Marko Papic on how Canadians are reacting to Trump's trade war

I want you to pay attention to this giant Canadian flag behind me on the BC legislative building in Victoria, British Columbia, the capitol of the province.  It's indicative of the kind of nationalism that's sprung up, not just in Canada, but in other places as well in the world as a reaction to the realization that the Trump administration is no longer representing this magnanimous American one can rely on.  Rather, most of these countries have to do some painful structural reforms.

What that means for Canada in particular is the upcoming legislative bill called The One Canadian Economy Bill, which, for the first time in Canadian history, is going to bring down trade barriers between provinces and spur more... left-right trade rather than north-south, which Canada has been doing for most of its existence, effectively depending on American demand. 

~ Marko Papic, Twitter/X post, July 25, 2025

 

WSJ editorial board on Trump's trade war with Canada

The U.S. sources about two-thirds of its primary aluminum and 60% of scrap aluminum imports from Canada. Both are used by secondary U.S. aluminum manufacturers and fabricators, which oppose Mr. Trump’s tariffs.  They have a hard enough time competing against lower-cost producers in China and Turkey. 

Canada makes up a smaller share of U.S. steel consumption (about 6%).  But Mr. Trump’s tariffs will still raise costs for steel users that depend on Canadian supplies.  Hot-rolled coil steel prices are up a third since Mr. Trump took office because U.S. manufacturers like Cleveland-Cliffs and Nucor have raised prices in anticipation of tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said over the weekend that the President’s tariffs would make some foreign products more expensive but “American products will get cheaper.”  Huh?  Companies that use foreign components will have to raise prices or swallow narrower profit margins.  Does Mr. Lutnick understand, well, commerce? 

Domestic manufacturers that compete with foreign goods will raise their prices to take advantage of the protectionism to increase their margins.  A study in the American Economic Review found that consumers paid $817,000 for each new manufacturing job created by Mr. Trump’s washing machine tariffs in his first term. 

And Mr. Trump is only getting started as he prepares to take his trade war global.  He promised Tuesday to “substantially increase” tariffs on cars on April 2, which he said would “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”  So first he whacks U.S. auto makers with tariffs that raise their production costs, then he tries to shield them from foreign competition by whacking American consumers.

~ The editorial board, "How Do You Like the Trade War Now? Trump is furious that Canada won’t take his tariffs lying down.," The Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2025

Patrick Carroll on constitutions, culture and liberty

The lesson we ought to take from this [vaccine passports in Canada] is that constitutions by themselves do not actually protect people’s rights.  They are just pieces of paper.  What really matters is the culture, and specifically, the degree to which people in society value liberty. 

Consider the fact that many totalitarian regimes also had constitutions and bills of rights (such as the Weimar Constitution in Nazi Germany).  These documents were undoubtedly held in high esteem, but they likewise proved to be powerless when the prevailing culture became tyrannical. 

So while some say that we can preserve liberty if we just get the right law, constitutional amendment, or supreme court ruling, this is a false hope. 

Liberty lives and dies by the culture.  If the culture hates liberty, no government edict can preserve it. 

Then again, if the culture loves liberty, no government edict can take it away.

~ Patrick Carroll, "Vaccine Passports Have Come to Canada. Don’t Expect the Canadian Constitution to Stop Them," FEE.org, August 30, 2021

Patrick Carroll on the gap between the vaccinated and unvaccinated in Canada

It’s hard to deny that Canada is well on its way to creating two classes of citizens, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.  Activities that were once considered basic human rights, such as assembling in various social settings or boarding a flight, have now become “privileges” that are reserved for the vaccinated class alone. 

In many ways, these policies are eerily reminiscent of the laws that were used to target marginalized groups in the past such as women, blacks, and jews.  Of course, the oppression in those cases was often far more egregious.  But the moment we concede that some people should have more rights than others, we are operating within the same paradigm.  The differences between those historical injustices and the present-day treatment of the unvaccinated are merely differences of degree, not kind.

~ Patrick Carroll, "Vaccine Passports Have Come to Canada. Don’t Expect the Canadian Constitution to Stop Them," FEE.org, August 30, 2021

Premier François Legault announces vaccine mandate in Quebec

People who have made the effort to get their two doses must be able to live a somewhat normal life.  We will give certain privileges to those who have agreed to make the effort to get their two shots.  Some non-essential services will be available only to vaccinated people.

~ Quebec Premier François Legault, announcement on August 5, 2021

(As quoted by "Vaccine Passports Have Come to Canada. Don’t Expect the Canadian Constitution to Stop Them," FEE.org, August 30, 2021.)

Donald Trump on reimposing 10% aluminum tariffs on Canada

Canada was taking advantage of us, as usual.  The aluminum business was being decimated by Canada, very unfair to our jobs and our great aluminum workers.

~ President Donald Trump, August 7, 2020

Tom DiLorenzo on Henry Clay: "corrupt statist"

[Henry] Clay was a corrupt statist who spent his political career promoting mercantilism, protectionism, inflationary finance through central banking, and military adventurism in the quest for empire. Upon entering Congress in 1811 he helped persuade the government to attempt to conquer Canada, which it tried to do three times. He waged a thirty-year battle with James Madison, John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson, and other defenders of the Constitution over federally funded corporate welfare.

~ Tom DiLorenzo, "Henry Clay: National Socialist," The Free Market, March 1998

Henry Clay
1902-1903

Bank of Canada governor: "Our fundamentals are quite solid"

The Canadian economy begins the new year in solid shape. Our fundamentals are quite solid.

~ Stephen Poloz, Bank of Canada governor, interview with CTV news, December 20, 2018