All over, there are signs of flagging motivation. British Columbia premier David Eby gave an [extraordinary interview](https://financialpost.com/news/economy/bc-premier-eby-says-more-counter-tariffs-wont-change-trumps-mind) to Bloomberg, where he questioned the wisdom of further counter tariffs. The rebuttals Eby announced with some fanfare on February 1 “haven’t seemed to have had the kind of impact that we would hope for,” he says now. Adding another layer of Canadian counter tariffs might inflict “severe harm” on British Columbians without making Trump budge.
Eby’s willingness to think out loud and adjust course is among his most refreshing qualities, but it’s worth noting that in February, questioning the virtue of countermeasures was one of the things that threatened to get Alberta premier Danielle Smith barred from civilized society. Eby has begun to reach conclusions that once seemed taboo. Mark Carney is somewhere between Smith and Eby: he’s lately been in [less of a hurry](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-carney-was-right-to-not-retaliate-against-trumps-latest-tariffs/) to seek the most theatrical response to the latest Trump sortie.
This is all deeply unsatisfying, but it may be that there is no satisfying way to respond to Trump. As the summer wears on, there is a notable droop to the once proudly waving Canadian elbow.
[…]
On Substack, political strategist David Herle called these remarks [in favour of continuing the U.S.-Canada trade relationship] of “weaklings.” I think it’s possible to read them a few ways.
One: for each of these quotes, it’s easy to imagine an implied but unspoken second part, which is that the main obstacle to “a renewed reliable relationship” in a “strong and forward-looking” relationship is one guy who rewrites tariff levels every night before bedtime.
But also, two: it’s not weak for a business association to defend the interests of business. If you’re in the business of selling widgets, what’s the ideal end to Trump’s tariff adventure? Surely, it’s that Trump changes his mind, or loses the midterms, or is replaced by a classic Clinton-era free-trading Democrat—that, one way or another, the US simply stops being weird and goes back to being the vast and easy market it’s been for most of our lifetimes.
But here’s where it gets tricky. *Short* of that ideal outcome, what’s next best? At 15 percent tariffs on everything Canadian, for many if not most Canadian exporters, *getting over the tariff wall and into that vast market is probably a better outcome* than the three main alternatives: abandoning exports; taking a flyer on distant and, in many cases, saturated third markets like Europe; or adding Canadian counter tariffs to American tariffs for spite.
[…]
I’ve written this before: replacing a lifetime of ever-closer integration with the vastly larger population next door, in favour of substantial new partnerships with distant lands, is really hard. Actually, it’s usually impossible. That’s one of the [lessons of Brexit](https://www.ft.com/content/21b2fcc5-bfe8-4b27-adab-702c4eb0f0c4). Europe remains Britain’s overwhelming export market; it’s just that voters decided in 2017 to make it harder to access that market. Attempts to compensate for lost EU market access with trade breakthroughs in third countries have gone *terribly*.
God imagine how easily this coercive power could be used in a UNITED FRONT against Russia and China. Instead the US is shitting on its closest ally, a nation that is literally the fucking same culturally. A nation which has more intelligence officers in its most secretive and trusted sites (yes more than MI6). A nation which shares not only a heritage+border+fate but also inevitably shares a future.
Reeeeeeee
NORAD and FVEY are proof we will survive this garbage together because our fates are intertwined. But man is this lost time and lost goodwill
3 Comments
Carney is going to catch so much shit once he has to acquiesce to Trumps requirements.
Archived version: [https://archive.fo/2rwH0](https://archive.fo/2rwH0)
On July 25, ahead of the tariff deadline, the American president sounded [like he’d just been reminded Canada exists](https://nationalnewswatch.com/2025/07/25/trump-says-he-hasnt-had-a-lot-of-luck-with-canada-ahead-of-latest-tariff-deadline). “We don’t have a deal with Canada, we haven’t been focused on it,” Donald Trump said, doing his best imitation of [Jordan Catalano from *My So-Called Life*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFTI7qv-vw0). Dreamy or catatonic? Can’t he be both? We had a [July 21 deadline](https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/former-ambassador-calls-july-21-trade-deadline-deal-with-trump-not-realistic/), we had an [August 1 deadline](https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/trumps-tariffs/article/canada-still-working-toward-aug-1-trade-deal-deadline-leblanc-says-as-us-senator-casts-doubt/). Dominic LeBlanc [says](https://nationalnewswatch.com/2025/07/24/leblanc-encouraged-after-meeting-with-lutnick-lawmakers-ahead-of-tariff-deadline) they’re “complex negotiations.” Trump says it’s “not really a negotiation.” One of them’s got to be right. Or not.
