There unfortunately has been some friction between the USA and Canada lately. As
an American I am embarrassed by this and would like to apologize for the actions of the
idiots that currenly occupy the top positions in our government.
My question is: could Canada retaliate by blocking the Saint Lawrence River and prevent ships from going to ports on the American side of the Great Lakes?
Could Canada stop ships bound for USA ports from using the Welland Canal?
(The Welland Canal allows ships to bypass Niagara Falls and it’s on the Canadian
side of the border).
What would be the imact of such a blockade? Would it be considered and act of war?
Mods: if you want to move this question to the Politics & Elections forum that is OK with me.
Agree that a full blockade would be an act of war.
There are, however, smaller intermediate steps that would fall short of such a declaration yet allow Canada to flex its muscles a bit. Random “inspections” of cargo ships along the way, for example, to ensure nobody’s trying to defeat border controls or smuggle American armaments into Canada via mid-route offloading. That would slow things down and create painful pressure while still being superficially “justified” in the current political context.
Whether an act of war or not, the US military would clear any obstacles Canada used to block passage of our ships on the river. I think it would lead to a skirmish, but not necessarily full out war, which undoubtedly Canada would lose .
Admittedly I don’t know much about maritime law but doesn’t the St. Lawrence go deep into Canada, past Montreal & Quebec cities? Do they have rights to exclude who goes into their rivers the same way there are fishing boundaries for 12(?) miles offshore? Could a Russian ship come right up the Potomac or Chesapeake to deliver one container in Washington or Baltimore?
There is nothing Canada or any other country could do that would be more disruptive to the day to day importation of goods into the United States than what Trump, himself, is already doing.
So it would be an act of war even though the blockade is taking place inside
Canadian territory? Are the St. Lawrence and Welland Canal considered to
be Canadan or international waters?
I guess they could stop every ship and go over it with a fine toothed comb looking for fentanyl. Trump couldn’t say much since part of the reason for the tariffs was drugs manufactured in China and smuggled in through Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. might respond that way, but there are parts of the seaway that are entirely within Canada. Canada has inherent sovereignty there. The U.S. and Canada have treaties governing access, but we’ve already seen how much the U.S. regime values those.
This would be a more effective protest than directly blockading the seaway. Every southbound vessel with a U.S. destination gets to be thoroughly inspected for illegal cargo and the privilege of paying for the inspection.
When Trump imposed tariffs on hoods from Canada, then almost instantly granted a one month exemption for American car companies, I thought the Canadian PM should have imposed a 25% export tariff on any car parts being shipped into the U.S., effective only as long as the exemption os in place. Call Trump’s bluff; quit dancing to his tune and make him dance to yours.
Because it would be an act designed to economically harm America…and because the only national sovereignty the US has ever been concerned with is its own. America has the right to decide what Canada does on its own territory because it’s America, and Canada isn’t. That was its attitude even before Trump.