever going to happen, but perhaps it will sound good to the gullible in some election pamphlet. Blocking each other’s beer, wine and liquor is what our provinces do best since 1867 and way before that. All provinces jealously guard their considerable powers, not the least of which in this endeavor is Alberta.
But the worst news for Poilievre is the reprieve from the crisis takes away their argument for the urgency of recalling Parliament, having an immediate election or maybe somehow both. And between the Liberal leadership candidates and Trump, it will be hard for PP to get much attention over the next few months. Although maybe for him that’s not totally a bad thing, as Canadians haven’t really seemed to have warmed up to him as they gotten to know him more
I remember when newspaper columnists showed that they had integrity, remained neutral, and were not mouthpieces for a political party, or a politician. That has certainly changed. Danielle Smith is treated like she’s some kind of saint, and Justin Trudeau is a boogeyman. A while back, there was a commenter on this blog, who said they delivered Edmonton Journal newspapers as a youth in the 1950s, and in the very early 1960s. They said when you read something in the newspaper, you knew what you were reading to be true. These are examples of what Postmedia publishes, and the ignorance in the comments reflects the ignorance of what gets published.
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/np-view-put-canada-first-recall-parliament-now
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/anthony-furey-canada-needs-to-deal-with-its-fentanyl-problem
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/braid-traitor-saviour-danielle-smith-plan-staved-off-tariff-threat/wcm/e7daf3dc-1989-42fb-814b-ccb87ea43a52
It’s mind-boggling how these Postmedia columnists can publish things like this, even after it was clear what Justin Trudeau said about Donald Trump. There is no neutrality with these columnists, and it’s evident that they are mouthpieces for the Conservatives.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/tariff-speech-trudeau-didnt-deliver
DJC— read a caption yesterday that seems prophetic:
” does anyone else feel like they’re in a snow globe that some jerk keeps picking up and shaking?”
A. Emphatically…YES!!
So besides the actual first snowstorm of the season and though much needed for the snow pack, it also means people have forgotten how to drive in it, (if they knew to start) and insuing mayhem reigns. Where was I?
Right…. watching d’rump signing all those executive orders is like watching great grandpa McScrooge surrounded by all the nephews, getting him to sign away his fortune to them with whatever quackery that comes to mind.
Giving E.McDuck keys to the treasury and government files as a private citizen whom d’rump has put on the payroll (????) ; nothing to worry about folks, he answers to me/us.
Bwahahaha!!
Personally, I’m going with what Charlie Angus said in his interview on CNN…..
” Explaining to CNN the economic chaos that Donald Trump is about to unleash on his own people. We will never break or concede to an erratic thug who seems like Al Capone in his syphilic phase trying to pull a shakedown. ”
— Canadian MP fires back after Trump says he wants Canada to be 51st state. —–
D’rump said we have a 30 day “reprieve ” . That was already yesterday, and just look at what he’s signed into effect in the meantime that we know about.
It’s hard to believe that your article about Venezuela was that long ago. Would 30 days be enough time for that oil to get flowing?
How time flies when you’re spinning in the globe. It seems that Marlaina & d’rump have a penchant/predilection for shaking the snow globes. In the meantime ;
France 24 : Has Trump changed tack on Venezuela ?
One of a list of headlines that I found.
But given the mire in what has become our feedlot , we are just supposed to accept our fate. But impo, it’s not hard to see who is suffering from hoof &mouth disease. And as much as UCP supporters and media try to give Marlaina & Skippy a dry spot to stand on, the weight of their self induced ministrations is starting to show.
Up until a few weeks ago, Skippy was going on about how Canada’s military needs to be brought back to warrior not woke status. So is this how he sees warrior status? sending them to our border to keep people from leaving Canada and going to the states? But Skippy, you just finished telling us that we don’t have enough military personnel. And a few weeks ago you were complaining about all the companies leaving Canada to go to the states and now suddenly it’s Canada first— coming to you live from Vancouver ( I could have sworn that I read your constituency was in Carlton Ont)
On X —
“Like Canadians across the country, Conservatives are relieved to hear there will be a one month pause on tariffs….
