“I love Canada. I love the people of Canada… but the United States can’t subsidize a country for $200 billion a year. Canada only works as a State… I’m sorry, we have to do this.”
– Donald Trump, President of the United States of America.
What utter codswallop!
Four short sentences and four humungous lies frothing from his mouth. And we shrug.
First, Donald Trump does not love Canada as a free and sovereign nation. He covets it. He wants to own it. It is not just a negotiating tactic. He wants Canada, every square inch. He wants our lumber, our oil, our gas, our electricity, our uranium, our potash, our aluminum and any other aspects of our plentiful natural resources that he can get his greedy hands on.
The problem is that Donald Trump doesn’t want to pay for it. He wants to steal it. And he is serious about it, and he doesn’t intend to let it go. That is really the crux of the matter.
As for subsidizing Canada in the amount of US$200 billion a year, pure hogwash. Trump is smart. He knows the difference between a subsidy and a trade deficit. But he doesn’t care. Truth or accuracy means nothing to him. There is absolutely no recognized measure showing that the United States subsidizes Canada by US$200 billion every year. Economists and other financial experts have repeatedly confirmed this.
What there is, however, is a trade deficit between Canada and the United States, and that, too, is nowhere near the US$200 billion “subsidy” that Trump claims. The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that in 2025, the United States had a trade deficit of US$46.4 billion and a higher one in 2024 of US$63 billion.
Canada does receive additional revenue from the United States for services rendered. Tourism is a good example. But these are not subsidies. They are paid for, not by the government but by individual U.S. citizens who visit Canada and receive value for their money. Donald Trump bundles all of these services, tourism and many others, into his so- called subsidies and still falls far short of US$200 billion.
To be clear, a trade deficit and other services Canada offers the United States for value received are not subsidies. They are business transactions. They are income that is received for services rendered. There is absolutely nothing here resembling a free ride, which is what “subsidies” implies.
Canada’s population is about 41 million. The population of the United States is about 342 million, more than eight times that of Canada. Any idiot can conclude that the United States requires far more goods and services than does Canada, which obviously results in a trade deficit.
But Canada is an excellent trading partner for the United States, providing them with conveniently located resources they require, quite likely at a lower cost than if they were imported from most other countries. As is already evident, the United States suffers significantly in a self-imposed trade war with Canada.
Lastly, in relation to Donald Trump’s diatribe attacking our sovereignty, he said this. “Canada only works as a state. I am sorry to have to do this.” Do what? What in the world can he mean by that? To me, it feels like a real and direct threat.
Certainly, it means that the Trump Administration will continue with tariffs and trade punishments, economic coercion, pressure tactics and undermining Canadian independence. But does it now also imply, and up the ante on, forced annexation?
In my view, Trump’s statement about Canada is clearly framed in annexation language. It tops off his many repeated statements about Canada as the 51st state to the extent that it can no longer be seen as a joke, an offhand remark, or even a negotiating tactic. It frames Canadian sovereignty not as permanent and legitimate, but as conditional on American approval.
So, how seriously are we in Canada taking this threat? Not nearly seriously enough. And what are we doing about it? Again, not nearly enough. This is where some of my friends on the left side of the political spectrum may well part company with me.
I applaud Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to diversify Canada’s economy, to create new trading partners, to decrease our dependency on the United States and to create more economic opportunity within Canada. But when it comes to defending Canada’s sovereignty, my sense is he is wimpish, and that needs to stop right now.
Yes, Carney says the right things about Trump’s economic and sovereignty threats to Canada. But there is no substance to them, no measures of retaliation or consequence.
I get it that he wants to maintain decent relationships with the United States in the hope of better tariff treatment and a successful conclusion to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade negotiations.
But the reality is that Trump will continue to use both of these to undermine Canada’s economy and independence as long as he is in office. Nothing is going to change that. It is time to call him on it. You cannot effectively negotiate with a bully and a tyrant.
Prime Minister Carney needs to lance the boil. Trump’s political style often relies on repetition. He says extreme things repeatedly until they become part of public discourse. He conditions people to think of Canada as an extension of America rather than as a separate and independent country.
If the Carney Government thinks they can simply table an effective response to Trump’s threats about annexation until other negotiations take place, they are sorely mistaken. Donald Trump acts on impulse, not permission, legality or even rationale. If proof is needed of that, one needs to look no further than Venezuela, Iran, Greenland or Cuba.
