Canada

The shared U.S.-Canadian border has been a growing battleground in the midst of U.S. President Donald Trump’s border demands and tariff talks.

Recent data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have revealed a trend – based on weight, Canadian border agents have seized significantly more illicit drugs coming from the U.S. than those heading south.

In 2024, border agents intercepted almost 8.3 million grams of illegal drugs coming from the U.S. – a 118 per cent increase from 2022, according to the CBSA.

Canada’s premiers visited Washington this week to make the case for open trade, but influential figures in the president’s circle see tariffs as the path to prosperity.

Another week, and another round of tariff threats and annexation suggestions from President Trump.

It began with the announcement of a policy imposing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. In Canada’s case, those tariffs would be stacked on top of the previously introduced 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian exports, which are in a 30-day holding period. If Mr. Trump follows through on both, the rate on steel and aluminum will be a staggering 50 percent.

A Canadian truck driver has been sentenced to three years in an American prison after pleading guilty to using the refrigerated trailer of his semi-truck to smuggle people into the U.S. in exchange for money.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Husain Al Kawwaz after surveillance video appeared to show he let 10 Vietnamese citizens out of his trailer in Michigan after it left Windsor, Ont., and crossed the Ambassador Bridge around midnight on Aug. 7, 2024.

WASHINGTON — Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says it was “chilling” to hear a top White House adviser say U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about making Canada the 51st state.

All 13 premiers travelled to Washington this week for the first time in history for a joint mission to push back on Trump’s escalating tariff threats.

Speaking to CPAC Friday, Furey says he left the U.S. capital very aware that the president was launching an attack not just on Canada’s economy but on its sovereignty.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada is a “serious contender” to become America’s 51st state as he launched into a fresh round of digs aimed at outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

… Trump then floated the possibility that the U.S. could withhold military protection for Canada.

“They don’t have any military protection,” the president told reporters. “You take a look at what’s going on out there. You have Russian ships, you have China ships, you have Chinese ships. You have lot of ships out there. People are in danger. This is a different world today. It’s a different world, but they need our protection.”

President Donald Trump declares that the U.S. will no longer provide military protection unless Canada becomes the 51st state pic.twitter.com/1JLqT6mZl0

— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) February 14, 2025

In the words of former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz, Canada’s failure to remove interprovincial trade barriers is like “free money lying on the sidewalk but nobody will bend over and pick it up.”

OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly singled out Canada in announcing his plan to increase tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump reiterated that Canada would be better off as the 51st state, repeating the false claim that his country is paying “subsidies” to its northern neighbour, and called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “Governor Trudeau.”

Few topics in Canadian agriculture generate as much debate as supply management in the dairy sector. The issue gained renewed attention when former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Canada’s protectionist stance during NAFTA renegotiations, underscoring the need to reassess the system’s long-term viability.

There is an old saying in American politics: “If you want a friend in Washington, get yourself a dog.” Canada’s problem with U.S. President Donald Trump is clear: there isn’t a Canadian breed that would stay with him.

No one knows at this point whether or not Trump will go ahead with his punitive tariffs on Canada (and Mexico), thus risking a continent-wide trade war. But one thing is certain: Canada is no longer a special case in Washington, and the mutually beneficial relationship between Canada and the United States is almost dead.