. But this is not a time to sit back…….”
So, I’m going to go celebrate Chinese New Year, then go to the Jewish community, then go door knocking in the snow with a Conservative candidate.
Because those other people, you know, the “Canadians ” have more pressing issues to deal with.
And yes, we CANADIANS have to deal with your buddy Jamil’s very good friend and d’rumps side kick saying (X)
— spare me the sob-story about how Canada is our “best friend”…..
How nice, and if you even remotely care about “Canada First “- you might want to speak to Marlaina about her call to permanently cede the North West passage to the US.
EXCUSE ME? Just what else was she planning on giving away down in Maralago?
As for Skippy’s constituents, I’m guessing that at this point, after 600 + campaign style rallies in the last 2 yrs and as far as I know, none there, they may be thinking that at least Doug Ford is saying he’s standing for all Canadians— not Canadians and conservatives.
Makes the hair on the back of my neck rise.
Sorry for the rant….sigh!
This is indeed a wake up call for Canadians.
What puts the lie to Smith’s supposed victory over the Trump tariffs (beyond the fact that there is still a 10% tariff on oil and gas) is that agricultural products, a not insignificant proportion of the Alberta economy, still has a 25% tariff. Did Smith not talk to Trump about this? If not, why not? Is it because she is really still working as an oil lobbyist and only pretending to be premier? Did she throw agriculture under the bus in favour of O&G? If I were a farmer or rancher, I’d want an answer to this.
Look at the person we are dealing with. Falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen he organized an attempted coup on January 6 2021 that almost succeeded. His thug followers stormed the Capitol, attacked and severely injured police officers and sought to execute government leaders. During the 2024 campaign he vowed to pardon and release every criminal. Promise made and kept. He said he’d levy trade tariffs on countries friend or foe. Promise made and kept. And now, facing no opposition from Congress or the public, his popularity has never been higher. He “jokes” about annexing Canada along with our natural resources. The thirty day interlude is just that. Tariffs and border protection are just a front for his long term goals and he has four years to carry them out. We are in danger.
Tom— due to the barrage, other moves that were made are even more unsettling.
—Envoy to Venezuela and M.Rubio to Ecuador– talking about taking and housing prisoners from the states for a small fee; and Rubio saying he wished they could send Americans as well, but you know, rules and all……
—Talking about supporting Musk’s* pro apartheid cause as he threatens south Africa.
—Today- saying the us will take over Gaza ,and move the Palestinians out, because they can’t live in the rubble…(IMHO can not be printed)
—30 day “reprieve” just gives Melon and his minions more time to come up with more treachery that’s heading our way. As Tom Clancy so aptly titled it …” A Clear and Present Danger “.**
**not the book I was thinking of, but the that title does apply.
For my part, I am already ramping up buying Canadian.
Yes, it will mean changes, especially at the grocery store.
Fortunately, my wife and I don’t need any big ticket items (vehicle, appliances, etc). Travel to US was already verboten after the orange shit ribbon was re-elected. National Geographic/Scientific American subscriptions will not be renewed. We already buy BC wines. My scotch isn’t a worry. What the hell to do about Netflix/Amazon Prime though?
That picture of Poilievre? Well now, it should be on milk cartons! With a pull string for AI generated stuttering vocal intercourse! I have seen permanently unemployed blind ground squirrels, with less beady eyes and more substantive policies (plus nuts)! Talk about a politician chasing the caboose on the Trump train! Our KK-conservatives have jumped the shark!
The US is in the midst of a coup in the image of Russia. Paul Krugman, a renowned economist and Nobel prize winner, shares his thoughts on the first two weeks of Trump taking office.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/what-the-musk-is-happening
The U.S. is the Ignited States, as a toddler once informed me. Either that kid was wise beyond their years or prescient.
