Dear Editor,
Prime Minister Carney is visiting the American president this week, trying to get an economic deal done with this temperamental personality. Trump has raised
tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum and lumber and wants to dismantle the quota system used in Canada by farmers in their dairy production.
Much has been said about the acuity of many Americans voting for such an arrogant huckster as this American president. It is well to remember that not a day goes by that Trump doesn’t grab the media attention with outlandish claims and pronouncements. He intrudes on our attention span, something we’d rather do without. A hardcore MAGA crowd still supports this man. A small minority of Canadians think Trump is great.
Recent polls reveal the majority of Canadians want to be allies with the U.S., a country we have been friends with for more than a century. But the same polls show that Canadians view Trump and the U.S. in historic lows, as more of a threat to Canada than China.
Clearly Canadians see Trump as an incompetent bullying showman ruling the country as a con artist as he proceeds to destroy alliances, the security of nations and friendships. This was a man who was supposed to instantly drop the cost of living for Americans, and bring peace to the world. Instead he is bent on revenge, targeting political foes, pursues migrants without allowing them due process, pardons convicted felons, and wants to have all media idolize him. Confidence in him as an economic manager is slim to zero. One thing he has accomplished, though, is to enrich himself by billions during this second term in office. It is not likely that Americans will learn this.
His talk about annexing Canada and making it the fifty-first state is resisted by Canadians who cherish their values over the gun-loving culture of the Americans. MAGA spokespeople have made it clear they encourage Church-sponsored government.
A majority of Canadians perceive the U.S. to be a threat to Canadian stability, to the Canadian economy and to Canadian values. The Canadians I know value respect for cultural diversity, human rights, gender equality, peace, kindness, and a commitment to social justice. Further values include progressive taxation and the rights of women to control their own bodies. Canadians abhor the treatment suffered by its Indigenous peoples.
It is important to keep those Canadian values in mind as there are those who would rather Canada take the lead from the current U.S. administration, which is gun-crazy, intolerant, disrespectful of the rights of women, racist, and diametrically opposed to the people-centred policies Canada has worked hard to achieve.
The stakes are high for Canada and the economic future of our country.
Carl Hager, Gatineau
