# 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:** 42
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/821 "2025-03-14T22:38:33Z")
As far as I know, Trump hasn’t had anyone killed. His actions have resulted in deaths, but that’s not the same thing from the perspective of his psychology. I worry a lot about how he’d respond to the power of having an enemy killed. I suspect it hasn’t quite occurred to him yet, but once he discovers it… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/822 "2025-03-14T22:59:42Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > If Trump were smarter, which he isn’t, I would ironically expect an all-out attack before I’d expect a piecemeal attack. If you even do a tiny attack you will instantaneously burn what little remains of your international goodwill and cooperation, so you may as well go big. Also, it’s simply better strategy when your target is much weaker, with little defensive depth and unprepared. Come in with overwhelming force in a blitzkrieg, and you’re in control before they or anyone else can _do_ much about it. But as you say Trump’s a fool and a lunatic so who the hell knows. I could certainly see him buying his own rhetoric that Canadians want to be part of the US and he can get the government to submit with just a little bombing. Or starting out by just grabbing parts of Canada he personally wants for himself. Or even going the opposite direction and nuking Toronto as a flex. With a lunatic anything is possible. ---
**Author:** ![LUNAROXAS](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lunaroxas/32/18718_2.png) [@LUNAROXAS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LUNAROXAS)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/823 "2025-03-15T00:22:19Z")
I was speaking more about the political justification for those powers rather than the nonexistent logistics of declaring an emergency. He needs at least a _pretext_. Why wouldn’t you corral public support by crashing the consumer economy and declaring a national emergency to expand your base set of powers to “fix” the economy and be the hero? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/824 "2025-03-15T00:31:28Z")
> [@LUNAROXAS](#): > > He needs at least a _pretext_. Does he? He thinks he’s God-King; “I wanna” is the only justification he needs to do something. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/825 "2025-03-15T00:36:23Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > As far as I know, Trump hasn’t had anyone killed. February 1, 2025: [Trump says he ordered precision military air strikes on ISIS leaders in Somalia](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-air-strikes-isis-leaders-in-somalia/#) > [@](#): > > The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Putting aside the likelihood of air strikes without killing civilians, Trump would probably consider Carney the sort of civilian who should be allowed to flee. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/826 "2025-03-15T00:36:58Z")
> [@LUNAROXAS](#): > > He needs at least a _pretext_. They are starting the lie that Mexican cartels control Canada. > **[Trump’s Criminal Trade Adviser Makes Wild New Claim About Canada](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-criminal-trade-adviser-makes-114751132.html)** > > Peter Navarro made the bold comments while discussing the trade war triggered by his boss. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/827 "2025-03-15T00:55:05Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > [ > Trump seems hyperfocused on projecting power in the arctic, so what’s to stop him from seizing control of Canada’s northernmost islands and coastal territories? This stuff is basically impossible to predict. But one possibility is that U.S. cold-weather trained and equipped forces may all be busy in Greenland. Plus, if the pretext remains (see last post) narcotics, an attack on Baffin Island is a bit hard to justify. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/828 "2025-03-15T01:26:36Z")
> [@LUNAROXAS](#): > > I was speaking more about the political justification for those powers rather than the nonexistent logistics of declaring an emergency. He needs at least a _pretext_. That’s what I mean - the pre-existing emergency declarations ARE the pretext . All that nonsense about controlling fentanyl, for example. To be sure, these are flimsy and transparent pretexts to all but the easily gulled. But they already do exist. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/829 "2025-03-15T01:34:15Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > > [@LUNAROXAS](#): > > > > He needs at least a _pretext_. > > They are starting the lie that Mexican cartels control Canada. > > [https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-criminal-trade-adviser-makes-114751132.html](https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-criminal-trade-adviser-makes-114751132.html) wait! Am I really the only one to see a potential “2-for-1” opportunity here? … first go for them in .ca and once that is more or less sorted, you need OF COURSE go to the source of the problem ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/830 "2025-03-15T03:16:43Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > No thank you, we’re good. > [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/quality-of-life](https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/rankings/quality-of-life) Quantitative vs Qualitative measures. Your report was based on a survey. The reality is that Canadians are poorer than Americans. Americans also have 26% higher purchasing power for the money they have. So, the average American is better off than the average Canadian. If that is what you’d kill people to try to maintain, then, well I don’t know what to say. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/831 "2025-03-15T03:29:04Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > the average American is better off than the average Canadian Mean or median? ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/832 "2025-03-15T03:56:27Z")
The US sucks when it comes to distribution of that income. It’s GENIE score is almost third world. > According to the Census Bureau, income inequality reached then record levels in 2018, with a Gini of **0.485** , Since then the Census Bureau have given values of **0.488 in 2020 and 0.494 in 2021** , per pre-tax money income. > |Chile|\*\*0.460|\*\*2017| > > |Costa Rica| **0.487** |2021| Canada **0.280** **2020** I know where I prefer to live. “a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members” is often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, and it suggests a society’s moral compass is revealed by how it cares for the most vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/833 "2025-03-15T05:08:54Z")
