The American leadership has a harsh perspective of the Trudeau Liberals. Pictured: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President-Elect Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Justin Trudeau/X.
Reviewing the political rhetoric from Ottawa’s governing Liberals and the national punditry in the wake of President-Elect Donald Trump’s sensational electoral results south of the border, a few quotes come to mind. There is Thomas Sowell’s comment, “What is especially disturbing about the political left is that they seem to have no sense of the tragedy of the human condition. Instead, they tend to see the problems of the world as due to other people not being as wise or as noble as themselves.” And Ayn Rand’s observation, “You can ignore reality but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Then there is the assessment of Toronto newsman and The Line’s editor Matt Gurney, “It was a great party, Canada. But it’s over now. Now it’s time to deal with the hangover … and settle our tab.”
With Trump back in the Oval Office, Canada is in for a rough ride. There are three realities of Canada-U.S. relations that signal trouble on the horizon. First, for all the Trudeau Liberals’ bromides about relations with the U.S., in recent years Canada has not been a serious ally and contributing partner. Whether it is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), or Five-Eyes intelligence treaty, to be considered a valued ally there are costs of entry and expectations related to participation.
Trump is expected to call Canada out on shirking its responsibilities in these alliances. The new American administration will not look favourably upon an ally that pushes off its commitments to NORAD for another 10 years. It will not tolerate a country that jeopardizes an alliance’s security by maintaining backdoor relations with China.
As well, Trump is insistent that NATO partners must all pay their fair dues: two per cent of GDP on defence. Currently, Canada spends 1.37 per cent and the government claims it will spend 1.76 per cent by 2030 – although they will not publicly release a plan to do so. Regarding Canada’s military commitments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recently stated, “We continually step up and punch above our weight.” However, the fact of the matter shows Trudeau is delivering a low blow to Canada’s NATO partners.
Canada has a glorious military history through the world wars of the 1900s, but there is a reason the country is no longer contributing to NATO military exercises – and why it is not invited to join strategic international defence alliances such as AUKUS and QUAD. It’s a dose of Randian reality that Canada is no longer that trusted ally and Trump is not shy to say so.
In saying this about alliances, by way of a consolation, there is little doubt that Canada will remain a close, “good neighbour” of the U.S. for the country is a treasure chest of natural resources – precious metals, lumber, and water, which serve America’s insatiable appetite for industrial progress. Given the resources, Canadians will always have a role as hewers of wood and drawers of water. Yet, the sad fact is the country and Canadians’ standard of living are on a trajectory of decline. This is underlined in the recent economic studies showing the widening gap in GDP-per-capita between Canada and the U.S., as well as that damning OECD economic report, which has Canada the laggard of industrialized countries through 2060.
A second sign that the Canada-U.S. relations are in for some uncomfortable turbulence is the respective leaderships’ polar opposite regard for globalists and their agendas. Through the past four years the countries have been aligned with the Democrats in the White House. Both Trudeau and President Joe Biden were committed to “Building Back Better,” always quick to fund the next United Nations Agenda 2030 program, and consummate champions of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Pandemic Treaty. However, Trump has already indicated he has no time for WEF powerplays and is pulling out of the WHO and the Pandemic Treaty, criticizing them as corrupt entities that threaten national sovereignty.
In the next four years the American government is likely to pursue a nationalist agenda and they will have no tolerance for the Trudeau Liberals pushing Davos and UN initiatives. There is an acknowledged political divide between the administrations which reflect, rightly or wrongly, on the citizens on both sides of the border. Publisher of City Age, Miro Cernetig, wrote in the Vancouver Sun: “To him [President Trump], we’re Canada-la, the Kamala-loving, quasi-socialist country where polls show two out of three people would have voted for U.S. Vice President Harris, not him, if we were the 51st state. That’s the sort of thing that gets under Trump’s skin. Making it worse, Trump simply doesn’t much like some of our leaders either.”
The nationalist vs. globalist competing world views put the Trudeau Liberals offside with the U.S. on three significant issues. News headlines this week carried what will be a thorny matter relating to immigration and the secure border between the countries. The Trudeau Liberals’ open border policy and its failure to keep foreign terrorists from migrating into the country is now an urgent matter for both governments. New Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cited Canada’s policies relating to Palestinian refugees, stating “terrorists and known criminals continue to stream across U.S. land borders, including from Canada.” The newly appointed U.S. border security czar Tom Homan is describing Canada’s border as an “extreme national security vulnerability.” Homan has set the table for the opening discussions on border security by stating, “There has to be an understanding from Canada that they can’t be a gateway to terrorists coming into the United States.” It is clear the Liberals must adjust their policies on immigration.
