Canada in ‘conflict’ with Mr. Trump

Recently, US President-elect Donald Trump shocked everyone when he proposed that Canada become the 51st state of the country.

Shocking proposal

Specifically, in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago (Florida), the incoming president expressed his desire to buy back Greenland, reclaim the Panama Canal by force if necessary, and is ready to use it. economic power” to annex Canada.

In it, Mr. Trump teased Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor”. Next, regarding this issue, Mr. Trump seriously mentioned that the two countries’ border is “artificial” and that the US has spent a lot of money in its relationship with Canada. President-elect Trump emphasized: “We don’t need Canadian cars. They produce 20% of the cars supplied to the US market. We don’t need that! I would rather produce cars in Detroit (Michigan state). , USA). We don’t need their timber. We don’t need Canadian timber. We don’t need more of what Canada has Have”.

Canada’s political leaders reacted strongly. Even MP Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP), wrote on social network X: “Don’t talk nonsense, Donald! No Canadian wants to enter the US.”

Difficult situation for Canada

Last November, just a few weeks after being elected, Mr. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, on the grounds that these two countries did not effectively prevent illegal immigration and drug smuggling. addicted to America. This makes Canada worried. Prime Minister Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago to launch negotiations with Mr. Trump, at the same time Canada introduced a plan to strengthen border controls. However, the above mentioned efforts do not seem to be enough to appease Mr. Trump, as evidenced by the fact that he has increased the pace of his language related to his neighbors.

Meanwhile, according to analysis by Eurasia Group (USA), the world’s leading political risk research and consulting unit, Republican politicians do not support this. Similarly, the MAGA movement (roughly translated: Make America Great Again), even though it enthusiastically supports Mr. Trump, still finds it difficult to accept the annexation of Canada. The reason is that Canadian voters tend to be strongly left-leaning, and with the country’s population and economic position, if it became an American state, it is likely that no Republican candidate would be strong enough to fight. win future races for the White House.

Besides, Mr. Trump’s accusations against Canada are considered to be lacking in objectivity. Eurasia Group experts point out that the US’s $100 billion trade deficit with Canada mainly comes from Canada exporting oil and gas to the US, helping the country stabilize fuel prices. Imposing tariffs on Canadian goods also harms US interests.

However, although merging Canada with the US is not feasible, analysts question that Mr. Trump is “plotting” to increase pressure to negotiate with the northern neighbor regarding economic issues. In a situation where Mr. Trudeau is about to step down as Prime Minister of Canada, the country will take a considerable amount of time to stabilize the new government. Amid such a context, pressure from the US could make Canada face more challenges in economic negotiations.