Oh, Canada, you do know you’re taking advantage of the US, right?
Reflecting on the White House visit by newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada, I was struck by what President Trump had posted on Truth Social just prior to Carney’s arrival.
Trump posted, in part, “Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things? We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain. They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us!”
I have paid more attention over the years to the political system in Canada and its inner workings than any other foreign nation because I have long felt Canada to be my second home country. More than a century ago, my family emigrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia, and then down to Boston, the city of my birth. I have visited Canada dozens of times over the years. I have family across the nation, I have done its media often, and I truly love the people and the country.
Why? Because they are a very warm and giving people, from a nation that has been our best friend for decades.
But then came the “Age of Trump.” Suddenly, some people on the left and the far-left in Canada — including members of their media — simply lost their minds about Trump. Without getting into all the details, it is very fair to say that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is as real in Canada as it is in the U.S. I know because I came up close and personal with it back in September 2019.
Back then, I had authored a piece for the Toronto Star titled, “Hatred for Donald Trump clouds judgment of Canadians.” As an example of such hatred, I outlined how former Prime Minister Kim Campbell was seemingly openly hoping for a massive hurricane to hit Trump’s home in Florida. With the news that highly destructive hurricane Dorian was heading toward Florida, Campbell tweeted out at the time, “I’m rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Largo!”
Although she later deleted the tweet and called it “sarcasm,” this was the former leader of all Canada who, in order to hurt Trump, seemed to have no problem wishing harm upon millions of Floridians and tourists from a killer storm. Trump Derangement Syndrome, anyone?
Unfortunately, the Trump Derangement Syndrome did not end there. I was later told by an editor at the Star that the site paid a severe price for running my column. The outrage from the left in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada was instantaneous and quite vicious. For far too many on the left, only one point of view can be accepted or sanctioned when it comes to Trump: hatred. Sanity and rational discussion will not be tolerated.
Speaking of “rational discussion,” let’s go back to the post from Trump. Now, leaving aside the irrefutable fact that Trump is the most successful businessman ever to occupy the Oval Office and knows what he is talking about with regard to America subsidizing Canada to the tune of billions per year, let’s focus on something else he mentioned — the “FREE Military Protection” the U.S has been granting Canada for decades. What is the collective value of that, prorated over those decades? Surely it's more than $1 trillion.
Some on the left and in Canada may protest that this is all just “hyperbole” from the president, but it is not. It is actually a cold, hard fact — but again, admitting Trump can be correct about anything is nearly impossible for some.
Knowing that, let’s go to a media source in Canada itself — the CBC. In a piece posted on YouTube by the CBC titled “Is Trump right about Canada being a “military free-rider?” with over 2.5 million views as of this writing, we find out that Canada’s failure to pay its fair share is much worse than most know.
Not only has the Canadian government purposely shorting America over the years — while living under the umbrella of U.S. military protection — but it has also been shorting NATO. Again, all this was spelled out in a major Canadian media outlet.
Like him or not, hate him or not, Trump is correct about Canada taking advantage of our friendship and generosity. Again, that is simply a fact.
But, as Trump just showed this week with his historic trade deal with the United Kingdom, circumstances can flip in a hurry. Canada has long been America’s best friend in so many ways, and with Trump in the Oval Office making one deal after the other, it may soon be our best and fairest trading partner as well.
Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official.