USA

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.

Canada’s digital services tax is in Donald Trump’s crosshairs.

The U.S. president signed a presidential memorandum Thursday afternoon calling for a “fair and reciprocal” trading plan, and one of his targets is Canada’s digital services tax.

“Though America has no such thing, and only America should be allowed to tax American firms, trading partners hand American companies a bill for something called a digital service tax,” a White House fact sheet on Trump’s memorandum said, adding that France and Canada collect $500 million (U.S.) a year in DST from American firms. The memo gives U.S. trade officials 180 days to study trade and come up with a plan for reciprocal tariffs.

OTTAWA — A former top intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he fears the U.S. might put intelligence sharing on the table in talks about the state of Canada’s defence spending.

Vincent Rigby said he worries about intelligence being used as a negotiating tool as the Donald Trump White house seeks to extract gains from Canada.

“We hear so much about defense spending and two per cent, and what the U.S. may or may not do if we don’t step up to plate,” Rigby told a crowd at a Canada Global Affairs Institute conference Wednesday afternoon. “I’m afraid at one point, intelligence is going to be used as a negotiating tool.”

Canada is likely regarded as too compromised by foreign powers to be trusted.