# The United States Declares Economic War on Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 1, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734 "2025-02-01T21:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/721 "2025-03-08T02:28:45Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > I just question that it makes Trump dumb. Instead, it makes him an expansionist aggressor. > > Why can’t it be both? I guess time will tell. Trump is now telling the automakers to produce a plan to [move production from Canada and Mexico to the U.S.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/auto-sector-union-leaders-emergency-meeting-tariffs-1.7476498) Will they give him plans? I think so. Will the plans be so long-term as to have little meaning (even though he told them to shift production this month)? Do not know. But, politically, the plans are likely to help him in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/722 "2025-03-08T05:21:05Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Trump is now telling the automakers to produce a plan to [move production from Canada and Mexico to the U.S.](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/auto-sector-union-leaders-emergency-meeting-tariffs-1.7476498) Will they give him plans? I think so. Of course they will (give him “plans”, that is). Trump is a moron. The chief executives of the world’s largest automakers are not. And their companies will be around well into the foreseeable future. Trump will not. It’s not hard to discern the obvious strategy here. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/723 "2025-03-08T08:43:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s not hard to discern the obvious strategy here. How hard would it be to build a small shop where they can gather all the parts needed for a car, and then assemble it by hand? Build two cars the first month, then tout how the Donald J Trump Memorial Car Factory is already “producing new cars domestically”. Two cars so you can put the plural there without lying. Trump broadcasts this, without noticing that it’s only two cars, so he’s happy. At some point, he needs another boost, so you make four cars that month, and announce that the DJTMCF has doubled its monthly production since it opened. You could play this game for probably a year or two, in hopes that he eventually forgets about it. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/724 "2025-03-08T12:18:56Z")
> [@This\_Just\_In\_2](#): > > Most Canadian milk is not in bags - that is just some places out east. When I travelled out there myself I found I usually had options in how to buy it (i.e. bags or other containers). I’m not sure why you would believe this is true. It most assuredly is NOT. I live in south Western Ontario and buy milk in bags only! It’s available in bags in every store I visit. And has been for most all of my life, it’s hardly something new. It produces way less waste, and if you’re going through lots of milk it’s the way to go, 4litres in three bags. With a large family it’s much better to buy 4L at a time, instead of two litre cartons. It’s not hard to manage in any way whatsoever. The plastic jug holds the bag perfectly. We managed as kids to use them to pour milk for cereal without incident. It’s like anything else, works fine if you actually try it. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/725 "2025-03-08T14:15:34Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m not sure why you would believe this is true. It most assuredly is NOT. I live in south Western Ontario and buy milk in bags only! It’s available in bags in every store I visit. And has been for most all of my life, it’s hardly something new. Bags are regional, Ontario being one of the biggest. We buy our milk in bags, significantly cheaper, more convenient to pour, and less non-recyclable waste. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/726 "2025-03-08T15:01:00Z")
I do not have a _New York Times_ subscription, but a cousin on Facebook shared a post by someone who copied the article. Here’s a link to the NYT, for those of you who subscribe. Perhaps you could share a gift link. [How Trump’s ‘51st State’ Canada Talk Came to Be Seen as Deadly Serious](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/world/canada/trump-trudeau-canada-51st-state.html) Here’s a snippet: > The details of the conversations between the two leaders, and subsequent discussions among top U.S. and Canadian officials, have not been previously fully reported, and were shared with The New York Times on condition of anonymity by four people with firsthand knowledge of their content. They did not want to be publicly identified discussing a sensitive topic. > > On those calls, President Trump laid out a long list of grievances he had with the trade relationship between the two countries, including Canada’s protected dairy sector, the difficulty American banks face in doing business in Canada and Canadian consumption taxes that Mr. Trump deems unfair because they make American goods more expensive. > > He also brought up something much more fundamental. > > He told Mr. Trudeau that he did not believe that the treaty that demarcates the border between the two countries was valid and that he wants to revise the boundary. He offered no further explanation. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/727 "2025-03-08T16:21:51Z")
[Gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/world/canada/trump-trudeau-canada-51st-state.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2U4.oEcJ.lnQv_etcUaCV&smid=url-share) for the article above. Another quote - this is quite frankly terrifying if true. > Mr. Lutnick called Mr. LeBlanc after the leaders had spoken on Feb. 3, and issued a devastating message, according to several people familiar with the call: Mr. Trump, he said, had come to realize that the relationship between the United States and Canada was governed by a slew of agreements and treaties that were easy to abandon. > > Mr. Trump was interested in doing just that, Mr. Lutnick said. > > He wanted to eject Canada out of an intelligence-sharing group known as the Five Eyes that also includes Britain, Australia and New Zealand. > > He wanted to tear up the Great Lakes agreements and conventions between the two nations that lay out how they share and manage Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario. > > And he is also reviewing military cooperation between the two countries, particularly the North American Aerospace Defense Command. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/728 "2025-03-08T22:34:44Z")
