What will happen between the US and Canada?

[SpidersAreShitheads]

I’m in the U.K. but have been following events in the US with mounting disbelief at Trump’s behaviour.

I see today Trump has increased the tariffs on Canada to 50% and is threatening to stick tariffs on car imports from Canada that will “shut down” their industry. Trump has also reiterated the fact that Canada WILL become part of the US.

Canada has reacted strongly so far and has again today said that there will be a response to the latest tariff announcements.

I have to be honest, much as I understood the U.K. attempt to flatter Trump to try and ease global tensions, there’s a large part of me that’s cheering on Canada’s refusal to back down.

What do people think is likely to happen? Can Canada sustain their “fuck you” response to Trump or will they eventually have to back down? Is there any genuine chance that the US will be able to annexe Canada?

I’d appreciate hearing people’s thoughts as this is all fascinating, albeit awful.

I’ve posted it before but it’s worth repeating.
The US is a third world country (or under trump perhaps a cuntry) in a first world suit.
There is nothing “great” about a nation who puts profit over the health and wellbeing of ALL it’s citizens rather than just survival of the fittest.
A country is not a business whose aim is only profit and treating the rest of the world on a transactional basis is not only abhorrent but very short sighted.
The US will never again be able to 100% rely on support from it’s allies (post 9/11 anyone?) as it has shown itself utterly selfish and untrustworthy.
Also, US credibility has plummeted and if the Shite House told me the sky was blue I wouldn’t take their word for it now.
Even if trump is ousted we have seen the enormous swathe of stupidity and cruelty in too many americans which elected him. That won’t be forgotten.
The only way the reputation of the US can even start to recover would be if the sane part of the country found the courage and ability to stop the maga mob (which won’t end even if trump keels over tomorrow) but is there actually any likelihood of that happening?
Policies like withdrawing all foreign aid loses the essential soft power this wields and destabilises areas where terrorism flourishes.
We have seen that for all American isolationist I’m alright jack beliefs, terrorists can still have catastrophic effects on US soil.
Speaking for most people I know, these days we wouldn’t piss on the US if it was on fire so they really are on their own now.

Well said @Somethingthecatdraggedin7

The USA shouldn’t be one country, let’s face it. The sheer size of it, it should be at least 4 or 5 countries. The extreme end of the values and beliefs across the States are so wide apart that it shouldn’t work. I guess the method of governing with so much delegated to individual states means there is less chance of pushback against the federal government.

Let's face it, the US has always had isolationist tendencies and an inability to look past their own shores, but Trump is the embodiment of this to the extreme.

I think the trade war will eventually calm down

I do wonder what the Europeans/Nato would think if he did actually invaded Canada. I bloody hope Starmer would pick a side at that point!

I agree he's all bluster and the trade wsr will calm down, but I do wonder what the long term effects will be. I suspect that once people stop expecting the US to be their default reliable ally in defence/ trade etc that it will be difficult to go fully back into that relationship. Trump may tell his MAGA mates that the rest of the world is taking the piss out of the US but they have benefitted hugely from European reliance on defence systems, as well as the huge debt we have had to pay back. Maybe Trump will force Europe and Canada to stop relying on US protection but they also won't be reliant on US trade or equipment, which will be good for the rest of the world in the long term but bad for the US as they would have lost a lot of trust. Many people who could only buy equipment from them would have found alternatives elsewhere or started doing it themselves.

PoatoeGrower · Today 00:19
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One way or another Canada will bow to the Usa, do people really think that if trump wants canada then he will use all the methods available to him to make it happen”

What are you suggesting? Invasion? Nonsense.

The Canadian people are proud and justifiably so. I suspect any such attempt would be met swiftly by the Canadian armed forces, along with the British services.

I suspect US soldiers would also refuse to engage their Canadian neighbours.

He may admire Putin but would be met with worldwide condemnation and resistance if he tried illegal Putin’s methods.

Clearinguptheclutter · Today 08:00

I think the trade war will eventually calm down
I do wonder what the Europeans/Nato would think if he did actually invaded Canada. I bloody hope Starmer would pick a side at that point

Lots of people seem to be forgetting that King Charles is Canada's sovereign. It would be seen as an attack on the commonwealth and the British armed services would defend against such an invasion.

For that reason, it won’t happen.