Now that the Night of the Long Knives has begun south of the border, we are seeing in Canada the religious and pseudo-religious aspects of the political religion that has taken over Republicans. Postmedia has at least one columnist crowning a saviour. Do we understand how insane this is all getting? Prayer breakfast in Washington, D.C., anyone?
I’ve been following the excellent Robert Reich for a while now and recommend him to everyone. He’s been inside U.S. politics for decades and is the best play-by-play analyst for U.S. politics on social media at the moment.
No one believes Trump’s tariff war is over and no one believes it’s about tariffs. He said himself at the beginning that he would use economic force to annex Canada. This is war, or hybrid war if you prefer. He is one person, backed by a legion of powerful oligarchs.
Danger is omnipresent with a president as erratic as Trump. Two dates of note will be March 9 when Justin Trudeau steps down as leader of the Liberal Party, and March 24 when parliament resumes. Trump is a shark who smells blood. The greatest danger for Canada, though, is that we’re negotiating with a ghost. That ghost is erasing the U.S. from the inside. Soon it won’t exist.
Whatever will the Constitutional Sheriff movement in the U.S. do when they find out that there isn’t a constitution?
The upcoming federal election is not a time to stay home, or destroy your ballot, nor is it a time to play silly games. Our future as a country is at stake. Grow up and stand up or lose everything. It was not a mistake when Trump referred to Canada as a “territory” when no one was paying attention the other day. Canada will never be a 51st state. Trump wants to seize everything and turn us into a territory without any rights or representation. What happens when colonialists seize land for colonies? Slaves and slavery, that’s what.
Ok. Now please cut me some slack. My time on this blog as a fringe participant goes back, well now over a decade. I’m making a recommendation. No edict! Here goes eh?
Our host here should establish a voice for the notional 51st state as unworthy of credit. Alright, I’ve said it! He should be the source of news from the toxic prion disease infected and yet to be absorbed, 51st state but entirely not quite yet in control of Washington. The Climenhaga of the snow! Here’s you’re link.. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a63665968/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-markets/ Ask Charles Pierce for a short round on his what’s going on in the states and the wanna be infected.
Plus a quote that might align real Americans with real Canadians to hopefully restore our truly humorous occasionally harmonious and lovely relationship! We now await the inevitable backing down and then the equally inevitable victory dance, followed by more beatings! Which will do little save to entertain the rubes until the next rag-dolling ends.. of whos in whoville? You and Us. Nobody is better than this Trump guy at celebrating great triumphs that accomplish nothing, then moving on to attention grabbing travesties! It’s an altogether amazing gift. Like lego for the kids at Christmas. It requires some intelligence to perceive what it is! And then? Put the pieces together! https://youtu.be/X3hjIr7Xp4o Then set them on fire!
POGO— a wee bit of tonic ,to help get you through another day…..
Charlie Angus bluesky
All we have is today, so make each today a small victory. Besides you’re both music aficionados. >>>Grevious Angels has a nice ring, no?
Among the many humans I have loved? Emmy Lou, Rodney Crowel and his ownself, may he rest in piece.. the first Flying Burrito Brother, Gram Parsons! For you then, able to summon my heart with one call! A small gift. https://youtu.be/UEDbJcIph24
My wife made an interesting comment after reading David’s column: if Danielle Smith thinks diplomacy and respect is so wonderful, why doesn’t she practice it when dealing with the federal government and her fellow premiers?
Your wife asks an excellent question. Too bad none of the press wants to ask Smith that question.
While Premier Smith is bragging that her efforts caused only 10% tariff being contemplated being put on energy, I highly doubt Smith had anything to do with any of that. In my opinion I think many of Trump’s own people were the ones that called this out and stopped him, not Smith nor Trudeau.
