It wasn’t easy, but Trump united Canada and Mexico against the US.
Mark Carney Wins Liberal Leadership by a Landslide
Prim Minister Justin Trudeau stepped down and a few weeks ago Liberals were getting crushed. But Trump rallied all Canadians against the US and united liberals behind Mark Carney.
The National Post reports Mark Carney Wins Liberal Leadership by a Landslide with 86% of Votes
Mark Carney won the Liberal leadership by a landslide, garnering 86 per cent of the ballots on the first round of votes, and is set to take the stage as prime minister at a time when the country finds itself embroiled in a trade war with its closest ally and neighbour.
Carney said he was ready to take on the fight against U.S. President Donald Trump, who is threatening to impose several rounds of tariffs, including on steel and aluminum later this week, in an apparent attempt to weaken Canada’s economy and sovereignty.
Carney called this the “most important crisis in our generation” but that Canadians “didn’t ask for this fight” but “are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.”
“The Americans should make no mistake: in trade, as in hockey, Canada will win,” he added, referencing Canada’s win at the 4 Nations Face-Off last month.
Carney then pivoted his attention to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre which he could be facing in a general election in a few weeks, should he decide to call one.
“He is the type of lifelong politician — and I’ve seen this type around the world — who worships at the alter of the free market despite never having made a payroll himself,” said Carney.
“Unlike Pierre Poilievre, I’ve actually worked in the private sector. I know how the world works, and I know how it can be made to work better for all of us,” he added.
The new Liberal leader also pledged to reverse some of Trudeau’s key policies.
“I am a pragmatist above all, so when I see that something’s not working, I will change it. My government will immediately eliminate the consumer carbon tax on families, on farmers, and small and medium-sized businesses,” he said.
Canada First
Also consider Poilievre Warns Trump Not to Turn Canada into a ‘Resentful Neighbour’
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre warned U.S. President Donald Trump not to turn a “loyal friend into a resentful neighbour” with his incessant threats of tariffs on key sectors to the Canadian economy and of making Canada into the 51st state.
Poilievre was speaking to hundreds of supporters at a “Canada First” rally on Saturday afternoon, to coincide with Flag Day, in the same downtown Ottawa convention centre where Poilievre’s leadership of the party began more than two years ago.
“Sometimes it does take a threat to remind us of what we have, what we could lose and what we could become,” he told the crowd. “The unjustified threats of tariffs and 51st statehood from Donald Trump have united our people to defend the country we love.”
Speaking to Americans, Poilievre gave them two options. The first one would be to carry out an “unprovoked attack” on the Canadian economy with tariffs, making their consumers pay more, their workers make less money, and make gas prices skyrocket.
“You will turn a loyal friend into a resentful neighbour, forced to match tariff with tariff and to seek friends everywhere else, both our economies will weaken, leaving less money for defence and security, and our enemies will grow stronger,” he said.
Or, the second option would see Canada and the U.S. trade even more, he said, making consumers pay less for goods and workers have more money in their pockets.
“I would ask you this question, which other country would you rather have as your neighbour? If Canada is not your friend, who is?” he asked Americans.
“Let me be clear: we will never be the 51st state. We will bear any burden and pay any price to protect the sovereignty and independence of our country.”
One More on Canada
Please consider Liberals Revived by Trump
Mark Carney won the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party on Sunday, putting him in line to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and call an election that suddenly seems winnable for the country’s center left.
The political tide changed when Trump took office in January and almost immediately targeted Canada with 25% tariffs that threaten the economic model that lifted growth in Canada for decades—duty-free access to the U.S. market.
Trump’s suggestions about annexing Canada and turning it into the 51st state have alarmed Canadian officials, who say they take Trump at his word that he is prepared to crush Canada’s economy and force it to give up its sovereignty.
“The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” Carney said on Sunday, speaking to Liberal Party members in Ottawa after this win. “So Americans should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”
The Liberal Party had been trailing Canada’s right-leaning Conservative Party by roughly 20 points for a year and a half, a reflection of deep disdain for Trudeau and his government’s inability to address Canadians’ concerns about rising costs.