All over, there are signs of flagging motivation. British Columbia premier David Eby gave an [extraordinary interview](https://financialpost.com/news/economy/bc-premier-eby-says-more-counter-tariffs-wont-change-trumps-mind) to Bloomberg, where he questioned the wisdom of further counter tariffs. The rebuttals Eby announced with some fanfare on February 1 “haven’t seemed to have had the kind of impact that we would hope for,” he says now. Adding another layer of Canadian counter tariffs might inflict “severe harm” on British Columbians without making Trump budge.
Eby’s willingness to think out loud and adjust course is among his most refreshing qualities, but it’s worth noting that in February, questioning the virtue of countermeasures was one of the things that threatened to get Alberta premier Danielle Smith barred from civilized society. Eby has begun to reach conclusions that once seemed taboo. Mark Carney is somewhere between Smith and Eby: he’s lately been in [less of a hurry](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-carney-was-right-to-not-retaliate-against-trumps-latest-tariffs/) to seek the most theatrical response to the latest Trump sortie.
This is all deeply unsatisfying, but it may be that there is no satisfying way to respond to Trump. As the summer wears on, there is a notable droop to the once proudly waving Canadian elbow.
[…]
On Substack, political strategist David Herle called these remarks [in favour of continuing the U.S.-Canada trade relationship] of “weaklings.” I think it’s possible to read them a few ways.
One: for each of these quotes, it’s easy to imagine an implied but unspoken second part, which is that the main obstacle to “a renewed reliable relationship” in a “strong and forward-looking” relationship is one guy who rewrites tariff levels every night before bedtime.
But also, two: it’s not weak for a business association to defend the interests of business. If you’re in the business of selling widgets, what’s the ideal end to Trump’s tariff adventure? Surely, it’s that Trump changes his mind, or loses the midterms, or is replaced by a classic Clinton-era free-trading Democrat—that, one way or another, the US simply stops being weird and goes back to being the vast and easy market it’s been for most of our lifetimes.
But here’s where it gets tricky. *Short* of that ideal outcome, what’s next best? At 15 percent tariffs on everything Canadian, for many if not most Canadian exporters, *getting over the tariff wall and into that vast market is probably a better outcome* than the three main alternatives: abandoning exports; taking a flyer on distant and, in many cases, saturated third markets like Europe; or adding Canadian counter tariffs to American tariffs for spite.
[…]
I’ve written this before: replacing a lifetime of ever-closer integration with the vastly larger population next door, in favour of substantial new partnerships with distant lands, is really hard. Actually, it’s usually impossible. That’s one of the [lessons of Brexit](https://www.ft.com/content/21b2fcc5-bfe8-4b27-adab-702c4eb0f0c4). Europe remains Britain’s overwhelming export market; it’s just that voters decided in 2017 to make it harder to access that market. Attempts to compensate for lost EU market access with trade breakthroughs in third countries have gone *terribly*.
Any list of the people on Earth who’ve studied this dynamic most closely would have to include [Mark Carney](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mark-carney-boe-brexit-1.4818439).
God imagine how easily this coercive power could be used in a UNITED FRONT against Russia and China. Instead the US is shitting on its closest ally, a nation that is literally the fucking same culturally. A nation which has more intelligence officers in its most secretive and trusted sites (yes more than MI6). A nation which shares not only a heritage+border+fate but also inevitably shares a future.
Reeeeeeee
NORAD and FVEY are proof we will survive this garbage together because our fates are intertwined. But man is this lost time and lost goodwill