Trump’s Tariffs Are Reviving Canada’s Political Left

President Trump entered the Oval Office like a tornado, signing more executive orders in his first two weeks than any president has signed in his first 100 days since President Harry Truman. His America First agenda will reshape trade and foreign policy, ushering in a new protectionist era. His imposition of tariffs, and bluster in wanting to make Canada the 51st state, has not only increased Canada’s anxiety level but revived the political fortunes of the country’s left-leaning Liberal establishment. A recent Leger poll found that 75 percent of Canadians view President Trump negatively and 13 percent view him favorably. This has galvanized Canadians around the Liberal Party, stealing support from the socialist NDP and the Conservatives who have lost their big lead in the polls.

Prime Minister Trudeau presided over a sinking ship as President Trump prepared to enter the White House. Trudeau’s approval ratings had reached rock bottom, and a majority of Canadians had enough of his government’s incompetence and ongoing scandals. Trudeau had refused to resign until he tried firing his finance minister Chrystia Freeland to replace her with progressive Marc Carney. 

Freeland was infuriated, and made a focused attack on Trudeau’s excessive spending habits: “Our country today faces a grave challenge. The government needs to take that seriously and store up financial reserves. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford, and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment,” she stated about Trump’s tariff threats. Freeland placed the final dagger in Trudeau’s back, ending his political career. 

Not only did Trudeau resign, but he also prorogued the government and remained in power until his party elected a new leader. His prorogation was a strategic move that prevented the opposition from hammering away at the government’s latest Green slush fund scandal and allowed the liberals time to elect a new leader. Both liberal and conservative governments have often misused prorogation to prevent a non-confidence vote that could remove the ruling party and allow the government to reset its agenda. 

With a suspended Parliament and no opposition to question government policy, the spotlight was on rising Liberal star Marc Carney whose easygoing speaking style and elder statesmen-like appearance have Canadians believing that he can take on Trump. During the leadership debates Carney cleverly juxtaposed Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre with Trump: “Who’s the worst person to stand up to Donald Trump? It’s Pierre Poilievre. He worships the man. He uses his language. He’s not the right person for our country at this crucial time,” stated the former central banker. 

Carney—who was Trudeau’s economic advisor and has never held public office—has an ability to change his mind on a dime, as well as to tweak and re-state Trudeau’s failed policies in a manner that sounds more forgiving. Carney is Trudeau 2.0 but with intellectual gravitas.

Carney says he will abandon the consumer carbon tax that Conservatives have used to pin Trudeau in a corner and replace it with a plan to make heavy industrial emitters pay, offering consumer incentives for purchasing “eco-responsible” items. He also criticizes the Trudeau government for over-relying on immigration and government spending to fuel the economy. “Our economy was weak before we got to the point of these threats from President Trump,” Carney said. “That’s why we need big changes to how we’re managing this economy.” He has positioned himself as the agent of change, stealing that mantle from the Conservatives clamoring for an election. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is another politician exploiting the anti-Trump fervor.. Ford—accused of being a conservative in name only, called for an expensive and meaningless provincial election—the first in the middle of winter since 1883. He asked voters to give him a majority government “to protect Ontario” from Trump’s tariffs. His government was not due for an election for another year but he chose to spend $3 billion, sending every Ontarian a $200 bribe right before the election to quell their cynicism. His frequent trips to Washington D.C to meet with American officials kept the media focused on him playing the role of “Captain Canada,” and voters rewarded him with a third consecutive majority government, making him the most successful politician in the country. Yet the real reason for his election call was to avoid an RCMP report that is due to become public on the government’s green belt scandal. 

Anti-Trump sentiment has reached a fevered pitch, with more than 36,000 signing a parliamentary petition urging the government to bar the U.S. president from entering Canada for threatening the country’s sovereignty. This is not a meaningless gesture, as the president is currently scheduled to attend the annual gathering of G7 leaders in Alberta in June. Socialist NDP leader Jagmeet Singh joined the chorus, declaring that “We need to ban Donald Trump from attending the G7 Summit,” and that Canada should instead use the summit as an opportunity to work with allies on a plan to resist Trump and his “dangerous threats to the world.” 

Trump’s trade war has given Canada’s “Laurentian elite“ momentum. These elites consist of the political, business, and cultural classes living in central Canada, the country’s economic heartland. It is often said that the Liberal Party exists to serve the interests of the Laurentian elite. Perhaps a positive aspect of this trade crisis is that it may serve as a catalyst for Canada to pursue essential economic reforms and diversify its trade relationships. Currently, Canada exports 76 percent of its goods to the U.S. market. 

President Trump is correct when he criticizes the Canadian economy as being closed. Its financial services and telecommunication industries are monopolies designed to prevent competition. For example, an American bank that operates in Canada cannot accept deposits under $150,000 CAD, which protects the country’s big five banks. The telecom sector has outdated regulations stipulating that any entity representing 10 percent of the market must be Canadian-owned, discouraging U.S. companies from entering the Canadian market. Additionally, Canada’s agricultural industry is heavily regulated by a supply management system that artificially inflates prices to subsidize farmers.

Canada should begin by eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, constructing more energy infrastructure, and approving pipelines for exporting energy to foreign markets. Furthermore, the federal government needs to shift its focus from an overwhelming emphasis on climate change and instead support its most valuable assets: oil and gas. Gregory Ebel, the CEO of Enbridge, was asked about reviving the Northern Gateway project. He responded, “The environment in Canada, along with the ability to actually get anything done, would require significant legislative changes to realize that project. Even when there was regulatory approval, Indigenous support, and customer backing, it ultimately came down to a stroke of the pen by the federal government that ended that project by banning tankers off the West Coast.”

According to the Angus Reid Institute, most Canadians feel angry and betrayed by the implementation of tariffs on Canadian goods. Under the Trudeau Liberals, Canada has shifted too far to the left, resulting in economic stagnation. If Canada wants to ensure long-term prosperity, its fiscal policies should align more closely with the United States, especially since America remains Canada’s largest trading partner.