“I love Canada. I love the people of Canada… but the United States can’t subsidize a country for $200 billion a year. Canada only works as a State… I’m sorry, we have to do this.”
– Donald Trump, President of the United States of America.
What utter codswallop!
Four short sentences and four humungous lies frothing from his mouth. And we shrug.
First, Donald Trump does not love Canada as a free and sovereign nation. He covets it. He wants to own it. It is not just a negotiating tactic. He wants Canada, every square inch. He wants our lumber, our oil, our gas, our electricity, our uranium, our potash, our aluminum and any other aspects of our plentiful natural resources that he can get his greedy hands on.
The problem is that Donald Trump doesn’t want to pay for it. He wants to steal it. And he is serious about it, and he doesn’t intend to let it go. That is really the crux of the matter.
As for subsidizing Canada in the amount of US$200 billion a year, pure hogwash. Trump is smart. He knows the difference between a subsidy and a trade deficit. But he doesn’t care. Truth or accuracy means nothing to him. There is absolutely no recognized measure showing that the United States subsidizes Canada by US$200 billion every year. Economists and other financial experts have repeatedly confirmed this.
What there is, however, is a trade deficit between Canada and the United States, and that, too, is nowhere near the US$200 billion “subsidy” that Trump claims. The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that in 2025, the United States had a trade deficit of US$46.4 billion and a higher one in 2024 of US$63 billion.
Canada does receive additional revenue from the United States for services rendered. Tourism is a good example. But these are not subsidies. They are paid for, not by the government but by individual U.S. citizens who visit Canada and receive value for their money. Donald Trump bundles all of these services, tourism and many others, into his so- called subsidies and still falls far short of US$200 billion.
To be clear, a trade deficit and other services Canada offers the United States for value received are not subsidies. They are business transactions. They are income that is received for services rendered. There is absolutely nothing here resembling a free ride, which is what “subsidies” implies.
Canada’s population is about 41 million. The population of the United States is about 342 million, more than eight times that of Canada. Any idiot can conclude that the United States requires far more goods and services than does Canada, which obviously results in a trade deficit.
But Canada is an excellent trading partner for the United States, providing them with conveniently located resources they require, quite likely at a lower cost than if they were imported from most other countries. As is already evident, the United States suffers significantly in a self-imposed trade war with Canada.
Lastly, in relation to Donald Trump’s diatribe attacking our sovereignty, he said this. “Canada only works as a state. I am sorry to have to do this.” Do what? What in the world can he mean by that? To me, it feels like a real and direct threat.
Certainly, it means that the Trump Administration will continue with tariffs and trade punishments, economic coercion, pressure tactics and undermining Canadian independence. But does it now also imply, and up the ante on, forced annexation?
In my view, Trump’s statement about Canada is clearly framed in annexation language. It tops off his many repeated statements about Canada as the 51st state to the extent that it can no longer be seen as a joke, an offhand remark, or even a negotiating tactic. It frames Canadian sovereignty not as permanent and legitimate, but as conditional on American approval.
So, how seriously are we in Canada taking this threat? Not nearly seriously enough. And what are we doing about it? Again, not nearly enough. This is where some of my friends on the left side of the political spectrum may well part company with me.
I applaud Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to diversify Canada’s economy, to create new trading partners, to decrease our dependency on the United States and to create more economic opportunity within Canada. But when it comes to defending Canada’s sovereignty, my sense is he is wimpish, and that needs to stop right now.
Yes, Carney says the right things about Trump’s economic and sovereignty threats to Canada. But there is no substance to them, no measures of retaliation or consequence.
I get it that he wants to maintain decent relationships with the United States in the hope of better tariff treatment and a successful conclusion to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade negotiations.
But the reality is that Trump will continue to use both of these to undermine Canada’s economy and independence as long as he is in office. Nothing is going to change that. It is time to call him on it. You cannot effectively negotiate with a bully and a tyrant.
Prime Minister Carney needs to lance the boil. Trump’s political style often relies on repetition. He says extreme things repeatedly until they become part of public discourse. He conditions people to think of Canada as an extension of America rather than as a separate and independent country.
