The United States President Donald Trump took a swipe at Canada once again. This time, it was about smoke from wildfires in Canada entering the United States, and it came with a serious threat to further increase crippling tariffs on our country.
As a good friend of mine said when she saw this, “Really?”
Trump is right about wildfire smoke drifting into the United States from Canada, but the hypocrisy and threats that accompanied his rant are yet one more example of his belief that Canada is a subservient nation that must bend to his will.
In that regard, I was struck by a comment from renowned Canadian author Louise Penny, who said in part, “Now I am no expert, but I am thinking that dropping tariffs on wildfires may not actually put them out!”
The reality is that wildfire smoke does not respect borders, never has, and never will. Neither Canada nor the United States has clean hands when it comes to environmental impacts, including wildfires, that affect its neighbour.
Almost every summer, wildfires in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana send smoke into British Columbia, Alberta and at times to Central Canada.
As I write this, fires in Oregon and Minnesota, combined with Canadian wildfires, are contributing to smoke crossing the border in both directions, not just one. Air currents determine where smoke goes – not political boundaries.
Donald Trump is well aware of this, but it suits his agenda to place blame directly on Canada. Sadly, the days are quickly disappearing when Canada and the United States can enthusiastically and effectively support each other when dealing with cross-border environmental tragedies without pointing fingers and demanding reparations.
Four Republican members of Congress wrote about the Canadian wildfires in an open letter which said, “Sovereignty comes with responsibility and that responsibility is to prevent a foreseeable disaster from entering into another country’s airspace.”
What hypocrisy and utter nonsense, nonsense that is sputtered by Trump as well. If that statement about sovereignty applies to Canada in relation to wildfires, then the same must be said about the sovereignty of the United States and its wildfires that intrude into Canadian airspace.
But Trump and his minions don’t care about that. Speaking out of both sides of their mouth, often at the same time, has become a highly honed skill of the Trump administration.
Smoke, like water and wind, ignores political boundaries. Canada has suffered for decades from pollution originating in the United States, just as Americans suffer from smoke originating in Canada.
Neither country has a perfect environmental record. The lesson of history, from acid rain to wildfire smoke, is that cross-border environmental problems are solved not by tariffs or blame, but by cooperation, science and mutual assistance.
But again, Trump doesn’t give a whiff about any of that. When it comes to Canada, his only goal is to bring us to our knees. He has no scruples, no guardrails, no empathy and an absolute belief that he and his MAGA successors can and will control Canada one way or another.
I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before Trump again threatens additional sanctions on this country because Canada geese, in their travels, are dropping their doo-doo in the United States. In his mind, anything to hurt Canada would be okay, and it is time we realized that.
When are Canadians going to recognize that we will never again be treated fairly by the United States as long as Trump and his regime control that country, ignore the law, cling to power one way or another, and basically do whatever they want to do?
A recent book, Regime Change, written by American journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan about just one year in Donald Trump’s second term as President, has been on the best-selling list for weeks. This is one of the paragraphs that jumped out at me.
“Trump has always endeavored to offer his own reality and then force others around him to submit to his version of events. Trump lied, of course, endlessly and preposterously; but what started as fantasies often blurred and morphed into a reality of his own making. With jarring frequency, and with help from his devotees, Trump spoke his words into existence.”
In that context, the Canadian government must recognize that Donald Trump has turned his quest to dominate Canada into his own reality, and nothing is going to change that.
There are those who would argue that Canada should remain compliant until at least the mid-term elections in the United States this November, but that is a fantasy. Trump’s rant to the nation last week confirmed he will do everything in his power to win that election for Republicans, by hook or by crook.
If he is unsuccessful, Trump will simply ignore the results and claim that the election he is trying to upset was actually upset by those who opposed him. Donald Trump never loses.
Even if after the midterms, the Democrats control all or part of Congress, Donald Trump will find a way to fight through his remaining two years as President.
This past week, the Carney government reached an agreement with the United States to finally open the Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor and Detroit. It is much different than the legal agreement that was negotiated when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister of Canada and Barack Obama was President of the United States. But Donald Trump reneged on that and literally held Canada ransom.
