We are at war.
This was never about tariffs on steel or the fee structure on the Gordie Howe Bridge. From the opening days of the Trump administration, Canada was subject to a new form of warfare — constant harassment and intimidation with a focus on breaking our economy and making us beg to be a vassal territory.
Donald Trump made his intentions clear to Prime Minister Trudeau in early 2025, and despite the occasional TACO, he has never wavered.
Prime Minister Mark Carney went into the trade negotiations knowing exactly who he was dealing with.
It was a strategy fraught with danger, but Canadian negotiators went the extra mile to demonstrate good faith. Even as the Prime Minister knew that we could not trust an agreement “written in pencil”.
Then, at 12:01 on Saturday morning, the PM called the negotiators home.
The White House expected panic.
Instead, from one end of Canada to the other there were fist bumps, high fives and shouts of relief.
Canadians had watched the ongoing trade negotiations with trepidation because we knew that no matter what the Prime Minister’s team worked out with Trump, MAGA would turn on us within days.
We knew the playbook. We have seen it in action again and again.
We knew the fight was coming, and we wanted to get down to business.
So here we are, in the fight for our lives.
But so is Trump.
On the eve of the failure of the Canada US trade agreement, Scott Bessent was scrambling to reassure markets that massive levels of American debt, rising inflation, and mortgage costs could be contained.
The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatens economic catastrophe. Bessent now has to explain to markets how he blew apart a deal with America’s most reliable trading partner.
The Strait of YourBooze is closed.
This will hurt American business in a big way.
On the aluminum front alone, US manufacturers are paying between $1500 and $2000 a ton in tariff fees for a product they cannot do without.
Meanwhile, Canadian output continues without loss.
But Trump sent his negotiators with surrender terms. He expected Canada to give up our right to remain an independent nation rooted in linguistic and cultural diversity.
The hubris. But also a sign of out-of-touch recklessness at a time when the American government needs to project stability.
In the bigger picture, Trump’s actions have sent a clear message to the world that the United States’ word means nothing. There is no upside to signing a deal with them. If they act so recklessly and mercenary toward Canada, any other nation can expect worse.
As Premier Wab Kinew — Captain Canada — put it, Trump is starting this fight back on his heels.
We push through.
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But make no mistake, this war will be costly and could easily escalate.
Our enemy is dangerous and unhinged and wields enormous economic clout.
So I want to offer three initial suggestions — one for Canadians, one for the government and one for our allies.
To Canadians:
Our unprecedented solidarity has kept us strong through every threat. MAGA thought we were easy pickings. The booze boycott enraged them because they simply cannot accept the idea that an empowered citizenry would stand up to them.
To this end, we must go harder.
Boycott all things American. Go into your grocery stores and tell the managers they need to stop undermining the boycott. Choose Canadian whenever you can.
Our economic power as citizens is our greatest strength.
To the Prime Minister:
A defensive trade war is a recipe for defeat.
This is not about getting the Americans back to the table. We must upend a more powerful enemy.
That means going after key strategic sectors — potash, electricity, critical minerals.
Target red state economies. They will be the first to buckle in the lead-up to the midterms. The U.S. farm economy is in a very weak position with no capacity to absorb higher input costs.
They are dependent on potash, and many of these states are red states.
Hitting them on this issue will send the MAGA establishment into crisis mode. This will likely escalate, but we are already facing threats to our sovereignty, so we take the fight to them.
To our Allies:
We need your solidarity.
Western leaders will likely tiptoe around this standoff or sit on the sidelines, but citizens can do their part.
We call on our friends from around the world to enforce the USA boycott on every product. Spread news of the boycott. Show your solidarity.
Canada is the front line in the fight for democracy — if we fall, all others will fall too.
Fellow resisters,
There is no place I would rather be at this time than in the forward trench with my fellow Canadians.
From one end of this great nation to the other, I have seen the determination and pride to live up to the great legacy we have as fighters of fascism.
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The Juno Beach gene is in each of us.
As Winston Churchill said to Adolf Hitler in the dark days of 1941:
“We ask no favours of the enemy. We seek from them no compunction. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will.
You do your worst, and we will do our best.”
That is the spirit we need to show now.
As Canadians, we will do our part and do our best.
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