“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” Elon Musk How can you even debate his followers when this is their belief system. Christians indeed. ---
**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 15, 2025, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/834 "2025-03-15T05:38:02Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > So, the average American is better off than the average Canadian. Classic! If you’re familiar with such beloved works on statistical theory as “How to Lie With Statistics”, you would know that the concept of “average” figures prominently. Add to that the vague and undefined concept of “better off”, and you have the perfect mix of foggy woo. In a recent poll, 90% of Canadians were firmly opposed to becoming part of the US, and most of the pro-America crowd were in traditionally ultra-conservative Alberta. And it’s not because 90% of Canadians don’t understand the practical realities. It’s because we do. It’s because we’d rather have guaranteed access to health care than the guaranteed right to be shot, because we prefer a peaceful, just, and egalatarian society to social instability, racial conflict, and widespread poverty. > [@MacDoc](#): > > The US sucks when it comes to distribution of that income. It’s GENIE score is almost third world. Exactly. Nitpick: it’s Gini, not Genie. A measure of income inequality named for Italian statistician Corrado Gini. And the US truly sucks. It’s partly because the “average” high wealth is hugely distorted by the infamous 1% super-rich, the ones always getting all the tax breaks. It’s also true that there’s a very comfortable upper middle class, too, but the obsession with the Almighty Dollar comes at a huge social cost, and far from reflecting quality of life and happiness, it’s almost inversely proportional to it. American workers, for instance, have some of the shortest vacation times and work stresses of any workers anywhere in the free world. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/835 "2025-03-15T05:55:12Z")
Yeah. I’ve heard the EPA bragging (Biggest Day of Deregulation Ever!) that they are getting rid of lots of those pesky environmental laws that keep the air and water clean. I remember when I was young, watching the nightly news in disbelief when American rivers were catching fire. Maybe Americans have a little more money. You can’t breathe money, and you can’t eat it. I will never cease to be amazed by the attitudes of some wealthy Americans towards public health. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/836 "2025-03-15T06:02:10Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > As far as I know, Trump hasn’t had anyone killed. [Assassination of Qasem Soleimani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Qasem_Soleimani) > On 3 January 2020, [Qasem Soleimani](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasem_Soleimani), an Iranian [major general](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_general), was [killed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targeted_killing) by an American [drone strike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_strike) ordered by U.S. president [Donald Trump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump)[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Qasem_Soleimani#cite_note-3) near the [Baghdad International Airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_International_Airport) in Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi prime minister [Adil Abdul-Mahdi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adil_Abdul-Mahdi). And during his last Presidency he wanted protestors shot, but was just barely talked down from it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/837 "2025-03-15T06:03:12Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I’ve heard the EPA bragging (Biggest Day of Deregulation Ever!) that they are getting rid of lots of those pesky environmental laws that keep the air and water clean. I remember when I was young, watching the nightly news in disbelief when American rivers were catching fire. > > Maybe Americans have a little more money. You can’t breathe money, and you can’t eat it. I will never cease to be amazed by the attitudes of some wealthy Americans towards public health. It has long been a given for the GOP that “government regulations are _ **bad** _, and unfettered businesses are the American ideal.” Sadly, it always comes to pass that when regulations get repealed, suddenly-unregulated companies will take actions that hurt, injure, kill, and take the money from ordinary people. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/838 "2025-03-15T06:03:29Z")
One of the reasons Canada is preferable is that we still remember the value in things other than dollars. Income alone tells part of the story. Services, that we buy with taxes, and art, which we subsidize with taxes, take dollars from our pockets and improve our lives. You should try it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/839 "2025-03-15T06:05:11Z")
I’m not shocked to be wrong here. I’m braced for violence to come, though I hope it doesn’t. ---
**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 15, 2025, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734/840 "2025-03-15T06:14:25Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And during his last Presidency he wanted protestors shot, but was just barely talked down from it. Hey, hey, be fair now! I think he wanted them shot _in the legs_, although maybe that was asylum seekers he wanted to shoot that way. It’s hard to keep track who Trump wants shot and whether he wants them shot dead or just maimed. In any case, his current stance is that protests on university campuses are, by definition, now “illegal” (because the Orange Peril says so, never mind the First Amendment – see lunatic Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity). The remedy for these “illegal” protests is, if a protester is a native-born American citizen, arrest them and expel them from the university; if the protester is anything other than a native-born citizen, take them to ~~concentration camps~~ detention centers and deport them to the nearest convenient hell-hole. Yes, this is the country I want to live in. How soon can we join up? I can’t wait to have my health care cancelled and have the chance to buy a bunch of guns without any pesky questions about why I want them, while all my neighbours do the same! What could possibly go wrong? 🙄 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-united-states-declares-economic-war-on-canada/1013734.md?page=43)