Canada is at war with the US, said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. “We are not prepared to compromise Canada's sovereignty and undermine our key industries,” he added. Carney responded sharply and decisively to Trump after the US announced a 50% tariff on more than 500 products imported from the neighboring country. Carney replied that Ottawa would impose retaliatory sanctions that would be “dollar for dollar”. In a 20-minute address to the nation, he sharply criticized the American president's policies and declared that his claims threatened the country's economy and culture, but at the same time emphasized that Canada would not budge.
Immense support for the Canadian prime minister
The reaction was not long in coming. “Canadians have united around Carney”, wrote Global News. “76% of Canadians support the prime minister's decision”, announced the public CBC on Monday.
The concerns in Canada, which traditionally sends over 2/3 of its exports to the United States, are serious, but support for the prime minister's position is almost universal. Mark Carney enjoys a 60% approval rating - rare figures for any democratic country, and among the main reasons is his refusal to give in to pressure from Washington.
"Canada's Liberation Day"
"August 21 will go down in history as Canada's Liberation Day. It was the day America came for us, and we said "no", writes Canadian author and journalist Steven Marsh in an emotional commentary for "The New York Times". "Mr. Carney didn't just reject a trade offer on Friday. He openly opposed a new kind of American aggression. "We will not allow any country to determine our future" - these words of Prime Minister Carney are also quoted by Stephen Marsh.
Washington's demands included imposing restrictions on Canada's future trade deals with other countries, as well as requiring Quebec to abandon laws protecting the French language. For Carney and his government, this was clearly unacceptable.
Now his country will face serious challenges. Although trade with the United States has fallen in recent months at the expense of that with Britain, China and the EU, and Canadians are boycotting a number of American products - including American bourbon and tourism in the United States - the neighboring country remains its most important trading partner. “We will be hard on ourselves. America remains Canada's largest trading partner. Mr. Carney chose to endure these hardships, but he did what Canadians elected him to do: defend Canada,” Marsh writes. Apparently, most of his fellow citizens agree.
Trump lost another war
Only 25% of Canadians believe that the United States can be trusted at the moment. And while these numbers may not particularly interest the American president, another sociological study should concern him - his personal rating has fallen to 33%, and he is of utmost importance for the success of the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. They are particularly contested in a number of states - two of them are Michigan and Ohio. In Michigan, however, 40% of all exports go to Canada, in Ohio - 30%. These two states could tip the balance in the Senate.
As David Frum summarizes in The Atlantic: Against Canada, Trump is waging a war that very few Americans support, while against Trump, Canadians are waging a trade war that enjoys the support of the vast majority, led by leaders who enjoy broad approval, to protect their independence and self-respect. And so it becomes a war that the weaker side - economically, politically and militarily - can win, if it can hold out for a few months.