John F. Kennedy made his first foreign trip as president in 1961 to Canada, where he addressed a joint session of the Canadian Parliament. In his remarks, Kennedy said the U.S. and Canada share more than a common border.
“We share a common heritage … common values from the past, a common defense line at present and common aspirations for the future — our future, and indeed the future of all mankind,” Kennedy said.
“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder,” Kennedy added.
In the years both preceding and following Kennedy’s visit to Canada, our nation’s presidents have reaffirmed those words about the important relationship. The one president who has soiled that relationship — and put our relationship with Canada “asunder” — is President Donald Trump.
Trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada broke down in late August. Trump placed a 50% tariffs on all cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel coming from Canada. Those tariffs were not to take effect until this coming January. But a 50% tariff took effect immediately on Canadian alcohol, cement, dairy products, sports equipment and a variety of other items.
Canada vowed to retaliate with reciprocal tariffs beginning Sept. 8.
The rhetoric that ensued following the breakdown in talks quickly became overheated. Trump said Canada was “one of the worst nations in the world to deal with.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the U.S. “attacked” Canada and the nations are “at war.”
These were not the words Kennedy, nor any of his predecessors or successors, would have used to characterize the relationship of the two countries. Those words certainly don’t mesh economically.
The total value of bilateral trade in goods and services between the U.S. and Canada last year was approximately $880 billion, making Canada the second-largest U.S. trading partner. About $454 billion consisted of Canadian imports entering the U.S. and approximately $426 billion worth of exports going to Canada. This equates to a trade deficit of about $27 billion.
The Wall Street Journal, in a recent editorial, said Trump’s decision to escalate a tariff brawl with Canada makes no economic or political sense. The Journal last year called Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico the dumbest trade war in history. “It got dumber” when Trump started the most recent round of tariffs, the Journal said.
The Washington Post, in one of its editorials, said Trump treats allies worse than adversaries.
The Post pointed out that the U.S.-Canadian relationship was a case study of the mutual benefits that come from globalization. Free trade led to car parts moving back and forth several times before a car would reach a showroom, for example.
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger says Trump’s fight with Canada is reckless. He says our closeness to Canada has been decades in the making but has been undone in days. Kinzinger said our relationship with Canada had its roots in 1940 when “President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King began formal cooperation on continental defense when Nazi Germany controlled much of Europe.”
In 1956, we agreed to integrate parts of our defense production, and two years later, NORAD was formed. NORAD still exists today to defend our regional airspace.
The relationship between the two countries began to sour with Trump threatening to make Canada our 51st state. His recent directive to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America only increases the distrust Canadians have for the U.S.
Proof of that distrust can be seen in the boycotting of American products and the lessened number of Canadians traveling south of the border. Proof is also shown with a petition that more than 200,000 Canadians have signed to oust the American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra.
The petition says Hoekstra, “a faithful messenger of President Trump,” has harmed U.S.-Canada relations. The petition states Hoekstra interfered in Canadian politics when activists seeking to break Alberta province away from the rest of the country met with U.S. State Department officials. The meetings raised “serious questions about U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian unity.”
The petition may go to Parliament this fall. Only 500 signatures are needed for that to happen.
Sadly, Trump has once again shown his blatant disregard for our friends and allies. Writing on Truth Social, Trump claimed, “WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!”
The trade war with Canada is needless and will take a long time to be restored. We do need each other. Sometimes words and actions can be walked back. But when our global credibility has been repeatedly damaged and called into question, our credibility may be irreparably damaged. Let’s hope that’s not the case.
It’s no secret that the president’s approval ratings are very low. Is it any wonder why? Add the trade war with Canada to the list of problems without a strategy to solve them.
Tom Jurkowsky is a retired rear admiral in the U.S. Navy who served on active duty for 31 years. He is the author of the book “The Secret Sauce for Organizational Success: Communications and Leadership on the Same Page.” He served on the Anne Arundel Community College faculty as an adjunct instructor, where he lectured on current affairs.
