Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will gather his cabinet in Banff, Alberta, today to consider whether Canada should continue to respond to Trump’s trade war and Canada’s former retaliation for his tariffs against Canada with more tariffs against U.S. goods.
The answer is yes.
On Tuesday, Canada retaliated against 50 percent American tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods with 15, 25 and 50 percent tariffs, depending on the product. Trump responded that evening by adding more products to his 50 percent tariff list and banning the imports of several Canadian goods outright, including beer, wine and liquor.
I obviously cannot tell Carney or Canada what to do. But I can say that, based on my experience, the only way to stop bullies is to hit them back. And the only way to deal with Trump is to make it impossible for him to bully worse. Otherwise, he will continue to bully.
Most Canadians appear to feel the same way. Polls released in recent days show unusually widespread support across Canada’s fractious regions to fight back. Many Canadians want the Canadian government to go further, with measures like an export tax on electricity.
Carney is a former central banker with a doctorate in economics, but this is not an economic issue. It is a matter of political bullying.
To our friends in Canada, I say: We here in the United States are embarrassed and outraged by the ignorant ego maniac now occupying the White House. Most of us do not support him. Many of us have tried — and will continue — to fight back against his war against Iran, which the United States is losing; his war against immigrants in our communities, many of whom are terrified; and his extraordinarily stupid tariffs.
I’m sure I speak for many here in the United States when I say that whatever you do we will be your friends and allies, but that we hope you continue to fight Trump. The more of us — here in the U.S. and around the world — who take him on, the more likely it is that his bullying will stop.
We are now in the final weeks of a midterm election where control of Congress is at stake. You should know that we’re doing everything we can to take back Congress, so we can limit his ignorant megalomania.
Our best wishes to our Canadian neighbors, friends, and allies.
- Robert Reich is an emeritus professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/. His new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org
