I am absolutely incensed by Donald Trump’s behaviour toward Canada — and especially toward our Prime Minister, Mark Carney. His rhetoric about Canada becoming the “51st state,” his attempts to dictate which countries we may trade with, and his insistence that we weaken or change our French‑language protections are not just disrespectful. They strike at the core of who we are as a country. Canada is not an accessory to American politics. We are a sovereign nation with our own values, our own priorities, and our own cultural foundations — including the French language, which is not negotiable. When Trump dismisses that, he dismisses the identity of millions of Canadians.
Trade relationships should be built on mutual respect, not coercion. And diplomacy should be grounded in understanding, not belittling. When Trump talks down to Canada or tries to strong‑arm us into reshaping our culture or our global partnerships, he reveals how little he understands about the strength and dignity of this country.
Mark Carney has been clear: Canada will not be pushed around. And Canadians like me stand firmly behind that. We are proud of our independence, proud of our bilingual heritage, and proud of a Prime Minister who refuses to let anyone — including a U.S. president — tell us who we are allowed to be.
The sheer number of lies from President Trump about Canada – growing again today – is remarkable. Just some fact checks from the last 18 months:
- Trump falsely said today that Canada's unemployment rate is "10% and rapidly rising,” though it is 6.4% (under the Canadian method that adds about a percentage point) and has been declining for three months
- Trump falsely said today that Canada does 95% of its business with the US, though 72% of Canadian exports went to the US last year
- Trump falsely said today that high Canadian agricultural tariffs have caused the entire US trade deficit with Canada, though that deficit is overwhelmingly caused by US imports of cheap Canadian crude and though something like 97% of US ag exports to Canada are tariff-free
- Trump has falsely said Canada generally doesn’t “take” US agricultural exports, though Canada is the world’s second-biggest buyer of those exports
- Trump has falsely said the Canadian public likes the idea of becoming the 51st state, which the Canadian public overwhelmingly opposes
- Trump has falsely said Canada is one of the world’s highest-tariff countries, though it is actually low in WTO global rankings
- Trump has falsely said Canada essentially doesn't have a military, though its military has fought with the US in multiple wars and its force size ranks in the upper half of NATO
- Trump has falsely said Canada hiked its dairy tariffs during the Biden administration, though they hadn’t changed since Trump’s first presidency
- Trump has falsely said the US trade deficit with Canada is “$200 billion,” though it is nowhere close
- Trump has falsely said Canada prohibits US banks, though it doesn't and though more than a dozen US banks were operating in Canada at the time he spoke
- Trump has falsely said Canada is “constantly surrounded” by Chinese and Russian ships, though that is fiction
- Trump has falsely said then-outgoing PM Trudeau was using their trade battle to run again for prime minister, though Trudeau obviously wasn’t running