There is a legitimate argument to be made that Mark Carney had no choice but to sign the deal to get the bridge open. But the fact that it became necessary to sign must also drive home to the Carney government that, however they bend their knee, it will not be enough for Donald Trump.
In relation to the Gordie Howe Bridge, Andrew Macdougall, a contributor to the left leaning Toronto Star said, “Make no mistake, Canada paid what amounts to a bribe. The Liberal government can dress it up as a “series of cooperative measures” regarding the governance of the new border crossing, but Trump came into our shop, threatened to smash it up, and didn’t leave until he got his money. Instead of telling Don (sic) Trump where to go, Carney paid the vigorish.”
That comment seems somewhat harsh to me and a bit of a surprise to see it in the Toronto Star. However, if we value history, we should know that peace in our time, under any circumstances, is not an effective long-term strategy.
According to Macdougall’s article, two days before the last federal election, the Liberal Party said “Trump wants to break (Canada) so America can own us. Mark Carney won’t let that happen.”
It is my view that Canadians need to see some tangible proof of that. Instead, we seem to be on track where second best is acceptable and where we are willing to kiss the ring as much as is necessary in order to achieve only that.
Mark Carney keeps promoting “Elbows UP” when dealing with the Trump administration. But where are they? The Prime Minister vowed to Canadians that he would stand up to Trump and not be subordinate to him. A year after receiving his mandate, we need to see some concrete evidence of that.
Canadians are not gullible. There comes a point where they want to see results.
Mark Carney can take comfort that he is currently well ahead in the polls, but that has as much to do with most Canadians disliking Pierre Poilievre as it does with Carney’s record as Prime Minister. One needs to only look back a couple of years to remember how quickly that can change.
The Carney government needs to be more transparent with Canadians. That is who they work for. They can start by being more open about the deal they made with the Trump administration regarding the Gordie Howe Bridge. Canadians have a right to know what has been given away. It is not classified information.
More importantly, however, the Carney government needs to show, more visibly and more urgently, that it can and will stand up to the Trump administration and not settle for second best or for Trump’s obsession with dominating Canada.
Continually bending the knee hasn’t worked and has consistently accomplished little or nothing. It obscures the reality that Canada simply cannot move ahead by kowtowing to the United States. All the evidence points to that.
If ever there was a time for real and visible elbows up, that time is NOW! Canada must forge a winning path through strength, honour, principle and not through obeisance. That is who we are.
It is time for our Prime Minister to acknowledge that and to act accordingly.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to the former Premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Agree with Hugh Holland and others supporting his views . He is correct. Thank goodness we have Carney.
I fully agree with Dale Hajas, Lisa Brooks, Hugh Holland and Allan Holt. There is plenty of evidence that the Carney government is not “continually bending the knee, kissing the ring” and giving in to the Trump administration. I’m not sure how some can think that is what’s happening.
Carney and advisors are making wise decisions in the most difficult of interactions with a lunatic bully and his sycophants to diversify and strengthen our alliances, trade patterns and trading partners to significantly reduce our dependence on an unpredictable, uncooperative trading/economic/military etc. U.S. partner.
Like Lisa, I feel confident that being the adult in the room and knowing how best to negotiate to mitigate the risks we could face as long as Trump ( or horrors! Vance etc.) is in office, is by far the best overall strategy. We come out ahead little by little against Trump. Patience is required but that’s Trump’s fault.
How do you know Hugh, that Trump is “well aware” that there’s smoke from fires in both countries moving around the planet with winds in different directions? More likely, in my view, is it’s a gleeful, knee-jerk excuse to add on more tariffs or whatever else economic pain he can devise. Awareness and knowledge of much that goes on around the world and how it works is sure not Trump’s superpower. Elementary and high schools in most U.S. states don’t even have real geography in their curricula.
