Can Canada and the US Still Row Together?

There are contentious issues between the countries. Potentially one of the biggest? The United States disputes Canada’s sovereign claim to the Northwest Passage. Canada insists that the United States seek its permission to navigate its northern territorial waters and abide by Canadian laws.

In a move that some observers see as ominous, the United States has just concluded a $6.8-billion deal with Finland to build 11 icebreakers.

And then there was Trump’s deplorable stance on the Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor. Trump not only refused to defray some of the multibillion-dollar costs of building it, as laid out in the original contract, but had the gall to demand a share of the tolls.

Add Trump’s hypocritical cold shoulder to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA. That free-trade deal is up for renewal, and Trump now says he would rather not have any deal.

Strange. Trump is the president who signed the CUSMA binding treaty in 2020, calling it “the fairest, most balanced and beneficial trade agreement in the history of our country.”

Not surprisingly, polling reflects the striking antipathy Canadians feel towards Trump. His favourability rating here is about 15 per cent. Four out of five Canadians say they have no faith in the United States under Trump.

We were not simply “decaffeinated Americans.” We were people with deep affection for our continental cousins and a profound sense of our own, very different identity.