The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Did Trump Troll Canada Into ‘Frenemy’ Status?

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

Did Donald Trump troll Canada into reigniting a dormant nationalism? Victor Davis Hanson argues that Trump's rhetoric has greatly impacted Canadian politics and suggests ways to resolve these tensions between them and America, including tariff adjustments and military collaborations in the Arctic. “That whole [Liberal] Party was headed toward defeat when Donald Trump started to troll them—'Art of the Deal’—sort of goad them in bombastic style that they should be the 51st state in the union of the United States. … And the result is that a Conservative politician, Pierre Poilievre, may lose the election. … We’ve got to correct that. “ All Canada has to do is lower its tariffs on certain American products and get the surplus down from $50 to $20 billion. … But right now, our closest friend is becoming one of our frenemies, if not one of our enemies, and it should stop as quickly as possible.” The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: https://secured.dailysignal.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I want to talk about Donald Trump's problems he's having with both Canada and Mexico, but let's look at Canada first. He's in hot water with the Canadians. He's aroused a dormant nationalism. Trudeau, who will step down as prime minister and hand the Liberal Party directorship and with it the prime ministership to Mark Carney was headed toward defeat. That whole party was headed toward defeat. When Donald Trump started to troll them, sort of goad them in bombastic style,

that they should be the 51st state. the Union of the United States, they got very angry about it. Donald Trump does have a point on a number of issues. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. I want to talk in a two-part video this time about Donald Trump's problems he's having with both Canada and Mexico. But let's look at Canada first, and we'll talk later about Mexico. He's in hot water with a Canadians, he's aroused a dormant nationalism. Trudeau, who will step down as prime minister and hand the Liberal Party directorship and with it the prime ministership under their parliamentary system to Mark Carney was headed toward defeat. That whole party was headed toward defeat.

When Donald Trump started to troll them, art of the deal, sort of goad them in bombastic style, that they should be the 51, 51st state in the Union of the United States, they got very angry about it, especially when he brought up a series of outstanding issues. And the result is that a conservative politician, Pierre Pollyav, may lose the election. And that would be tragic because Canadians are basically saying in their anger at us that if you're liberal and you are anti-American, we'll vote for you. but if you're conservative and pro-American, they won't. We've got to correct that.

But Donald Trump does have a point on a number of issues. Number one, Canada runs up a $50 billion surplus with us. It usually has, except for a few years, always run a surplus. But it's getting bigger and bigger. It's based on a couple of facts. It exports to us a lot of gas and oil and electricity. and it protects in two different ways, both with tariffs and with state subsidies, it's agricultural and timber industries.

And it puts tariffs as high as 250% on things like American butter or milk or lumber and timber and things like that. So it's running up a sizable trade surplus. I think it's about the six nation in the world in terms of its surplus. with the United States. A second issue that Donald Trump has mentioned is the open board. Now, usually we just think of border problems with Mexico. After all, we've got this long, long, historically calm border on fortified, no fence, no wall with Canada.

But lately, there's been some fentanyl, not as much as hardly as much as Mexico. Maybe 2% of fentanyl comes across from Canada, but there have been terrorists and there has been illegal alien. So Trump wants that border secure. Third, Canada is a member of NATO. In 2014, there was an agreement that all NATO countries would supply 2% of their GDP and defense spending. Canada is one of the lowest. It's 1.3. This is astounding because in World War II, the Canadian Navy was the third largest in the world. Juno Beach on D-Day was reserved. for the first Canadian army. It had one of the most successful armies on the allied side.

So it has a wonderful, it has a wonderful military tradition, and yet they just laugh at it's the idea they're going to rearm. And they're not meeting their NATO commitments. And to be frank, in some ways, they're subsidized by the United States with our North American NORAD Shield. And they know that if any country was to threaten Canada, and I think that would be unlikely. The United States would step in and shield it and protect it.

So there's a trade surplus. There's this problem with Trudeau that Trump does not, whom he does not like, and there's a problem with an open border, and there's a problem, as I said, with defense spending. What's the remedy? I wish it could be solved this divide by the absence of Pierre Trudeau, but it won't. These other issues are outstanding. We don't want Canada as a 51st state, and Donald Trump knows that. The Art of the Deal, as I said, trolling style, he knows that.

Canada is a very left-wing country, socialized medicine, state-run industries. GDP is not as great as a similar size California, which also has 40 million people, but it's per capita income. average is about like Mississippi. I don't think it's as large as Mississippi's per capita income. But more importantly, if it was a state, it would get the whole country is a state, it would get two left-wing senators and probably 50 left-wing House of Representatives. So let me just finish.

How do we resolve it? All Canada has to do is lower its tariffs on certain American products and get the surplus down from 50 to 20 billion. And then it's got an excellent record of shipbuilding, and we have a problem in the Arctic Circle with China and Russia infringing on the North American parts of the Arctic. And all Canada would have to do is revive its hollow shipbuilding industry. Why doesn't it just build 20 icebreakers? They used to be one of the best countries in the world in that type of shipbuilding and operation. They could come to America and say, how do we make an iron dome together, America?

Here's key places in Canada where you might want to put missile defense places. Here's 20 ice-breaking ships that we will staff and keep the Arctic clear of China and Russian intrusions. That would help. They could patrol the border just a little bit more, and we would have no problem. But right now, our closest friend is becoming one of our frenemies, if not one of our enemies, and it should stop as quickly as possible. Thank you very much. This is Victor Davis-Hansson for The Daily Signal.

Thank you for watching today's podcast. And for more news like that, subscribe to The Daily Signal. Maybe you can check out my own website at victorhansson.com for podcast, lectures, Alta series behind a paywall, but more importantly, just daily columns that are accessible and free to everyone. Thank you very much.