To Lisa Brooks, Dale Hajas and Hugh Holland: my sincere thanks for your intelligent comments on today’s COMMENTARY. One cannot fight a mad elephant, one has to outwit it. Mr. Carney is handling the mad narcissist next door the right way. I would not be surprised if the GOP wake up after the Midterms and rein him in. Mr. Carney is slowly but surely distancing Canada from the USA unstable market. That should have been done decades ago. Who in his right mind keeps all his eggs in the same basket?
“ELBOWS UP”IS A STUPID RHETORICAL CONCEPT…PROPOSED BY A MEEK, WEAK ELBOZO CARNEY.
RESULTS ARE WHAT MATTERS!
ACTION GENERATES RESULTS!
It takes an adult in the room to deal with a bully almost 10 times our size who does not hesitate to lie about anything and everything. Trump should have been embarrassed by his disgusting remarks about Spain, but he was all smiles yesterday when handing out ribbons to the Spanish players who won the world cup.
PM Carney states that, “Canada will not share any toll revenues with the US from the Gordie Howe International Bridge until Canada’s full upfront construction investment and operational costs are recouped”.
Poilievre keeps harping that Carney has done nothing. But in a short time, Carney and his cabinet have put together an excellent detailed plan to deal effectively with two of our biggest REAL problems; climate change and Alberta separatists. We are very fortunate that our PM is the adult in the room is at this perilous time.
Hugh, I think you’ve identified the problem very well. Donald Trump has shown repeatedly that he creates his own reality, ignores agreements when they no longer suit him, and uses uncertainty as a negotiating tactic. I don’t disagree with any of that.
Where I struggle is where the commentary pivots. If Trump really is that unpredictable and unwilling to negotiate in good faith, then how do we conclude that a more public or confrontational approach from Canada would have produced a better outcome? That seems to be the missing step in the argument.
To me, Canada’s best response isn’t simply to throw sharper elbows. It’s to become stronger, less vulnerable, and more united as a country. That’s the team I’m on: Canada and all Canadians. For the first time in a long time, I feel we’ve stepped back from permanent campaign mode. I can finally breathe a little easier. Not because every problem has been solved, but because our response feels measured, steady, and focused on making Canada stronger instead of simply sounding tougher. As someone who has always leaned Red Tory, that approach actually feels more conservative to me than constant outrage and grievance. It feels more rooted in the Canadian tradition of steady, pragmatic leadership.
By all means, hold the government accountable. Ask for transparency. Debate every agreement. That’s healthy in a democracy. But before we conclude that Canada is “bending the knee,” shouldn’t we first define what success actually looks like when you’re negotiating with someone you’ve just described as unwilling to negotiate honestly? If we can’t answer that question, how do we know a different approach would have produced a better result?
And if you, Hugh MacKenzie think you could have made a better deal, you are dreaming in technicolor.
Allan Holt
Amen and thanks for this accurate article!
Practically speaking, Canada can and does stand up to the U.S. by leveraging its economic interdependence, targeted retaliatory measures, and strategic alliances. The U.S. relies heavily on Canada for critical resources and integrated supply chains, and – to me anyway – Ottawa’s approach looks like a carefully thought out economic and diplomatic defence.
We’ve shown our willingness to put retaliatory tariffs in place and most recently, Mr. Carney’s administration navigated the Gordie Howe Bridge dispute to secure revenue-sharing agreements that prioritizes Canadian interests. He did not ‘cave’ – he negotiated.
We’re shifting supply chains and alliances to reduce or at least mitigate any reliance on the U.S. And by utilizing dispute resolution systems (like CUSMA) Canada has forced the U.S. into long drawn-out, rules-based battles.
If Conservatives insist on a more aggressive elbows up approach, I suggest that they lay out a specific plan that won’t get us invaded. And lest that sound paranoid, more than one bully in Trump’s sphere has suggested that if we can’t ‘stop the smoke’ then maybe they should “take us over” and get it done.
As to the responsibility of Canadians in this existential battle with U.S…. stop going there! (Apparently, numbers are creeping up again.) How can we expect our government to do what we aren’t willing to?
Perhaps Our people of power should consider a tariff on the smoke emanating from illegal unlicensed firearms sent from the Disunited States of American !