If the Carney Government thinks they can simply table an effective response to Trump’s threats about annexation until other negotiations take place, they are sorely mistaken. Donald Trump acts on impulse, not permission, legality or even rationale. If proof is needed of that, one needs to look no further than Venezuela, Iran, Greenland or Cuba.
The longer this issue, this direct and continuing threat from Donald Trump against Canada’s sovereignty is allowed to linger and to fester, the more toxic it becomes and the more danger there is of it becoming a reality.
Simply saying we don’t agree is not nearly enough. Mark Carney, on behalf of Canadians, needs to put his foot firmly down now.
He needs to formally call in the United States Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, to tell him that these threats from Trump must stop immediately. He needs to call on our NATO allies to visibly support Canada’s sovereignty against the very public threats and intimidation by the United States and to warn that there would be consequences. He can forget the United Nations as they are useless as long as the U.S., Russia and China have vetoes over almost everything they may want to do.
But there are things the Carney Government can do, and he needs to get on with it. Diplomacy can only go so far. One definition of diplomacy is the art of staving off the inevitable.
In this instance, with these ongoing and increasingly alarming threats from the President of the United States, Canada cannot afford to do that. The Prime Minister of Canada has to do more than just say, please don’t. He has to put on his big boy pants. It’s time to send a clear message: Enough already! This crap has to stop!
Is this a David and Goliath scenario? Quite possibly.
But remember, David would not have won if he had not used that sling shot.
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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America will suffer in the mess of its own making, Trump didn’t make America bad, it was already bad and it made Trump. And like a pimple this orange disaster will eventually go away but you can be sure he will leave a rash behind.
The question is, will America finally realize that it needs a new constitution if it wants to carry on?
As for any perception that Mr. Carney is wimpy, I don’t agree, he is putting his energy into shaping a new path for Canada that has less America in it and won’t waste his time exchanging jabs with a demented idiot like Trump.
Good fishermen tend to be quiet observers, and they understand how easily flash, movement, and disturbance can trigger reaction below the surface. They know even a big fish can be made to strike long before it has fully understood what it is reacting to.
I sometimes wonder whether democracies are becoming vulnerable to the same instinct. Every outrage, every provocation, every emotional splash now pulls whole populations sideways before anyone has time to stop and ask what is actually in play, or who benefits from keeping people in a constant state of anger, reaction, and division. That kind of permanent agitation does not strengthen societies. It exhausts them.
Canada has real frustrations and pressures like every other country right now. But one of our quieter strengths is that our democracy still largely functions the way mature democracies are supposed to function. Governments change. Opposition parties oppose. Provinces fight with Ottawa. Courts intervene. Citizens argue passionately. Yet the majority of Canadians support the direction we are going and understand there is a difference between disagreement and tearing apart the social fabric holding the country together.
Maybe the real challenge now is recognizing when entire populations are being pulled emotionally from splash to splash without ever slowing down long enough to read the current for themselves. In nature, the fish exhausting themselves reacting to every disturbance rarely control where the school ultimately ends up.
Despite the current government’s efforts to diversify foreign investment in Canada as well as trade, we remain dependent on Americans- like the Texas based Western LNG that owns and controls operation of the Big Project Ksi Lims LNG on the west coast. I am guessing that we want the auto manufacturing business to continue cross-border with Americans. The disappointing planned Honda plant retraction is probably not just a result of Canadians not buying EVs but also the Trump policies.
It is naive to believe that tough talk “stop this crap” would make a positive difference to the threats posed to the world, by the current U.S. administration. The recent U.S. visit by King Charles helped to draw a line with his tact and humour. Mr Trump seems to respect the King as he does not respect the outspoken American born Pope. Luckily John Wick is fictional and also died in his last movie or the Pope might be on his hit list.
Mr. Mackenzie: I feel the need to do something or say something that will make a difference. But what can you do in the presence of a world class killer? How long do we as a nation last if this nutbar really wants 51 states? He will only want what we have in resources and as a nation we will end.
