A few weeks ago, I argued that the strongest political opposition to Donald Trump resided right here in Canada.
Turns out, that’s an increasingly dangerous place to be.
As the latest round of tariffs on our automotive sector prove, it’s an increasingly economically painful place to be.
And if Donald Trump’s musings over a third term are to be believed — and they should — that may be the case not just for four years, but for at least eight. A near decade more of economic coercion and geopolitical volatility.
So, the question is: what is Canada going to do about it? Not in rhetoric — we have more than enough of that already — but in substance.
Step One
This is a step we should not still need to take: abandon any illusions that guardrails exist to slow Trump down. No one is coming to curb his ambitions. No one is coming to our defence.
The Democratic Party? Forgive me if, like those progressive commentators, I’m not popping champagne because Democrats won a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Sen. Cory Booker attested for 25 hours straight, or the party gained a few points in a Florida special election. These are symptoms of survival — not signs of a strategic comeback.
Democrats are still in shell shock from November’s election, floundering without leadership and unable to prevent their nemesis steamrolling ahead with his agenda to upend not only the systems of American government but the global world order.
The media? I’ve never seen denialism so confidently expressed. Last week, opinion columnists tripped over themselves to explain that Trump’s talk of a third term was mere theatrics — a distraction from his policy vacuum, a way to shake the lame-duck label.
Perhaps. But this is also the same man who wore a mug shot like a campaign badge of honour. The Constitution has not constrained him before — why would it now?
The institutions of America? The pathetic lack of spine exemplified by top U.S. law firms — too afraid to stand up to Trump’s recent executive overreaches that compromise their independence — demonstrate that institutional courage is in short supply.
Lack of integrity
This abdication of integrity is especially worrying, as corporate America may now be the only element of American society that can act as a bulwark against Trump’s agenda; the other branches of the U.S. government clearly cannot. As markets tumble, a black swan economic event could finally compel corporate America to use its heft to reign in the President.
The rest of the world? To date, they’ve shown little interest in our economic vulnerability.
And now that they, themselves, are subject to punishing tariffs, it is clear this crisis is ours alone to solve.
That puts the spotlight squarely on our current federal election.
While tariffs dominate headlines and Poilievre and Carney spar over who’s better suited to shield Canadians from Trump’s wrath, we risk missing the forest for the trees — at the very moment the entire forest is on fire.
Earlier this week, Tonda MacCharles illustrated the difference between the two leading candidates on Canada-U.S. relations.
Carney’s rhetoric is aggressive. He’s declared the “old relationship” — rooted in tight economic integration and military co-operation — effectively dead. His focus has been on reaction and retaliation.
Poilievre, while more measured in tone, offers concrete policy. His promise to build a “national energy corridor” to bypass the U.S. and get Canadian oil to other markets has potential to be a surgical solution to our economic dependence.
In a few short weeks, Canadians will choose which approach they trust more.
Action required
But here’s the bottom line: rhetoric won’t protect us from Trump. Only action will. We need substance — substance that frees our economy to stand on its own two feet.
What we ought to do now is steal from our enemy. If not in ideology, then in execution. Trump doesn’t nibble at problems — he goes all in. Canada needs that same maximalist mindset.
We need an ambitious, all-hands-on-deck strategy to break our dependency on U.S. trade, diversify our partnerships, and rebuild economic resilience.
That is the best outcome this election could produce — not based on what happens in the campaign’s final days, but in the weeks and years that follow.
I hope whoever wins does so with a strong mandate. Because the real test for Canada’s next government won’t be winning the election, it will be executing a bold national agenda so we can survive what comes after.
This article first appeared in the Toronto Star on April 6, 2025.
