Montreal, Canada – In his first speech as Canada’s prime minister-designate, Mark Carney delivered what observers have described as a shocking assertion.
“I do know that these are darkish days,” Carney informed a room filled with supporters on Sunday after he received the race to guide the governing Liberal Get together. “Darkish days introduced on by a rustic we are able to not belief.”
The nation in query? An ally with which Canada shares the world’s longest undefended land border and, till lately, seemingly unshakeable ties: the USA.
“That’s jaw-dropping within the broader context,” Jon Parmenter, a historical past professor at Cornell College in New York state, mentioned of Carney’s comment.
Consultants say the concept that the US can not be trusted displays a sentiment that has been spreading quickly throughout Canada in latest months, nonetheless.
In that point, Canadians have watched with a mix of shock, confusion and anger as US President Donald Trump repeatedly took intention at their nation — each as a part of his international commerce insurance policies and his expansionist ambitions.
Trump has imposed steep tariffs on Canadian items and threatened extra. He commonly requires the annexation of Canada, and he has made unfounded and disparaging claims about outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian electoral system.
“The injury to the connection is substantial,” Parmenter informed Al Jazeera. “It’s going to be long-lasting.”
But, as Trump’s assaults towards his nation’s northern neighbour proceed unabated, many observers are actually asking: Why?
Why is the president focusing on a rustic that had extensively been considered as one of many US’s most dependable companions? Why does Trump appear so fixated on Canada?
‘Closest goal’
Whereas the present US-Canada commerce battle is “unprecedented” in trendy historical past, it’s unsurprising within the context of Trump, in keeping with Aaron Ettinger, a political science professor at Carleton College in Ottawa.
The US president pursued comparable “America First” financial insurance policies throughout his first time period, Ettinger famous, together with imposing tariffs on Canadian metal and aluminium imports in 2018.
“None of that is new. We all know that is coming. He’s telegraphed every little thing. However now he’s speaking about 50-percent charges of tariffs. The aggressiveness is jacked up greater than it was seven or eight years in the past,” Ettinger informed Al Jazeera.
Throughout the scope of the Trump administration’s adversarial strategy to overseas coverage, Ettinger mentioned he doesn’t consider Canada is especially particular. As an alternative, it “simply occurs to be the closest goal, together with Mexico”.
“Trump treats all international locations as if they’re subordinates to his needs. He loves their leaders when the leaders play alongside, and he doesn’t once they don’t,” Ettinger mentioned.
“So Canada goes to get hit with tariffs, identical to European Union international locations and Mexico. Canada simply occurs to be shut by. Canada additionally occurs to be enjoying towards kind and preventing again fairly arduous proper now.”
The Canadian authorities has imposed retaliatory tariffs on billions of {dollars} value of American items, additional stoking Trump’s ire. It has mentioned the measures will stay in place till the US president rescinds and removes the specter of levies.
Private animosity
But, Trump’s concentrate on Canada goes past tariffs and financial coverage alone.
Even earlier than he re-entered the White Home in January, the Republican chief started urging Canada to grow to be the 51st US state. He has repeatedly referred to Trudeau as a “governor” as a substitute of a first-rate minister.
Trump additionally has framed the plan to annex Canada as a boon for Canadians and a technique to dodge US tariffs.
“The folks would pay a lot much less tax than they’re paying proper now. They’d have excellent army safety,” Trump lately mentioned.
Whereas Trudeau and different Canadian leaders at first shrugged off the remarks as good-natured ribbing, they rapidly started to take Trump’s repeated requires annexation extra severely.
Final week, Trudeau informed reporters that Trump desires “a complete collapse of the Canadian financial system as a result of that’ll make it simpler to annex us”. The outgoing prime minister mentioned Canada won’t ever grow to be a part of the US and known as the administration’s tariffs a “very dumb” coverage.
Trump and Trudeau by no means had a very warm relationship, and so they publicly clashed in 2018 over commerce and tariffs as nicely.
That animosity may very well be enjoying a job in Trump’s latest rhetoric towards Canada, mentioned Geoffrey Kabaservice, vp of political research on the Niskanen Heart, a centre-right assume tank in Washington, DC.
“Trump is at all times searching for a technique to actual revenge and retribution towards individuals who have criticised him prior to now, and positively Trudeau would fall into that class,” he informed Al Jazeera.
A ’Nineteenth-century’ imaginative and prescient
However Kabaservice mentioned Trump’s “very Nineteenth-century thought” of what it means to be an incredible energy is on the coronary heart of his annexation rhetoric.
“When Trump talks about eager to ‘Make America Nice Once more’, one part of what he has in thoughts by greatness is a rustic that’s expansive, that reaches for and claims new territory, that enlarges itself,” he defined.
That mentioned, when the US president says he desires Canada to be the 51st state, he possible isn’t occupied with what that may imply in follow, together with how absorbing a rustic of 40 million folks would alter American politics, mentioned Kabaservice.
“It’s type of like simply [a] boy’s fantasy: ‘Wouldn’t it’s nice if America might broaden to absorb all these different international locations? Wouldn’t it’s nice if America was like Britain again in its imperial days, when the world map was coated in purple?’
“I feel that’s the extent on which he thinks of these items.”
And whereas Trump’s base could not have annexing Canada on its record of priorities, Kabaservice mentioned, the US president’s supporters take pleasure in when he proposes issues “that make his enemies and even a lot of his allies sad”.
“They applaud what they see as his audacity, his willingness to ascertain a brand new world, and his potential to ‘personal the libs’ and make them cry.”
In accordance with Amy Koch, a Republican political strategist, Trump’s insurance policies vis-a-vis Canada must also be seen as a part of a wider push for dominance within the Western hemisphere.
Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican items, calls to retake management of the Panama Canal and purchase Greenland, and an govt order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” are all parts of that effort.
“It’s [about] absolutely establishing dominance within the Western Hemisphere, and I feel Canada is part of that,” Koch informed Al Jazeera.
‘Ways with out technique’
Wherever Trump’s actual motivation lies, observers agree that his stance in direction of Canada might have a long-lasting impact.
“The entire level about Donald Trump is that he’s a bully, and bullies bully people who find themselves prone to their strengths. And that’s what he’s doing,” mentioned Kabaservice.
“Trump can do issues like levy tariffs as a result of he has the leverage over Canada and he has the latitude by way of the duty of the chief govt … However we’re additionally within the means of destroying belief with our allies and that will probably be immensely tough to rebuild.”
Ettinger added that, whereas folks within the US and Canada maintain looking for the rationale behind Trump’s actions, the president could finally be “using techniques with out technique”.
For instance, US inventory markets plunged this week amid the uncertainty round Trump’s tariffs push, elevating fears that the nation might slip right into a recession.
“He is aware of that he desires to hit arduous, or he desires to place tariffs, or he desires to escalate. However there’s no strategic means-to-ends calculation occurring right here,” Ettinger mentioned. “And that makes the man essentially irrational.”
