It’s time to be as Canadian as you possibly can – Trump is just getting started
By Lethbridge Herald on March 4, 2025.
POINT OF VIEW – Editor Scott Sakatch
Al Franken, the great comedian and former U.S. senator, once observed about fellow Senator Ted Cruz: “The thing you have to realize about Ted Cruz is that I like Ted Cruz more than my other colleagues like Ted Cruz, and I hate Ted Cruz.”
Now personally, I can honestly say that I’ve never met an American I didn’t like. Granted, I’ve never met Ted Cruz, but you get the point. Recently my wife and I took a cruise out of Los Angeles, where we were surrounded by American passengers. Most of them were from California, Oregon or Washington state, but all of the ones we talked to were lovely people. Again, we didn’t talk to each of the 3,000 people on the ship but we did chat up enough to get a sense of what most of them were thinking.
Every one of the people we talked to, when they learned we were Canadian, had nothing but praise for our country. Some expressed horror over the way Donald Trump has treated our country since taking office less than two months ago. A lot of them talked abut their deep concern for the future of the United States. Some even went to so far as to say they wished they could move here. No one person mentioned anything about fentanyl or the border, or about how Canada was getting some sort of free ride from our friends to the south. Certainly none of them was spoiling for a fight.
When I recently posted about it on Facebook, a number of friends responded that they’d had the same experience in the U.S. in recent weeks. To a person, they all said they’d had friendly interactions with Americans; one even pointed out that a group of Americans they didn’t know even picked up the bill for their dinner.
How can this be? Every time we look at any media coverage, it’s all insults and taunts from Trump and his hangers-on. It seems he can’t let an hour go by without taking some sort of jab at Justin Trudeau, or making some sort of “joke” about Canada being the 51st state. And yet, whatever Trump’s reasoning (assuming he has any, which is a big assumption), he seems to be completely out of touch with what everyday Americans think about their neighbours to the north. It’s the equivalent of your brother suddenly hurling insults at you out of the blue during Thanksgiving dinner. With the tariffs that took effect today, you could actually extend the analogy to include a kick in the shins, or maybe even spitting in the face.
It’s easy to say Americans knew what they were getting when they voted The Tangerine Tantrum back into office. They had a clear choice to make and the majority, slim though it was (again), chose him over Kamala Harris. You could argue until you’re blue in the face about who was right and who was wrong, about Gaza, global warming, Biden’s age, how there were no good candidates, yada yada yada. But ultimately none of that changes the outcome, or the fact that we all have to deal with it.
To be honest (and I could be wrong), I believe a huge number of Americans simply didn’t vote in November because they were exhausted by the constant electioneering in their country, the constant negative media coverage and what they considered to be an impossible choice. Again, that’s all up for debate, but that’s the sense I got from people who talked to me about it. Yes, they have to deal with the consequences of their actions, but I believe many of them simply never expected to see Canadians hung out to dry like that. Even people who voted for Trump were probably surprised by it, though, to be fair, I didn’t actually encounter any who admitted to doing it. Many likely thought it was just “Trump being Trump” and that nothing would actually come of it.
Unfortunately, if there’s one thing I’m sure of after the past six weeks, Trump is just getting started, God help us all.
Now, as we face the uncertainty of our new economic reality here in Canada, Americans are likely to see even more of an impact, especially in the short term. Their costs are about to go up significantly, at a time when many people can barely afford life as it is. Simultaneously, markets are going to be affected and all of us — on both sides of the border — are going to see the value of our retirement investments take a rollercoaster ride.
So what’s my point? I’m asking everyone to be their best selves and resist the urge to be angry at Americans for what’s about to happen. We at least can take solace in the fact that we’re still, at heart, the great nation we’ve always been and, whatever you may think of our political leaders, we’re not at the whim of a toddler with a gun the way Americans are. I ask you to show compassion and remember the other 200-some-odd-year relationship, and recognize that this, too, shall pass.
In short, I’m asking everyone to be as Canadian as they possibly can right now. We’re going to need it.
13-12
So a 278% tariff on Wisconsin dairy products coming into Canada to favour the Quebec dairy cartel, isn’t an issue or leaving anyone hung out to dry. This paper has become a daily publication for the NDP.
The aforementioned tariff level only kicks in when a specific threshold has been exceeded. The US has an oversupply of milk – Wisconsin alone produces more milk than we do in Canada – so a central objective of the tariff is to discourage dumping. Why should Canadian dairy farmers pay the price for a problem of the United States’ making?
Maintaining healthy Canadian dairy sector can be viewed through the lens of food security, a matter that came to light during the COVID Pandemic.
Look at you being stupid! You saw big number and jumped, like a good bootlicker; all while not having the first clue that the tariff you’re complaining about is based on a production threshold.
“I love the poorly educated”.
And HOW.
https://www.farmprogress.com/management/does-canada-really-charge-a-270-tariff-on-milk-
What irritates me about people mindlessly repeating Trump’s nonsense is that his claims are so easily factchecked with credible sources.
Take for example his claim in the State of the Union Address the US was spending $8 million on “transgender mice.” Opps, turns out the program was producing genetically modified mice, or transgenic mice, used in medical research.