But 'needs' is a very nuanced word, and it doesn't necessarily have to imply dominance in any way.

An electrician needs people with homes and companies in order to earn a living by providing services using his/her skills; and those customers need him/her (and others with the same skills) for vital maintenance and installations - but nobody is suggesting that the plumber needs to own those homes and businesses, nor that the customers need to own his/her electrician business.

Trading what you have and want to sell with somebody who needs it and wants to buy it - and them doing the same with you/others and their stuff - is as old as human civilisation; it's a lot of ongoing bilateral transactions and has absolutely nothing to do with a dominant desire for wholesale ownership of everything.

PoatoeGrower · Today 01:37
lets talk real for a moment. i dont understand trumps end game, but what ever it is the reality is canada needs trump more than trump needs canada and everyone knows it, other wise why are they already backing down ?

Not if every nations step in and co-ordinate against Trump’s nonsense.

The UK currently imports around $545 m of steel pa, for example, from the USA and just $14 m from Canada. An easy swap for the UK, for example, thus avoiding Trump’s tariffs. If every other European nation did the same, the US steel industry couldn’t survive.

MrsSkylerWhite · Today 09:31
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PoatoeGrower · Today 01:37
lets talk real for a moment. i dont understand trumps end game, but what ever it is the reality is canada needs trump more than trump needs canada and everyone knows it, other wise why are they already backing down ?

Not if every nations step in and co-ordinates against Trump’s nonsense.
The UK currently imports around $545 m of steel pa, for example, from the USA and just $14 m from Canada. An easy swap for the UK, thus avoiding Trump’s tariffs. If every other European nation did the same, the US steel industry couldn’t survive

This isn’t really true. Canada would get NATO assistance and the UK would be part of that of course but the Commonwealth is not a factor in mutual defence. We’re both in Five Eyes but of course so is the US and that is about intelligence not military force.

The assumption that America’s decline is inevitable ignores its unparalleled capacity for reinvention.

It’s very relevant as to whether you are impacted or not. So far you’re just copying and pasting news articles

Hmmm it's almost as if it's the same poster on the US/Ukraine thread copying and pasting like their life depends on it ... and posting their own thoughts in lowercase only....🤔

Do you honestly believe this?
Do you know anything about Canada, its government, history, people and relationship with the US?
Trump will never invade Canada. What are the grounds?
So many people have already said this
The trade war will settle down.

Trump will move on and piss people off somewhere else.
Trump doesn't want Canada. He wants headlines and attention and adulation

I fervently hope that NO major country will cave to the US feeling they "need" to. Surely Canada can feed itself, and surely Canadians can live briefly without some items in the interest of maintaining its integrity.

Trump: I broke into Los Angeles. I invaded Los Angeles. And we opened up the water. The water is now flowing down, they have so much water.. they don’t know what to do with it

can anyone possibly be so stupid!!

There is nothing we need from the US but the US can’t manage without Canada - electricity, potash, oil.

Its very relevant

are you ashamed to say?

Canada’s foreign minister Joly this morning at G7: “What I said to the secretary (Rubio) is Canada's sovereignty is not up to debate. Period. There's no argument. There's no conversation about it. There's no need to talk about it. You're here. You respect us.“

@Parker231 loved that he kissed her. i wonder if other female politicians equally get the double kiss?
MJ did have to tell other G7 members that the comments are NOT a joke and should not be treated as such, i'm not sure which G7 members thought this was a running joke.

I believe the poster has retired in embarrassment having cited Gordon Gekko as some sort of economic guru.

"The 51st state" stuff is just typical Trump bullshit, the same as when he was claiming that Mexico would pay for his border wall in his first term.

The tariffs are a much more serious issue as they could have a significant impact on the economies of Canada and Europe.

sorry the "51state" stuff has been threatened before and is not a joke and can't be assumed to be. the usa has blocked our attempts to buy military equipment.
tariffs will be resolved just like nafta and cusma.

Mark Carney was sworn in today and is going to Europe for his first visit rather than, as is customary to the US.
"We will never, in any shape or form, be part of the US," he tells the crowd, echoing similar remarks he has made previously.
Carney says a ceremony like the swearing in today, and the group of ministers behind him, are nothing like America's system of government.
"We are very fundamentally a different country," Carney says, adding that the country "expects respect" from America and Trump.

😀