It is perhaps fitting that President Donald Trump refers to the annexation of Canada as a marriage, because at times Trump sounds like a desperate suitor who can¡¯t take no for an answer.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who rode to power on a wave of anti-Trump nationalism, was having none of it last week, letting Trump down easy in a sometimes tense Oval Office meeting. The whole display was embarrassing for Trump, who has set his sights on Canada, and it was a disservice to Americans who have benefited from a respectful relationship with their Northern neighbors.
¡°When you get rid of that artificially drawn line ... somebody drew that line many years ago with like a ruler, just a straight line right across the top of the country,¡± Trump said, speaking of the 5,525-mile U.S.-Canada border, the world¡¯s longest land border. ¡°When you look at that beautiful formation, when it¡¯s together... I¡¯m a very artistic person. But when I looked at that beauty, I said, that¡¯s the way it was meant to be.¡±
Trump has repeatedly talked about acquiring Canada (and Greenland and the Panama Canal and Gaza) with little to show for his musings. Those comments took on new meaning when Trump sat side by side with Carney, who has met Trump¡¯s bullying with a succinct defense of Canada¡¯s sovereignty.
¡°As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We¡¯re sitting in one right now. Buckingham Palace, that you visited as well,¡± he said, as Trump agreed. ¡°And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign, last several months, it¡¯s not for sale. It won¡¯t be for sale ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we have done together.¡±
Canada is among the U.S. biggest trading partners, with $762.1 billion in bilateral trade in 2024. But partnership requires mutual respect and cooperation; Trump sees zero-sum competition and rivalry everywhere he looks. His blundering trade war has upended the Canada-U.S. alliance. At several sporting events, Canadians have shown their distaste by booing during the U.S. national anthem. According to a POLITICO/Focaldata poll of Canadians in the run-up to last month¡¯s elections, nearly half (49%) view the U.S. as either generally unfriendly, hostile or an enemy. China has a better standing, with only 42% seeing the communist country that negatively.
The deteriorating relationship has encouraged Canada to shift exports to other countries and trading with the U.S. has fallen over the last few months, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday.
Trump insists that Americans don¡¯t need goods from Canada, though he also argues that the U.S. should acquire all...
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