Part of me thinks this has more to do with Russia, and Saudi Arabia than Danielle Smith. Reportedly, one of trumps big ideas was to take a bite out of “Putin’s War Machine” by convincing the Saudis and OPEC to flood the world market with oil, dropping it below where it’s profitable for Russia. Problem is, because of the highly expensive nature of Saudi society, they actually would have to sell at prices well below they need to maintain their domestic budget, and I’m guessing they probably said “no thanks”. My read is they (trump) were making a calculation that 10% tariffs on a 25-30% drop in per barrel pricing would mean that all those yankee refineries running on tar sands oil still make a solid return. Without being able to monkey in world energy markets the gambit falls apart. The last thing any American president wants is a raise in gas prices, and so trump gets on the horn with Trudeau and for some token security gestures / guarantees the tariffs are suddenly “paused” and cross border trade continues. Yesterday I read that mexicos tariffs had also been “paused” sure would be strange if they ALSO sold a lot of oil to the states.
Bird: Nowadays the Saudis and the Russians talk, and not just about BRICS. DJC
Apparently the wall st journal ran a story yesterday about this; reporting both opec and domestic fracking said they will not increase production. I did a little digging after my comment and it would appear of the roughly 6.5 million barrels of oil the US buys every day, around 3/4 of that comes from Mexico and Canada. A back of the envelope calculation 10% tariffs on its two biggest energy trading partners would run an extra 52 million dollars a day! Had his pricing gambit worked they would have SAVED maybe twice that in energy costs / day, plus the Russian advantage I previously mentioned.
I guess what I’m saying I don’t think it’s possible so much as probable. Too bad for Donny everybody doesn’t want to light their economy on fire just to make him look good.
There is question that this is only the beginning of a full-blown heist in broad daylight.
The CONs are exacting their plans for ‘Manifest Destiny’ and an extraordinary level of pillage never before witnessed.
At this point, it would be perfect if the foreign interference inquiry were to release the levels and donors to the CPC. The right-wing US The Heritage Foundation, the NRA, Turning Point, etc. have all been prolific supporters and financiers of the CPC.
Time to put the heat on these sub-humans; they are like frogs in a pot of slowly boiling water.
At the risk of identifying myself once again as a starry-eyed ecoterrorist with a weak grasp of economics, I can’t help feeling that there is a huge elephant gone missing in all this fizzy talk of free trade/not free trade, and that lost elephant is the cost of the externalities of sending our crap around the world at low cost, tariffed or not. That orphan child of a cost: the ten plagues- pestilence and drought, fire and hail, the devastated- well you know the list. Mark Carney may admire Greta Thunberg, but she isn’t very fond of him. The commodification of the very things that sustain us has brought us here, not the latest politician with a new hairdo. But then the TESCREALists running our lives don’t live in the physical world, do they? When coal mines are earnestly studied as an acceptable alternative to clean water on a cost-benefit analysis, we’ve had a problem, Houston. And it’s WAY bigger than your dead cattle.
Placing a larger tariff on oil from Canada would have had an immediate impact on American consumers and corporations. It would not have gone over well if it had been 25%. Smith nor Trudeau had nothing to do with the lower tariff.
When reading the various newspapers or bird cage liners, you would think they are “reporting” on very different things. It is clear some newspapers really don’t like Trudeau, the Liberals, NDP, etc. Some of the press praise the Liberals/NDP, etc. as if they were geniuses, when they only doing their job and some times not as well as they ought to.
Given the slanted reporting of the legacy press, they should not receive any funding from our tax dollars. Better no press than this b.s. With such biased reporting they are not serving the interests of the country.
“The wise men share a joke; I run to grasp divining signs to satisfy the hoax.
The yellow jester does not play, but gently pulls the strings and smiles as the puppets dance.”
An evolved primate dominance hierarchy demands that, “. . . grovelling, or arse-licking, is not a character trait but a model for action. It operates at the very centre of social mechanisms; and it is a process upon which any attempt to understand human arrangement must focus. Furthermore, from analysing the arts of grovelling, sycophancy, duplicity and obsequiousness, we learn much about society, its ways of lies and flattery, cunning and deception, hypocrisy and baseness, false adulation and deliberate self-degradation.” An unambiguous observation abundantly supported by recent events and the responses elicited by the various actors, i.e., “We have established what you are. We are now merely haggling over the price.”