Article content“War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” That is, unless you’re a federal or provincial political incumbent who might benefit from capitalizing on the same anti-Americanism that took the Liberals from life support to a minority government. Canadians, on the other hand, have been largely left in the dark on negotiations and the specifics of a failed deal with our largest and closest trading partner.
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Article contentArticle contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or
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tap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentNow, Canadians are expected to support these “war” efforts blindly. We shouldn’t. We should demand that our government gets back to the negotiating table, and this time, gives us regular updates about its progress. Details provided so far about the deal and the reasons why the Liberals walked away are far too mysterious for Canadians to support a “war” that will be economically disastrous for our country.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentHere’s what we know has happened in terms of negotiations since the Liberals prorogued Parliament.Article contentArticle contentJan. 9, 2025 Article contentArticle contentThen-prime minister Justin Trudeau flew down to Washington and had a meeting with American business leaders about proposed tariffs on Canadian products. We do not know what happened at that meeting, but according to Reuters, it does not appear that Trudeau got past telling them that the tariffs would have “negative impacts” and criticizing them. At this point, it seems that Trudeau thought there may still have been a chance that the Trump administration might not levy the tariffs simply because he criticized them. No other talks about the substance of the tariffs appear to have taken place.Article content
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Article contentArticle contentFeb. 1, 2025Article contentArticle contentU.S. President Donald Trump announces tariffs on Canada will take effect on Feb. 4, including 25 per cent on almost all goods, 10 per cent on energy resources. Canada announced that it would respond with retaliatory tariffs in stages — $30 billion on U.S. goods to begin on Feb. 4 and a round of duties on $125 billion of U.S. goods 21 days later. Article contentArticle contentFeb. 3, 2025Article contentArticle contentTrudeau had two calls with Trump — one in the morning and a follow-up in the afternoon. Trudeau told the press they’d had a good call. Both Trump’s and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs were postponed for 30 days and Trudeau committed to launching a “strike force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.” Trump posted to his Truth Social at the time, “Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure northern border,” but added that that pause was to “see whether or not a final economic deal with Canada can be structured.”Article contentArticle contentFeb. 7, 2025 Article contentArticle contentAt an emergency economic summit in Toronto just four days later that I attended, Trudeau told those present that our border was already safe and secure and downplayed Canada’s fentanyl problem.