I find the comment by Allan Holt sad. It’s okay to murder people if they don’t live in a democracy! The man never watched the murder of a woman who attempted to drive around an ICE agent? In a democracy? Never saw a citizen wrestled to the street and shot multiple times? By government agents in a democracy? Hasn’t seen some clips of 193 people murdered at sea. Supposedly running drugs. Likely, but not proven. No recourse in the courts. Just ended, by a democracy!
This vaunted ‘democracy’ has a looney tunes as secretary of War. Who now blames AI for the missile strike and murder of about 165 people. 120 of whom were children. Missiles from a democracy against children who happen to live in a country led by an ayatollah. Bad luck for them. As if they had a choice.
China is not a democracy. Russia is not a democracy. So why are they allowed to exist? Because they would strike back as Iran has. And the US is never in for the long haul. Get in. Get out. Take what you can.
Mr. Holt, just my opinion, but I think you need a better reason for killing people than “they aren’t a democracy”. At least I hope you do.
Mr. Mackenzie, your commentary is certainly provocative.
Remembering that the psychological energy for a malignant narcissist is emotional outbursts, both positive and negative from others, I suggest that rather a show of brawn, brains be the calculated craftiness of Canadian leadership.
I fully understand the desire for a “feel good” fighting words approach to the lunatic and supplicants in his administration, and no doubt there is a time and place. Again, I repeat that it is the use of skilled brainy craftiness that will help us in the end. For me, my “feel good” fix would be to see US Ambassador to Canada, Hoekstra, summoned by the Canadian government and given progressive disciple until he is ousted.
The line in the sand Must be calculated well.
Meanwhile, we have PP Conservatives with none of the words or actions you call for Mr. Mackenzie, they seem to be in another reality. Where is the fight sounding from Federal Conservatives- have they decided there are no sides to take in these disputes and disruptions? Seriously?
I think a lot of Canadians are feeling something we haven’t really had to sit with in generations. The democratic world suddenly feels less stable and less predictable than most of us probably assumed it was.
That anxiety is understandable. But what I think we should be careful about is how quickly people can start mistaking emotional escalation for strength and institutional steadiness for weakness. Truth is, serious countries do not protect their sovereignty through outrage alone. They protect it by building alliances, diversifying trade, reinforcing democratic legitimacy, reducing internal fractures, and maintaining public confidence under pressure. Strong democracies are not the ones shouting the loudest. They are the ones that stay coherent when the world around them becomes less so.
What concerns me most is not Trump’s rhetoric alone. It is the possibility that democracies slowly lose faith in calm judgment altogether and start treating constant outrage and division as signs of leadership. That is not where Canada is. One of this country’s strengths has always been its ability to remain pluralistic, democratic, and institutionally steady during volatile periods internationally. We saw that again in the 2025 election, and in the years ahead that civic steadiness may end up being one of Canada’s greatest strategic strengths.
Which 3 of 200 countries might trust and respect Trump more than Carney?
NATO would likely not stand up publically for Canada and against USA/Trump, as all of other NATO countries are European. and “chicken”…Carney is delusional thinking he would be “backed” by Europe!
Carney is a failure in dealing with USA and weak!
Agree that Canada needs to toughen in up and get things done, BUT SO FAR CARNEY IS USELESS… INTER-PROVINCIAL TRADE BARRIERS NOT REMOVED 1 YEAR AFTER CARNEY’S BOASTFUL PROMISES AND NO “NATIONAL PROJECTS OF INTEREST” APPROVED.
CARNEY IS ALL TALK, NO ACTION…LIKE ALL LIBERALS!
Time to even thinking about sick Trump. Support Carney. Have a happy summer. We all deserve it!
Bang on, Hugh. We support your views.
He is certifiably insane.
Mr. Carney is doing significant things, but whether it feels like ‘enough’ depends on what you think Canada is able to do against a much larger neighbour and a U.S. president with an enormous media platform.
