Taking Trump for the threat he is

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/02/2025 (193 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s safe to say a large percentage of Canadians have had it up to here with Donald Trump.

The combative and truth-averse U.S. president has been going out of his way, since returning to the Oval Office last month for a second non-consecutive term as commander in chief, to make it known that under his watch, the United States is not and will not be a friend to Canada.

Devastating tariffs have been threatened, then paused, then confirmed as coming into effect on March 4. And while laying the groundwork for an all-out trade war with Canada (and Mexico, and the European Union, and so on), Trump has also continued to inflame any reference he makes to this country by suggesting it would be better off surrendering its sovereignty and becoming the 51st U.S. state.

It’s annoying. It’s frustrating. It’s perplexing. It’s exhausting.

But in times such as these, it’s important for Canadians to understand that being annoyed isn’t enough. In the current moment, in which America seems intent on shifting its role in the international community from one of reliable protector and defender of democracy to something more fairly described as erratic isolationist and ardent admirer of despots, it’s more important than ever to have a clear commitment to preparing for, and defending against, the looming peril.

In a clear-eyed and experience-informed perspective that appeared in the Globe and Mail (In facing an imperialist neighbour, Ukraine offers a cautionary tale for Canada, Feb. 19), former Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy lays out the dangers inherent in the rapid unravelling of the Canada-U.S. relationship.

He rightly notes that Trump’s relentless disparaging of Canada cannot be viewed as mere schoolyard-bully blather; rather, he writes, “Donald Trump wants Canada — not for our social-safety net, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or our history of cultural tolerance, but for our resources: our minerals, water, oil and Arctic region.”

And while taunts and tariffs are front-of-mind concerns, Axworthy warns we must prepare ourselves for a more subtle and sinister danger: that Trump, aided by inappropriately empowered tech-bro billionaire Elon Musk, will seek to undermine Canadian democracy by interfering in our elections.

“Compared to what these two could unleash, past Russian and Chinese meddling might seem amateurish, just softening us up for the kill,” he writes.

The former foreign-affairs minister, who was enlisted in 2019 to lead Canada’s observer mission for Ukraine’s presidential mission, offers a harrowing comparison between how the Putin regime actively interfered in Ukraine’s election, with annexation clearly in mind, and Trump’s current pugnacious posturing toward Canada — which, suggests Axworthy, portends a broader and more nefarious agenda.

“Ukraine’s struggle shows the dangers of underestimating authoritarian threats,” he writes, adding it’s imperative for Canadians to move past partisan divides and individual pursuits of power, and to unite as never before to confront this immediate and very real threat to Canada’s continuing nationhood.

Bold action must be taken, with all due haste, to coalesce public engagement, to dismantle internal trade barriers and diversify global partnerships “with allies who recognize the danger of Mr. Trump’s autocratic vision,” and to lessen Canada’s dependence on all things American.

These are serious times, and the moment has long since passed when Trump’s rapid tilt toward authoritarianism could be viewed as the irksome ranting of an erstwhile reality-TV star whose sole stock in trade is insults and untruths.

As Axworthy astutely concludes, “Ukraine’s experience is not just a lesson in defiance — it’s a cautionary tale. Canada must act now, while we still have the power to shape our own future.’