Justin Trudeau convenes his cabinet in Montreal for three days to resume parliamentary business after the winter break. On the agenda: Start preparing Canada for Trump's return to power, which looks increasingly likely.
Trudeau had a massive relationship with Trump during his first term. He recently told the Montreal Chamber of Commerce that a return to the White House would be a “backward step” for Canada and “won't be easy.”
Trump-Trudeau relations soured at the G7 summit in Charlevoix in 2018, when Trump blamed Trudeau for the summit's failure before accusing him of being weak and dishonest.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has warned that Canadian officials can expect even more strained relations with Trump if he returns to power. He is CTV The former president is “very jealous of Justin Trudeau”. It bothers him that Trudeau is “younger than him and much better looking.”
Most analysts — myself included — think the second Trumpian order will be the first and worst for Canada. Canadians as a whole distrust Trump.
One-third of Canada for Trump
According to a recent Angus Reid poll, approx Two-thirds of Canadians think American democracy won't last 4 more years with Trump in White House. Half of respondents say our southern neighbor is becoming an authoritarian state.
While 67% of Canadians support Biden, 33% of them support Trump, which is painful and worrying. Justin Trudeau's approval rating is higher at 31%.
What to do against Trump?
Will Canada Prepare to Face the New Trump Administration? “No,” said Professor Thomas Juno, an expert in international relations at the University of Ottawa. “No one can be prepared because it will be very unpredictable. »
Among Trump's favorite targets will be the difficulty of defending ourselves, citing the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, whose renewal is scheduled for July 2026. Canada is particularly vulnerable to any U.S. protectionist turn, as three-quarters of its exports of goods and services go to the United States.
Trump's return means pressure to increase our defense spending, especially in the United States. We participate with the US in NORAD (North American Air Defense) and the global electronic intelligence network “Five Eyes”. As for NATO, it's not clear Trump wants to stay there.
Trudeau and Trump disagree completely on environmental issues. Liberals have made the fight against climate change a priority. Trudeau speaks of the “wasted four years” of the Trump administration, which refuses to even acknowledge that global warming threatens the Earth.
Trudeau compared Trump's candidacy for the presidency of the United States to the rise of Pierre Boillivre in Canada. However, the conservative leader is “to the left” of Trump on many issues and is clearly more coherent than the uneducated American egocentric megalomaniac.
