In the few short weeks since his second inauguration, Donald Trump has done so much to weaken Canada-U.S. relations that our southern ally – alongside whom we fought world wars and navigated global crises – is increasingly perceived as an adversary.
The U.S. president’s repeated threats of 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian exports, as well as separate tariffs on steel and aluminum, could unleash an outright trade war in North America.
Simultaneously, Trump’s repeated talk of forcing Canada to become the 51st state, which Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc and others initially dismissed as a “joke,” constitutes a direct questioning of Canadian sovereignty that many, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are taking seriously.
These rhetorical and trade attacks on Canada have generated a strong outpouring of national pride, sparking conversations about reducing internal trade barriers, diversifying export markets and increasing military spending to reach the NATO target of two per cent of GDP earlier than expected.
But we need to do more. Canada must stand firm in calling out Trump administration falsehoods here and abroad; seek greater economic and security co-operation with our European allies; and join European countries in pledging peacekeeping troops for Ukraine when a deal is reached.
The U.S.-Russia reset and its global consequences
Canada is not the only country threatened directly. From Mexico to Panama to Greenland/Denmark and Germany, the White House is transforming allies into adversaries at a fast pace while eroding the international order and the NATO alliance.
At the recent Munich security conference, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance shocked Europeans by telling them it was their governments, rather than Russia, that are the main threat to democracy.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth raised more concerns by suggesting some U.S. troops may withdraw from Europe as part of an agreement with Russia – a move which could seriously endanger the security of our European NATO allies along the alliance’s eastern flank, especially the three Baltic countries and Poland.
Another high-level U.S. administration official, Gen. Keith Kellogg talked about a U.S. policy aimed at decoupling Russia from its current allies China and Iran by offering it concessions in Ukraine and Europe.
In the case of the Ukraine war, the Trump administration has come out with a jarringly friendly approach toward Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime.
Direct Russian-American negotiations about Ukraine – but without its participation – and statements that the United States does not think Ukraine should have its territorial integrity restored or join NATO all point in the same direction: The Trump administration is sympathetic to Russia’s imperialist demands.
What is even worse, the U.S. made its own imperialist demand on Ukraine by seeking repayment of the aid Ukraine has received in the three years since the Russian invasion through an exploitative contract that would turn over much of Ukraine’s rare mineral reserves to the U.S.
Instead of a negotiation aiming to convince Russia to compromise and end its war on Ukraine, we are witnessing a U.S.-Russia reset, if not a budding global partnership.
After Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially rebuffed the proposed rare minerals agreement and said Ukraine would not sign a separate disadvantageous peace deal struck between the U.S. and Russia without its involvement, Trump responded with escalating personal attacks.
He called Zelenskyy a dictator and cited demonstrably false figures about the Ukrainian president’s approval rating (for the real figures, check out joint work by political scientists at the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, University of Manchester, George Washington University and Humboldt University).
On social media and in interviews, Trump has admonished Zelenskyy with a threatening subtext worthy of a Mafia movie: Ukraine might cease to exist if its president did not move fast to approve any deal arising from the U.S.-Russia negotiations.
The Trump administration’s misguided and revolting approach to the war and its alignment with the aggressor became even clearer on the third anniversary of the attempted Russian invasion when the United States, alongside Russia, Belarus, North Korea and other rogue dictatorships opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
As this article goes to press, a Zelenskyy visit to Washington is imminent and Trump’s tone has softened, but there is little clarity on the exact terms of a possible minerals agreement. All that is certain is that Zelenskyy is working hard to get a commitment of security guarantees from the U.S. and to avoid a nightmare scenario in which the US moves reliably into Russia’s corner against Ukraine.
Although some people might think that Canada is off the radar while the Trump administration focuses on Ukraine and Europe, the truth is that the dramatic American pivot to a partnership with Russia is ominous for Canada.
The U.S. president’s apparent fascination with, and deference to, the expansionist exploits of his Russian counterpart suggest he may be also driven by real ambition to undermine Canada’s sovereignty. There are many analogies between U.S.-Canada and Russia-Ukraine that we ignore at our peril.
Trump has now repeated or adapted several of Putin’s Ukraine arguments against Canada, including the claims the U.S.-Canada border is an artificial line and that similar populations would welcome being united in one state, as well as the alleged need for a bigger state (U.S. and Russia) to guarantee the sovereignty and security of the smaller neighbour (Canada and Ukraine).
Both Trump and Putin have refused to consider the clear polls showing that neither Canadians nor Ukrainians want to give up their country’s independence.
Canada’s best strategy is to strengthen alliances
To withstand the threat from our southern neighbour, Canada needs to work more closely with our European allies. We all need to be in this together when the time comes to protect our economy and our national sovereignty, as well as the survival of Ukraine as a truly independent country.
This is why Canada should play a leading role in collaborating with our European allies and the Ukrainian government to offset at least some of the negative impacts of the Trump administration’s destructive actions and rhetoric, which are likely to embolden Putin and exacerbate the serious threat he poses to international security.
Canadian officials should publicly and relentlessly call out Trump’s current stance about Ukraine and keep repeating the truth in all possible international forums: Russia is the clear aggressor and Zelenskyy is the legitimate president of Ukraine who is constitutionally prohibited from calling elections while his country is at war.
Trump’s calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” is as false, absurd and reckless as calling Canada’s prime minister a “governor.”
Language matters in the mobilization against authoritarian populism because as George Orwell wrote in his essay : “Political language (…) is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
Canada also needs to reinforce our economic and security partnerships with Europe. This means emulating Europe by working to increase our military spending beyond the NATO target of two per cent of GDP, strengthening our armed forces, and investing in our defence industry.
In the meantime, Canada should immediately join France, Britain, Sweden, Germany and other willing partners in pledging to send troops to Ukraine to enforce a peace deal if Ukraine agrees to one and to prevent renewed Russian attacks. Zelenskyy has appealed to European partners for 100,000 troops to realistically deter Russia in the future.
We also need to deepen our trade alliance with the European Union and our security alliance through NATO to form a strong anti-Trump coalition grounded in the realization that the United States is increasingly seen as an adversary rather than a reliable ally.
Canada needs strong allies to signal loud and clear to the Trump administration that the costs of trying to bully us economically or militarily will be prohibitively high and that the True North will remain strong and free.