The problem lies with the American People, they don’t want to “bother to fact check” thier own lieing president.So the facts they base thier decisions on come from Navarro and Trump. So if the good people of Montana won’t approach thier politicians then how seriously do you expect a polititician in Montana to listen to a Canadian? A Democrat Senator or House member won’t stand up to him enmasse, they hold up little signs??????
In the entire fiasco, I blame one group and its Canadian Politicians who, even, at this moment still hold onto a thread of hope that the US will back down on Tariffs. Trudeau, has firmly put us in this mess by poroging the House. So we silently hope him dropping a tear or two will make a difference.
Speaking of lieing, nowadays its mispoke, misunderstood, or nonfactual, or some other colorful piece of crud. Liars, lie they do not mispeak! So because we cannot even get that far, I have little faith these bunch of pension seaking idiots will get much farther.
What we need is an organized and yes sponsored “overseas Goods Train” as an example. One train leaves Halifax once a week, one train leaves Vancouver once a week. Its specific existance is to transport that needs to be shipped to each coast. We need hubs set up where merchandise can be loaded and available to the “next train going through”. We need the information circulated wildly and a system that keeps things on time and on schedule. The same occurs for Air Frieght. We also need coordinators to ensure the right items get on the right containers. But, before this all occurs we need trade deals that spell out the commodities available for trade. Once that is established then the list is posted and every small company gets to provide the goods. The “Export Train” is needed badly because many companies have no idea how to get thier goods to export markets. And of course because we have so many Libtards running this great country, the hoops needed to jump through are confusing and many. I should be able to walk down to the train station with my widget and have someone there that will take it and get it out of the country to new markets, Sounds simple, thats because it is, which is why we don’t do it, not enough liberal jobs to for them bother with it, so it does not happen. Once the infrastructure is proven and working, then make it 2 trains per week, then 3 etc etc.
While this is going on, we start digging in the pipeline to get to New Brunswick from Winnipeg. Our greatest weakness is line 5. Trump shuts that down and we send Quebec and Ontario into a depression. This is why (as Danielle Smith has done) you do not threaten the Americans with shutting off or Tariffing any of our oil.Line 5 is our disaster waiting to happen.
Again for those that think we can rail our oil to Sarnia, 700bbls per car, 70,000 bbls per one hundered cars, 800 cars to replace the line 5 delivery of 540,000 bbls. 800 cars PER DAY EVERY DAY! 800 cars is about 9 miles long, now try to find enough locomotives to pull it! Now realize that their are now switching between Winnipeg and Sarnia that can side rail 800 cars to let another train through. If you break up the 800 car train into 100 car trains, how many of those would you need to always have some loading and some unloading and in transit! So forget rail. Now you have NO OPTIONS if Trump shuts line 5 off. So today, not tomorrow the Liberals should announce the “trade rail line” and the pipeline so Trump knows in a few short years we won’t need him or his bullship either, but of course they can’t because thier liberal race for leader is more important then the survival of Canada… so Trump may have to do nothing, we will shoot ourselves in the foot!
Sidebar- the 278% tariff on dairy products is applied once the US as exported more than 3% of our consumption. You may say “unfair” but the state of Wisconsin produces more dairy products then the Country of Canada in its entirity. So removing tariffs from US dairy production would kill our entire dairy industry. In light of that, do you wish our entire dairy industry to be gone and the one that killed it to be the same guy that wants us 100% dependant on him so we become the 51st? Tear up NAFTA/CUSMA,USMCA and all the other Trump bullship which he does not intend on honoring, his word means nothing, his signature means nothing, and his agreements mean nothing. Tax the hell out of anything coming from the US, and lets get on with building our country back up!
Yes, our cost of living will skyrocket, but if you assume doing nothing works better, you will be wrong.
Denmark our new ally of threatened countries own Maersk the largest shipping line in the world. Lets make them our best buddies and load as much Aluminum ingots on these things and expand our markes ASAP,,,,oh yea the Liberals have porogo’d gov so they can’t make a decision to save us….but then again they have never made one to save us…..remember the off again, on again F35….well it should now be OFF again.(ponder this, Trump wants us, do you think he will deliver a fighter to us before we are the 51st? BUY European Jets
None of this is a simple task, none of it will make your life more affordable of course! Not demanding it NOW, makes us the 51st state, then you can sit back and do the “woulda, shoulda, coulda” thing as the stars and stripes hangs above your head!
Who should we ellect as next PM? Cast party politics aside, If the new guy/gal has no balls to standup,fight, and BUILD Quickly for Canada then he/she is the WRONG PM, period. Send a clear message, this is not a climate fight or worse yet a High Speed Rail discussion, any longer, its a fight for survival. Thats not an endorsement of Conservatives! The new Leader of the Liberals and present leader of the Cons has to be clear where he will focus his/her 100% energy, if a farkin High Speed train passes his/her lips, DUMP THE Idiot! Trump wants our water, our minerals and our forest, he wants to rape and pillage this land we call Canada to MAGA, if you think otherwise I would highly recommend brain surgery!
might we be careful to direct our discontent with the orange idiot at the orange idiot and that idiot’s appointed idiots, rather than smear all americans? in fairness, not all americans supported their fool lout, and i suspect a good few more have also jumped ship.
just to say, not all albertans supported, support, nor wish to be tarred by smitty and her band of clowns, either.