I think he’s doing what realistically can be done. (Personally and irrationally, I’d like to hear Mr. Carney call Trump out on no uncertain terms just as I would pay to hear a reporter directly call him a liar.) But I know that reporters can’t do it or risk being blacklisted. Maintaining lines of communication, even if tense, is crucial for news gathering and it’s crucial for diplomacy too.
Carney’s 2026 Davos speech was a direct rebuke to Trump’s nationalism and coercive trade tactics, even though Trump wasn’t directly named. He argued that middle powers like Canada must resist domination by larger countries using “economic integration as weapons.”
Mr. Carney has also strengthened ties with allies, expanded Arctic and defence cooperation, and pushed trade diversification. Is that too cautious or being pragmatic? Can a Canadian P.M. shut Trump down to threaten him in any direct sense? I don’t think so. The tools Mr. Carney has at hand are mostly diplomatic pressure, economic diversification, alliance-building, and public messaging.
I think that the P.M. is wisely protecting Canada without escalating tensions unnecessarily…. as satisfying as a verbal throw-down would be.
Hugh, I agree with your assessment of Trump, but I completely disagree with your assessment of Carney. Trump is trying to bait Carney into doing something stupid that he could use to justify doing something REALLY STUPID, which he is prone to do.. This is a particularly dangerous time. Trump’s war in the Middle East is not going well, and he is desperate for anything he could tout as a win.
Thank goodness for Carney’s cool-headed response. He is playing the much-smarter long game. by improving our position on defence, energy, and economy, that will pay off long after clear-thinking Americans take Trump out of power in the November midterm elections.
I agree with Hugh here, nearly 100%.
The recent interview with the US ambassador, where he called for allowing US liquor sales again is a case in point. We don’t “need” the US liquor ( that Tennessee whisky tastes like yuk and their beer is only half strength) and keeping it off our shelves seems to irk Americans, and that is good because Americans leader definitely irks Canadians.
I think Carney is pretty smart and although not the absolute most popular route at the moment, keeping as many options open for negotiation while actively searching for any worthwhile alliances with “anybody but the USA” is a good policy.
Canada first and together should be out policy when it comes to the USA and to this point Alberta is playing in a cardboard house with a book of matches with their independence referendum. In this case the emphasis should be on the “dum” of “referendum”.
Alberta can be much better accommodated by Canada than the USA. All the USA will do is strip resources as fast as they can and leave a wasteland of pollution. They do not care at all about the end result in Alberta as long as they get the oil cheap.
Better to benefit BC, the rest of Canada, our indigenous people and ship the Alberta oil to the West Coast and to Ontario with Canadian owned and built pipelines. Once we get these working we can shut the valves at the US border for oil and gas shipments.
Build Canadian for Canada should be our goal and work with any reputable country except the USA for the time being, until the USA comes back to it’s senses and treats other countries with some level of respect. Living next to a poorly educated bully is not fun.
Almost everyone in the US and Canada knows Trump is not smart. Or truthful. Or a good businessman. Carney is smart.
He calmly informs Trump of the facts. Like the new bridge in Windsor was entirely paid by Canada and already is half owned by the US. But Canada gets all the tolls until the bridge is paid off.
Rather than make a bad deal with bombastic Trump, Carney is waiting until Trump’s power is neutered by Congress after the midterms. It sounds like he will be immediately impeached. And Trump knows it.
Then relations with the US should get back much closer to normal than since Trump was elected. Bordering states are on Canada’s side against Trump right now. Along with most Americans.
Relax.
Trump’s reign of terror, and the resulting high costs for the US and the world, will soon be over.
You are exactly right Mr.. Kidd!
I agree with all that Hugh M said until he said the line about Cuba Iran’ and Venezuela. I agree with what Trump is doing with those three. They are not democracies. They suppress their own people, they shoot and imprison them and it is time someone made them see their errors.
Allan
Mr. Carney might be afraid to stand up to Trump because of his personal investments in the U.S. Since becoming our Prime Minister Carney talks a good fight but hasn’t thrown one elbow or butt end. Has he? Since Carney became Prime Minister has life got less expensive for Canadians?