> [@liirogue](#): > > And he is also reviewing military cooperation between the two countries, particularly the North American Aerospace Defense Command So, time to shut this down? > **[North Warning System](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Warning_System)** > > Download coordinates as: > The North Warning System (NWS, French: Système d'alerte du nord) is a joint United States and Canadian early-warning radar system for the atmospheric air defense of North America. It provides surveillance of airspace from potential incursions or attacks from across North America's polar region. It replaced the Distant Early Warning Line system in the late 1980s. > The NWS consists of both long range AN/FPS-117 and short range AN/FPS-124 surveillance radars, operated an... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/729 "2025-03-08T22:35:41Z")
That was a defence against the Soviets. Since Trump and Putin are best buddies, it’s not needed any more. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/730 "2025-03-08T22:40:33Z")
Sadly, that’s probably exactly how he would respond. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/731 "2025-03-08T23:47:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That was a defence against the Soviets. > > Since Trump and Putin are best buddies, it’s not needed any more. “First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you, but you have a nice ocean and don’t feel it now, but you will feel it in the future.” I suspect Zelenskyy’s caution will be prescient and damning in the view of history. Assuming, of course, that there is still anyone to write that text. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/732 "2025-03-09T00:52:06Z")
I think it would be just the excuse Trump would need to take Greenland ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/733 "2025-03-09T01:21:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I live in Birch Bay, WA, where many properties are owned by Canadians and Canadians like to visit for vacations. A Canadian news outlet, Global News, interviewed Americans in the Birch Bay area: > **[‘I hate these tariffs’: Washington state border residents react to Trump...](https://globalnews.ca/news/11070130/wa-state-border-town-residents-react-donald-trump-tariffs/)** > > Located just eight kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border, the city of 15,000 people has many cross-border businesses and cultural ties. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/734 "2025-03-09T01:29:36Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > A Canadian news outlet, Global News, interviewed Americans in the Birch Bay area: Thank you for that. Yahoos in Georgia or wherever, may have their opinions; but we actually _live_ here. We love our Canadian neighbours. (Aside: On my drive to Bellingham today, I saw a lot of Teslas with B.C. plates. Oops.) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/735 "2025-03-10T01:44:09Z")
Talked to my younger brother today (we’re both New Englanders). He and his wife have been going to the same place in Grand Manan for many years on summer vacation. The current political situation isn’t the whole reason but it’s part of why they won’t be going this year. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/736 "2025-03-10T05:55:32Z")
I’m expecting in the upcoming months or maybe even weeks, as it sinks in to trumps thick skull that this tariff BS isn’t doing what he wants that Canadians that own property in the us are expelled and their property seized by the us government. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/737 "2025-03-10T06:03:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (Aside: On my drive to Bellingham today, I saw a lot of Teslas with B.C. plates. Oops.) There’s an enormous number of Teslas in this immediate area. I’ll sometimes encounter half a dozen within a couple of blocks. Some of them may have been purchased after Elmo started making an ass of himself at Twitter, but I’d like to believe that none were purchased after Elmo became co-president of the US and went full-on Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/738 "2025-03-10T16:36:06Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > I’m expecting in the upcoming months or maybe even weeks, as it sinks in to trumps thick skull that this tariff BS isn’t doing what he wants that Canadians that own property in the us are expelled and their property seized by the us government. That’s why they’re now “registering” Canadians if they’re there longer than 30 days. Easier to arrest them. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/739 "2025-03-11T00:45:41Z")
Didn’t see this mentioned yet… on CNN right now (I know a few posters mentioned this should be a tactic before). > **[Ontario premier threatens to ‘shut off electricity completely’ for US if...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/10/business/canada-electricity-us-tariffs-doug-ford/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump may have delayed most – though not all – of the tariffs he had imposed on Canada and Mexico, but that hasn’t stopped America’s northern neighbors from responding forcefully in retaliation. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/740 "2025-03-11T19:22:53Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Didn’t see this mentioned yet… on CNN right now (I know a few posters mentioned this should be a tactic before). I was, for the first time in his entire political career, on Doug Ford’s side when he slapped the export tax on electricity. Though I was sad that it’s largely going to be affecting blue states. My feeling about shutting off electricity supplies entirely is basically in line with my philosophy of bullies, namely hit 'em back and harder. But I do concede that FFOTUS may actually get a groundswell of support from the American public if he declares that act one of aggression, justifying a military response. A good friend of mine has been posting today about how frightened she is that this one-upmanship can only end badly, with deaths on both sides. I think the chance is small but not insignificant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734.md?page=38)