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O Canada! Trump's self-inflicted trade war disaster. Check out this. [1]

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Date: 2025-06-07

Dean Blundell, writing on Substack, reports that Trump is desperately looking to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to bail him out from his disastrous trade war. It’s not happening.

..Trump’s illegal, punitive tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum were supposed to bring Canada to heel. Instead, they’ve triggered a full-scale economic counteroffensive led by the world’s most terrifying combatant: a calm, credentialed technocrat who doesn’t care if Trump screams on Truth Social. Since March, Trump has doubled down, hiking tariffs to 50% on Canadian steel and aluminum—an economic escalation so reckless that even his own ambassador, off the record, admitted it’s a “mess.” Exports between the two countries have cratered. American companies are bleeding. Canadian politicians across the spectrum—from Mark Carney to Doug Ford—are spoiling for a fight. And now Trump’s White House is quietly texting Canada’s Prime Minister, trying to ease the pain.

Carney is not just fighting back, he’s doing it in a way that is targeted to inflict political pain:

..Canada’s retaliatory tariffs have now targeted more than $95 billion worth of U.S. imports. That’s not just economic strategy—it’s political warfare. Think Florida orange juice, Kentucky bourbon, Midwest auto parts. Think Trump Country. The message? Canada isn’t just hitting back—it’s hitting where it hurts.

Canadians are on board with this, actively avoiding America and American products. Canada is moving away from trading with America to engage with other countries, who do not have criminally insane leaders.

I’m currently in the Adirondacks — the local tourism industry is worried about a summer when no visitors come in from Canada. Border crossings are down. (They’re also concerned because Trump’s war on people from other countries means they are having trouble hiring the foreign workers they need.) The idea that hurting Canada’s economy will keep Canadians from having the money to travel may be a factor, but it looks like Carney is minimizing the damage while America is feeling the pain.

Per Blundell:

While Trump shouts “MAGA,” Carney is making money. The Canadian government has raked in $1.7 billion in tariff revenues since the trade war began. That money is being pumped straight back into the industries Trump tried to gut—steel, aluminum, auto—and into transitioning away from U.S. supply chains altogether.

In January, Homeland Security head and puppy killer Kristi Noem visited a library famous for straddling the border. Citizens of both countries have enjoyed using the library without incident for decades, which has a line on the floor marking the border. Noem showed up claiming numerous bogus security concerns.

..The crackdown at the library and opera house followed a visit in January by Kristi Noem, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. The U.S. authorities had been pressing to restrict access to the Haskell in recent years, even suggesting that Canadians and Americans take turns visiting it, library officials said. Inside the library, Ms. Noem and her entourage stood on the south side of the black tape while facing the library staff on the other side. U.S. officials described illicit cross-border episodes involving the library, while library officials argued that they had beefed up security. All of a sudden, Ms. Noem stepped over the tape and back a couple of times, saying, “51st state, U.S.,” as her entourage giggled, said library officials, who were left speechless.

Is it any wonder Canadians are angry?

Blundell reports Trump is now texting Carney directly, desperate to come to some kind of face-saving deal. Carney is offering him… nothing. Trump is feeling pressure over the upcoming G7 Summit coming up in Alberta, where he needs to have something to show for his all of his tough talk.

Carney isn’t looking for unity. He’s looking for results. And if Trump wants his gold-star summit moment, he’s going to have to pay for it—with concessions, with apologies, and with the kind of deal that only benefits Canada.

Bad news for Trump is good news for America. (Didn’t Donald tell us we’ll have to feel some pain, but then things will be so much better?) Carney is showing the rest of the world how to deal with Trump. It’s a beauty way to go.

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