The most important difference respecting the North American economy involves the oil and gas industry. In Canada, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith puts it best with her lament that Trudeau “has a deranged vendetta against Alberta” in pursuing his global objectives at the expense of Canadian interests. The Liberals most recent announcement to cap the production of Canada’s oil and gas industry will result in the country cutting one million barrels-a-day production by 2030 and costing more than 100,000 jobs. In contrast, Trump is opening the taps for Americans and is fond of saying, “Drill, Baby Drill.” Our countries’ positions on this issue cannot be further apart – and this is sure to cost Canadians.
The opposing viewpoints on oil and gas are underscored with the President-elect’s announcement this week that the U.S. will pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement and will no longer be pursing the UN 2030 Agenda. This blow to globalists’ plans prompted Canada’s zealous environment minister Steven Guilbeault to reaffirm Canada’s path forward. From the UN climate change conference in Azerbaijan, Guilbeault asserted that Trump’s election “changes nothing for us” and he stated, “It’s not the first U.S. administration where we have different points of view on the issue of climate change. That didn’t stop us in the past from starting to implement our ambitious climate plan.” To prove his point, Guilbeault then put Canadians’ money where his mouth is by pledging an additional $2 billion towards green projects in third world countries. Remarkably, Guilbeault is also talking about a new carbon tax on businesses shipping exports from Canada.
The third troubling sign that the Trudeau and Trump governments will come together much like oil and water is the lack of respect the new U.S. leadership has for Trudeau and his regime. Trump says of Trudeau that he is a “far-left lunatic” and “very dishonest and weak.” He distrusts Trudeau and refers to him as that “behind-your-back-guy.” Trump has an equally disdainful view of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (something Canadians would never know from watching legacy media’s coverage of Freeland this week). She is viewed as an adversary by Trump and those around him given Freeland’s close personal relationship with George Soros and son, Alex Soros, and their backroom activities within the Democratic Party and with the Harris campaign.
The new Republican administration is trumpeting a return of the Christian, Anglo-American values and a staunch defence of working-class interests and national aspirations, rooted in traditional conservative principles. Trudeau and Trudeau’s Canada are seen as something completely foreign to this mindset. The American leadership has a harsh perspective of the Trudeau Liberals. Consider the incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his attacks on the Trudeau Liberals for accepting money from the CCP, selling lithium to China, and sidestepping the condemnation of the CCP’s genocide of the Uyghurs. He also said recently, “Our defense budget shouldn’t subsidize Germany, France, and Canada’s welfare states. We deserve better from our NATO allies.”
Stephen Miller, the incoming deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House views Canada as “increasingly authoritarian and despotic” and has labelled the prime minister as that “far-left Trudeau.” This criticism is shared by Tulsi Gabbard, the incoming head of U.S. National Intelligence, who views the Canadian Liberals and Biden/Harris Democrats as indistinguishable in their authoritarian globalist approach to governing. In the election campaign, Gabbard posted on X, “While claiming to be beacons of democracy for the world, Biden and Trudeau instead undermine our freedoms & implement increasingly authoritarian policies that should make every American & Canadian deeply concerned & angry.”
Given the personalities involved, it is fair to say that there will be no compromises to be found here. That being the case, two dates in 2025 loom large for our neighbouring (if not neighbourly) countries: the American inauguration extravaganza in January and the Canadian election dustup in October — clearly, defining moments for Canada-U.S. relations.
Chris George is an advocate, government relations advisor, and writer/copy editor. As president of a public relations firm established in 1994, Chris provides discreet counsel, tactical advice and management skills to CEOs/Presidents, Boards of Directors and senior executive teams in executing public and government relations campaigns and managing issues. Prior to this PR/GR career, Chris spent seven years on Parliament Hill on staffs of Cabinet Ministers and MPs. He has served in senior campaign positions for electoral and advocacy campaigns at every level of government. Today, Chris resides in Almonte, Ontario where he and his wife manage www.cgacommunications.com. Contact Chris at chrisg.george@gmail.com.