The longer this issue, this direct and continuing threat from Donald Trump against Canada’s sovereignty is allowed to linger and to fester, the more toxic it becomes and the more danger there is of it becoming a reality.
Simply saying we don’t agree is not nearly enough. Mark Carney, on behalf of Canadians, needs to put his foot firmly down now.
He needs to formally call in the United States Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, to tell him that these threats from Trump must stop immediately. He needs to call on our NATO allies to visibly support Canada’s sovereignty against the very public threats and intimidation by the United States and to warn that there would be consequences. He can forget the United Nations as they are useless as long as the U.S., Russia and China have vetoes over almost everything they may want to do.
But there are things the Carney Government can do, and he needs to get on with it. Diplomacy can only go so far. One definition of diplomacy is the art of staving off the inevitable.
In this instance, with these ongoing and increasingly alarming threats from the President of the United States, Canada cannot afford to do that. The Prime Minister of Canada has to do more than just say, please don’t. He has to put on his big boy pants. It’s time to send a clear message: Enough already! This crap has to stop!
Is this a David and Goliath scenario? Quite possibly.
But remember, David would not have won if he had not used that sling shot.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to the former Premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Canada is not dealing with the United States out of weakness and fright. Carney is simply waiting until after the midterms when Trump’s unilateral power will finally be stopped. And he is likely impeached. TACO Trump has already lost many court cases and his actions are being reversed. Trump’s reign of terror and the resulting high costs for Americans and the world is finally coming to a close. Trump will be a lame duck president for the rest of his term.
The predicament that Canada is in with respect to trade and tariffs is of our own making. Over the years, we’ve put most of our eggs into one basket and made ourselves vulnerable to any US President that decides to take advantage of that weakness. This was never a smart business strategy and we’ve suffered a few times over the years as world economies have shifted and the US has become more protective. But for the most part, Canadians have been complacent and been able to deal with any bumps in the road that came as a result. We now have Trump and the chickens have come home to roost. This is our new reality and we need to deal with it. If we listen to Carney, he’s doing the smart thing by trying to diversify our trade agreements and reducing our dependency on the US. He’s saying the right things in this regard, but in itself that will not stop Trump threatening our sovereignty. As Hugh says, he needs to do a lot more and stand up to the US bully before our US statehood becomes a fait accompli. However, this is unlikely to happen any time soon in my opinion. Trump has been a godsend for Carney. It’s allowed him to rally Canadians against a common enemy and he’s garnered a lot of support as a result – probably a lot more than if Trump wasn’t around. When people are threatened, and fearful, they will close ranks and gravitate to safe ground. As a Liberal, Canadians see Carney as representing continuity, stability and safety. The psychology of fear worked well for the Liberals during the pandemic and it’s working again for them now. Furthermore, the media focus on the big, bad bully south of the border could not be better for Carney as it allows him to introduce legislation supporting his real agenda while Canadians are distracted. Carney doesn’t care about Canadians either way. He’s not here for us. I think he’ll milk this situation for as long as he can for his own advantage.
Almost everyone in the US and Canada knows Trump is not smart. Or truthful. Or a good businessman. Carney is smart.
He calmly informs Trump of the facts. Like the new bridge in Windsor was entirely paid by Canada and already is half owned by the US. But Canada gets all the tolls until the bridge is paid off.
Rather than make a bad deal with bombastic Trump, Carney is waiting until Trump’s power is neutered by Congress after the midterms. It sounds like he will be immediately impeached. And Trump knows it.
Then relations with the US should get back much closer to normal than since Trump was elected. Bordering states are on Canada’s side against Trump right now. Along with most Americans.
Relax.
Trump’s reign of terror, and the resulting high costs for the US and the world, will soon be over.
You are exactly right Mr.. Kidd!
I agree with all that Hugh M said until he said the line about Cuba Iran’ and Venezuela. I agree with what Trump is doing with those three. They are not democracies. They suppress their own people, they shoot and imprison them and it is time someone made them see their errors.
Allan
Mr. Carney might be afraid to stand up to Trump because of his personal investments in the U.S. Since becoming our Prime Minister Carney talks a good fight but hasn’t thrown one elbow or butt end. Has he? Since Carney became Prime Minister has life got less expensive for Canadians?