canada
Trump is starting a trade war. If he wants to absorb Canada, what comes next will be worse
The first shots of the trade war between the United States and Canada have been fired. Whether it escalates beyond the planned 25 per cent tariff into a wider economic war depends upon how genuinely serious President Donald Trump is about annexation, experts say. Tariffs are one thing. While painful and destructive, experts agree duties alone would not crush the Canadian economy, nor the political establishment, into submission. Prior to his inauguration, Trump threatened to use “economic force” to compel Canada to become the 51st state in the union. ThatRead more
The fracking frenzy in B.C and Texas is leading to record-breaking earthquakes
Standing in his living room, Richard Kabzems brandishes a thick binder stuffed with letters and notes of his two-year fight to stop fracking wells near his home in Farmington, B.C. Ovintiv, a multinational oil and gas company, announced two years ago that it would expand fracking for gas at a new site built on a hill about a kilometre from Kabzems’s home in the rural Lebell subdivision. The B.C. Energy Regulator (BCER) approved the permit. Over the last 24 months, Kabzems and his wife, Sandy Burton, have written six detailedRead more
Canada bracing for possible influx of asylum claimants after Trump immigration orders
Canadian refugee advocates, federal government departments and immigration lawyers are bracing for a potential influx of asylum claimants following U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders this week. But as they prepare, they all say they have no idea what exactly to expect. “With Trump, crystal balls are hard to keep clear,” said Gabriela Ramo, past chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s immigration section. “We share a border with an elephant and he is talking about deporting 11 million people.” On Monday, Trump signed a series of executive orders that riskRead more
Trudeau says Canada is ready to ensure success of Gaza ceasefire deal
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the news of a ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday and said that the focus should now shift toward ensuring a two-state solution. “Canada stands ready to do whatever it can to ensure the success of this agreement,” Trudeau told reporters during an unrelated news conference with Canada’s premiers. “This ceasefire gives us hope. Hope that we can now focus our attention on a true, lasting political solution to this conflict — a two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side inRead more
Trump has threatened Canada in all sorts of ways. What does he really want?
Donald Trump’s increasingly strident approach to relations with Canada is provoking fear about the potential consequences north of the border and questions about just how serious the U.S. president-elect actually is. While already threatening to cripple Canada’s economy by imposing tariffs on the day he returns to the White House, Trump ramped things up on Tuesday by telling a news conference he’s looking to use “economic force” to “get rid” of the border between the two countries. Trying to translate what Trump says into what he really means can beRead more
What’s really behind Donald Trump’s tariff threats and ’51st state’ posts about Canada
People who have worked with or closely observed U.S. president-elect Donald Trump say his threat of imposing tariffs on Canadian exports and his trolling of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are key tactics in a negotiating strategy to extract the best trade terms for the U.S. The pair are seen here ahead of a NATO round table meeting in December 2019. (Frank Augstein/AP Photo) Donald Trump’s threat of whopping tariffs on Canadian exports and his trolling of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are key tactics in a negotiating strategy to extract theRead more
Trump taunts Trudeau by calling him ‘governor’ of ‘a great state’
President-elect Donald Trump took a jab at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, calling him a “governor” and referring to Canada as a “great state” – another suggestion by the incoming president that this country should be part of the United States. Trump apparently joked about Canada becoming the 51st state during his dinner with Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago last month. In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump said that if the U.S. is going to run up lopsided trade deficits with Canada, it might as well become a state.Read more
Trump names his tariff man. Here’s what he’s said and what it means for Canada
What’s new Donald Trump now has a point man for his plan to impose punishing trade tariffs. Someone who’s publicly shared his views on them. Howard Lutnick will now wield influence over an issue with major consequences over the global economy. Trump hasn’t just nominated the Wall Street executive as his commerce secretary; he’s also put Lutnick in charge of his tariff and trade agenda, with an additional role overseeing the Office of U.S. Trade Representative. American trading partners will eagerly study Lutnick’s views on Trump’s plan to slap aRead more
Canada’s digital services tax set for a reckoning with U.S.
The fight over Canada’s controversial digital services tax may escalate this week as the deadline looms for the Biden administration to decide whether to proceed with dispute arbitration amid threats of retaliation from Donald Trump’s incoming administration. On Aug. 30, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai filed an official complaint under the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) arguing that the three per cent tax Canada implemented over the summer unfairly discriminates against American corporations. The move started a 75-day consultation period that ends this week. But with President Joe Biden’sRead more