One early December morning in 2016, Joe Biden got up, inquired into President Barack Obama’s health, and set off for a snowy Ottawa.
The lame duck vice-president was feted at a ritzy state dinner in the capital, where he called on Justin Trudeau to be a defender of the international “rules of the road” during the period of deep uncertainty he predicted would follow Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States.
There may be less drama in this relationship since Mr Biden took office but it hasn’t been smooth sailing and there are rough seas on the horizon.
One observer has said what was once a strategic partnership has become a “largely transactional” relationship.
A big bone of contention is Mr Biden’s embrace of “Buy American” which has become central to his trade agenda.
Critics argue such protectionist policies would increase the costs of goods to consumers and potentially shut out Canadian companies from lucrative US contracts. Alarm bells are ringing “a little louder right now for me”, Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, told the BBC.
I don’t think Biden is driving the electric bus on trade issues, likely not on any issue for that matter. His handlers are and they need to please Big Labour.
According to state institutions, Canada’s inflation rate is 4.7%. Many doubt that number, as the rise in prices appears to be much higher, and it is well-known that statist politicians have a clear interest in downplaying inflation and keeping the reported number as low as possible.
Whatever the true rate is, it is clear that prices are rising quite rapidly.
However, even that is a bit of a misnomer.
It’s not really that ‘prices’ are going up, rather the value of our money is going down.
For one of the only times since the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1885, every single Canadian land route to the Pacific has been cut. Extreme rains brought a series of devastating floods and landslides that have severed the Trans Canada Highway, the Coquihalla Highway and both major rail lines over the Rocky Mountains. Unstable conditions have also forced the closure of the Trans Mountain pipeline and critical gas pipelines serving the City of Vancouver.
… The prime minister argued that the tax credit plan flies in the face of decades of continental integration of the auto sector, from the signing of the 1965 Auto Pact to the new North American trade deal.
“We are a little bit concerned about the zero-emission vehicle mandates, or rebates,” Trudeau said at the event, moderated by former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson.
“[That] could have a real negative impact.”
If that doesn’t ensure the bill’s passage nothing will.
On top of this, the Parliamentary Press Gallery has made no attempt to fight this ruling. The secretary of the Press Gallery said that “we’re not the ones making it impossible.”
h/t Marvin
It’s inevitable that when a Canadian prime minister visits Washington, the trip to the White House generates the most attention — a reality of cross-border politics as enduring as the recycling of quotes from JFK and old jokes about mice sleeping with elephants.
That tradition continues this week, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Washington for a two-day visit culminating in meetings Thursday with the presidents of the United States and Mexico.
But this time, one of the most important stories in continental relations might be unfolding elsewhere, a day early, a dozen blocks east of the White House.
Trudeau’s electric car dreams may go up in smoke. I doubt he cares that Line 5 may be shut down.
On October 20, 2021, Senator Matthew Canavan observed that despite Trudeau’s net-zero approach, Canada’s emissions have gone up while he was in power.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is expected to give the government’s first major statement on taxes and spending since Trudeau’s Liberal Party won re-election on Sept. 20, including tens of billions in new spending. She should refrain from adding that stimulus to an already hot inflationary environment, Scotiabank’s Rebekah Young said Monday.
Economic freedom is on the decline across Canada, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.
The fiscally-conservative think tank said that based on the latest available data from 2019 — the year before the COVID-19 global pandemic hit — all 10 Canadian provinces were far down the list of economic freedom when compared with 51 U.S. and 31 Mexican states.
Enbridge’s pipeline supplies Eastern Canada with much of its energy supply
With climate pledges and inflation running high on both sides of the border, a recent report made some waves by indicating that the Biden administration was evaluating the impacts of shutting down a major Canadian pipeline passing through the U.S. state of Michigan.
Politico reported in early November that the White House was doing a “deep data dive” to evaluate the impacts on fuel prices in Michigan and surrounding areas if Enbridge’s Line 5 were to be shut down.
It’s the prime minister’s first visit to Washington since Biden was sworn in 10 months ago — a short stretch of time that has left Canada with hard feelings.
Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada, says the end of the Donald Trump era may have lulled the federal government into a false sense of security.
A week ago, Beijing was telling Canada not to sail through the Taiwan Strait anymore (even though it’s international waters). Now, the People’s Republic of China even has a problem with the idea of Vancouver selecting a Taiwanese municipality as one of its sister cities. In a sternly worded Tuesday statement, the PRC’s Vancouver consulate said it will “firmly oppose any official tie” between Vancouver and Kaohsiung, a Taiwanese port city of roughly equivalent population . “There is only one China in the world,” it read , adding, “We hope that the government of Vancouver city will handle Taiwan-related issues prudently and properly.”
h/t Marvin
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly made the trip the American capital Friday to press issues surrounding protectionist measures being pushed by the Biden administration.