Trump Boosts the Mexican Left
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Boosts the Mexican Left
Consider the developments in Mexico since Mr. Trump began threatening a North American trade war. Like Canada’s socialist Liberal Party, given up for dead in December and now surging in the polls as a symbol of anti-Trumpism, hard-left Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum of the Morena party is riding a wave of nationalism. With an approval rating reaching 85%, she too has Mr. Trump to thank.
During Mr. Trump’s visit to the Journal shortly before the November presidential election, I asked if he would “commit to protecting” the 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which he negotiated to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“Yeah, 100%,” he said. “First of all, it’s a good question. The answer is 100% yes, unless Mexico is going to allow these massive factories owned by China to make cars and then go around the horn and sell them through China or some other country where they can avoid the USMCA.”
I read Mr. Trump’s answer to my question as a warning to China not to try to produce electric cars in Mexico and export them to the U.S. under MFN duties.
“But USMCA is safe?” I asked again.
“It’s totally safe,” he said. “But we don’t want Mexico to do things that are going to be adverse to our country. I believe they won’t, because they want to keep it safe too.”
China isn’t building car factories in Mexico. But never mind. Mr. Trump has come up with a different reason to abrogate USMCA: Unless Mexico stems Americans’ use of fentanyl, he says, the U.S. will whack its largest trading partner with high tariffs.
After more than a half-century of the failed war on drugs, this isn’t a serious proposition. But it’s convenient for the White House, which believes shouting “crisis” gives the president the power to impose the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
The Trump endgame is about forcing investors to put their factories in the U.S., not ridding the world of fentanyl. His other favorite argument, which he used in his address to a joint session of Congress last week, is that the tariffs will provide “trillions and trillions of dollars” to the U.S. Treasury. (Note to Treasury: He can’t do both.) The U.S. capital-account surplus also bugs Mr. Trump, who says that the corresponding current-account deficit shows the U.S. is being “ripped off.”
Mexico needs a vibrant center-right to fight back against Morena’s politicization of the judiciary, the biggest threat to the rule of law and competitive democracy. But those voices are drowned out now as Mexicans face the possibility of a deep recession caused by a trade war. That gives them lots of reason to loathe Mr. Trump and rally around Ms. Sheinbaum’s one-party state.
Note to Treasury: He Can’t Do both
This is something I have repeatedly pointed out. Trump has conflicting and mathematically impossible goals.
Trumps Claims
- Tariffs will increase revenue enough to balance the budget
- Tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the US
- Tariffs will reduce inflation
- Tariffs will increase exports
Conflicting Economic Madness
Points 1 and 2 conflict. Tariffs cannot simultaneously bring back manufacturing and raise enough revenue to balance the budget.
Points 2 and 3 conflict. Since the US is the world’s highest cost producer of goods thanks to unions, tariffs will not reduce inflation.
Points 2 and 4 conflict. Since the US is the world’s highest cost producer of goods and other countries will retaliate, tariffs will not increase exports.
It’s not clear Trump can achieve anything with tariffs, unless you count a global recession as a victory.
A Global Trade War Has Started – Global Recession Will Follow
On March 4, I commented A Global Trade War Has Started – Global Recession Will Follow
The most significant global trade war since Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression is underway.
We have not yet felt the hit on small manufacturers do to extremely unwise tariffs.
For discussion of the small business hit, please see How One Small Business Owner Is Coping With Trump’s Tariffs
Fifty-four percent of small businesses polled said that tariffs would negatively affect their companies, while just 11 percent said they would benefit.
Final Q & A
Q: What did Trump expect to gain from this?
A: The only thing I can come up with is MAGA loves trolling and cheers it no matter how counterproductive it is.
It was a tough job uniting all of Canada and Mexico against the US. But Trump pulled it off.
Congratulations?
For the complete stupidity of it all, please see Cheese Was a “Key Achievement” of Trump’s USMCA Trade Agreement
