So President Trump is intimidating Canada with tariffs of 25%, while at the same time is suggesting that we could avoid these tariffs by becoming the 51st State of the Union. Well of course, most Canadian politicians are outraged and busy drawing up lists of retaliatory tariffs. I suppose it's only prudent that this be done, but I would also recommend a more cool headed, pragmatic approach, before heading into a full blown trade war which benefits neither country. Let's face it, Canada already is a de facto part of the United States through our intensive economic and cultural ties, which force us to seriously consider US actions and influences when making many of our own political decisions. It's just that we don't get to vote in US elections and thereby exert at least some degree of control over how their actions impact us. Well, I'm not ready to chuck the Canadian flag and raise the Stars and Stripes, but I'm sure Donald Trump would be less likely to impose punishing tariffs on a Canada that is at least willing to try and negotiate union with the US - and who knows, there might actually be some very tangible benefits if we negotiate in an erudite and shrewd enough manner. Right now, Canadian opposition is more of a reaction against Trump's antagonistic approach, rather than against the potential substance. I do actually doubt that a union of the two countries will occur in the foreseeable future. Many Americans are also against the idea, and Canadians would obviously vote against Trump. However, the true value would be gained from the intrinsic worth of reasonable diplomatic discourse. Otherwise if not careful, Canada could at some point see Alberta alone become the 51st State, and take their oil with them.
    For starters, Canada would not become the big dumb 51st State. It's far too large and both culturally and geographically diverse a land mass for that. We would have to bring the number of states up to around 60 (10 Provinces plus Territories), and we would add, say 20 Senators plus the proportionate number of House Representatives to Capitol Hill. We'd also have to be very careful to protect such things as our health care systems, gun control laws and state border check points. I'm sure Trump would be very skeptical of all this, and deep down it's likely that what he really wants is a Canadian subjugated territory, rather than a 51st state. However, I think most of Trump's aggression is aimed at Justin Trudeau, rather than Canada as a whole. Trump sees Trudeau as being a spoiled, woke-liberal, school teacher, tromping around Ottawa in daddy's shoes. So do most Canadians. Trudeau has already resigned and his replacement, Mark Carney, possesses impressive credentials, and should be able to garner at least some respect from Trump. Carney has made some disparaging remarks about Trump, but probably more for domestic consumption to win the nomination, then as his intended style of negotiation. He's a well known economist with international ties and it appears that he's resigned to the tariffs and intends to matter-of-factly respond by restructuring Canada's domestic and foreign trading relationships, rather than beg Trump for relief. We'll see how serious Trump is when Canadians prove willing to endure the pain.
    To be honest, I first took a dislike to Donald Trump back in the 80's, when he was in the news building his NY Trump Tower. He's a narcissistic bully, and bullies typically only pick on people smaller than themselves. However, his analysis regarding the Ukraine crisis has been essentially correct (though far from the best) and he's somewhat less likely to plunge us into WWIII than any of his Democratic counterparts. Therefore for now, I'll give Trump the benefit of the doubt, and frankly, my country Canada, including Carney, developed some very bad national karma by ardently supporting the insurrectionist, anti-Russian regime in Kiev, and fuelling the deaths of hundreds of thousands, at a time when a peaceful settlement was still within reach. We also gave two parliamentary standing ovations to Ukrainian WWII Nazi SS officer, Jaroslav Hunka. Also, like the US, we allowed notable WWII Ukrainian Nazis to emigrate to Canada where they've built multiple monuments to top Ukrainian Nazi war criminals, Roman Shukheyvich and Stepan Bandera. Therefore, I'm battening down my hatches, while still hoping for the best. However, the karmic wheel of retribution is turning for all of the world's nations, especially when you throw the Israeli / Palestinian debacle into the mix.
To be continued...
Update - April 3 2025
So Trump has announced his reciprocal tariffs list, which affects most of the world and will lead to dangerously unpredictable results. Notably, he did not include Canada nor Mexico on this list, but so far has left intact his 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and the auto industry. Nevertheless, he is largely adhering to the North American free trade agreement - USMCA, or as Canadians refer to it - CUSMA. While far from ideal, Canadians are breathing a sigh of relief. Personally, I think it's safe to say that Trump is not a fascist, but rather a rash, erratic, self-defeating, transactional, populist, who nevertheless can be dealt with. As for his ultimate value, only time will tell, but he's no worse than self-righteous liberal war-mongers, and no matter what, America and western civilization is in decline. How quickly and how deeply we fall is the question.