Canadian officials say that if Donald Trump follows through with his threat of punishing tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel product. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday (January 12, 2025) suggested that President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks about Canada becoming America’s “51st state” has distracted attention from the harm that steep tariffs would inflict on U.S. consumers.

Mr. Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports.

“The 51st state, that’s not going to happen,” Mr. Trudeau said in an interview with MSNBC. “But people are talking about that, as opposed to talking about what impact 25% tariffs (has) on steel and aluminum coming into the United States.”

Mr. Trudeau told MSNBC: “No American wants to pay 25% more for electricity or oil and gas coming in from Canada. That’s something I think people need to pay a little more attention to.”

Mr. Trump has also said that if Canada merged with the U.S., taxes would decrease and there would be no tariffs.

“I know that as a successful negotiator he likes to keep people off balance,” Mr. Trudeau said of Mr. Trump’s threats to use economic force to turn Canada into the 51st state. Mr. Trump has also erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil — as a subsidy.

Canadian officials say that if Mr. Trump follows through with his threat of punishing tariffs, Canada would consider slapping retaliatory tariffs on American orange juice, toilets and some steel products. Already during Mr. Trump’s first term in the White House, Canada responded to Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum with its own on American products like bourbon, Harley Davidson motorcycles and playing cards.

“He got elected to try and make life easier for all Americans, to support American workers,” Mr. Trudeau said of Mr. Trump. “These (tariffs) are things that are going to hurt them.”

Mr. Trump said last week that the U.S doesn’t need oil, or anything else, from Canada. But almost a quarter of the oil that the U.S. consumes each day comes from Canada. The energy-rich western province of Alberta exports 4.3 million barrels of oil a day to the U.S.

Data from the United States Energy Information Administration shows that the U.S. consumes 20 million barrels a day, and produces about 13.2 million barrels a day.

Canada, a founding partner of NATO and home to more than 40 million people, is also the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $2.7 billion worth of goods and services cross the border each day.

Mr. Trump has said that he would reconsider his tariff threat if Canada made improvements in managing security at the Canada-U.S. border, which he and his advisers see as a potential entry point for undocumented migrants.

Mr. Trudeau has said that less than 1% of illegal immigrants and fentanyl cross into the U.S. from Canada.

But after a meeting last November with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s private club and residence in Florida, Mr. Trudeau announced an increase in spending on border security, expressing willingness to address Mr. Trump’s concerns in hopes that he would reconsider his tariff threat.

With the challenge of Mr. Trump’s second administration looming and Mr. Trudeau’s party trailing badly in the polls, the beleaguered Canadian prime minister announced his resignation last Monday (January 6, 2025). He will be replaced on March 9, when his Liberal party is set to pick a new leader.

President-elect Donald Trump said he would not rule out using military or economic coercion to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal, and vowed to bring Canada to heel.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

In a provocative and headline-grabbing Tuesday (January 7, 2025) speech on his territorial ambitions for the United States, incoming U.S. leader Donald Trump was heavy on intimidation but light on details — leaving many wondering how seriously the comments should be taken.

In a rambling press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Mr. Trump said he would not rule out using military or economic coercion to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal, and vowed to bring Canada to heel.

Also read: Why has Trump called the Panama treaty ‘foolish’? | Explained 

He called the border with the United States’ northern neighbour an “artificially drawn line,” and promised to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”

The free-wheeling press conference brought to mind the Republican’s many bombastic and provocative statements from his first term, when he said he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies and called North Korea’s leader a “rocketman on a suicide mission.”

At the United Nations, the incoming U.S. leader’s latest comments won little applause.

“The charter is very clear in the need for every member state to respect the territorial integrity of other states,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

Threatening Panama, Greenland

On the strategic Panama Canal, which was built by the United States and then handed over to the Central American country 25 years ago, Mr. Trump said the waterway was “vital to our country.”

Also read: Panama Canal: Troubled waters

“Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s being operated by China — China! — and we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn’t give it to China,” Mr. Trump said. “And they’ve abused it, they’ve abused that gift.”

Panama has repeatedly denied Mr. Trump’s allegations that China has been given a role in running the canal or is given preferential rates to use it.

As for Greenland, an autonomous territory of longtime U.S. ally Denmark, Mr. Trump said: “We need Greenland for national security purposes.”

Canada will also soon be brought into the fold, Mr. Trump promised.

“You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security,” Mr. Trump said.

Familiar themes

While Donald Trump’s fixation on the Panama Canal is relatively new, his interest in Greenland is not: he had already raised the idea of buying the island during his first term, drawing a sharp refusal from local authorities.

Also read: U.S. experiencing worst border crisis in history of world, says Trump

His son, Donald Jr., arrived in Denmark on a private trip on Tuesday (January 7, 2025).

Mr. Trump did, however, rule out using military force against Canada, which was thrown into political turmoil Monday (January 6, 2025) when Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his plans to resign.

Mr. Trump threatened to use “economic force” against Ottawa, after suggesting that Canada should become the 51st US state.

Also read: Trudeau says Americans are realizing Trump’s tariffs on Canada would make life a lot more expensive

Mr. Trudeau’s reaction: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”

His government is, however, preparing for the possibility of Mr. Trump following through on his threatened 25% tariffs on Canadian imports.

During his first term, Republican billionaire Mr. Trump frequently accused U.S. allies — particularly NATO — of using the partnership and demanded they pay up.

It remained unclear whether Mr. Trump, whose inauguration will take place on January 20, was seriously considering expanding U.S. territory, including by military force, or whether such sensational statements were merely a bargaining tactic to obtain economic or political concessions.