Better not pick a fight with ‘nasty’ Canadians – Richard Mills

2025.07.24

In 1914, a Christmas Truce oddly broke out between the Allied and Entente soldiers, thousands of whom leapt from their trenches to trade gifts and play soccer in no-man’s land.

The following year, it was the Canadians Corps’ first Christmas on the Western Front. In a trench near Ypres, the enemy was inviting them over for a party.

“Merry Christmas, Canadians,” said the opposing Germans, poking their heads above the parapet and waving a box of cigars. A Canadian sergeant responded by opening fire, hitting two of the merrymakers.

“When they returned it, one of our lads was shot through the head. That put an end to our Christmas gathering quickly,” Lance Cpl. George D’All wrote in a letter home.

It was a preview of coming developments. Canadian soldiers would emerge from the First World War with a reputation for winning victories that others could not. But even in a war of unparalleled ferocity, enemy and ally alike would remember the Canadians as having been particularly brutal.

— ‘The forgotten ruthlessness of Canada’s Great War soldiers’, National Post, Nov. 12, 2018

Canadians as brutal? There must be some mistake. More than a century after the end of World War I, Canadians would be surprised to learn that soldiers representing the country abroad could be so vicious in war.  

After all, modern Canadians are peace-loving. Affable. Respectful. Nice. One can imagine a 21^st century Canadian soldier apologizing to his enemy before firing a round and killing him. A lot of Canadians see Canada’s primary military responsibility as peacekeeping, not warfighting. In fact, Canadians have fought in every major war or conflict that Britain found itself in, and we sent soldiers to Afghanistan to back the United States-led multilateral mission there following 9/11.

Canadians fought in the Boer War on the side of Britain. Canadians fought and died in the trenches during World War I. Most of the primary sources cited from the National Post article cited above came from books or journal articles written by Tim Cook, a Canadian War Museum historian who was good at painting an unromanticized picture of Canada’s First World War army.

Canadian soldiers were some of the best street fighters during World War II. In the Korean War, Canada fought alongside the United Nations to defend South Korea against the invasion by North Korea. 

While not organized soldiers, the activities of the Coeur de Bois — Frenchmen who explored the interior of North America and established trade networks with indigenous peoples — were closely intertwined with French military efforts in New France.  

The reason I bring all this up? President Trump has recently said Canadians are “nasty” to deal with because of US boycotts. The remark was made a few days ago by Peter Hoekstra, the US ambassador to Canada, about Canadians avoiding US travel and alcohol, while speaking at a regional summit in Bellevue, Washington.

British Columbia Premier David Eby had some choice words in response to Hoekstra’s comments. In an interview Monday on CBC’s ‘Power & Politics’, Eby said he believes US leadership has “very little awareness” of how offensive their remarks are.

“Do they think Canadians are not going to respond when the president says, ‘I want to turn you into the 51st state and beggar you economically unless you bow to the U.S.’?” Eby fumed. “Obviously, Canadians are outraged.”

The premier said Tuesday that Canadians would be proud to be considered mean and nasty for standing up for their sovereignty and economy in the face of threats from the Trump administration. (BIV)

In a statement, Eby said that Hoekstra’s remarks show Canadians’ efforts to stand up to Trump are “having an impact,” and he encouraged people to “keep it up.” (CBC News)

100%. In fact we should thank Trump for waking us up to the fact that we are a proud country, not some 51^st state, that can stand on its own without any help from the United States, and that we are stronger united, not to mention with a shared hostility towards the current US administration, that has been treating its most established, trusted ally like shit.

Canada at war

Early history

The military history of Canada spans centuries of conflicts within the country, as well as international engagements involving the Canadian military. The indigenous nations of Canada engaged in conflicts with one another for millennia. The arrival of European settlers in the 17th century led to new alliances and hostilities among indigenous nations and colonial power, leading to conflicts such as the Beaver Wars.  

The late 17th and 18th centuries saw four major British French conflicts fought in Canada, culminating with the British conquest of New France 1760. This reshaped the region and contributed to the American Revolutionary War, during which American attempts to seize Quebec and spark a revolt in Nova Scotia failed. (Wikipedia)

Key wars and conflicts Canada was involved in: (AI Overview)

• War of 1812: Fought against the United States, with Canada defending its territory. 
• Fenian Raids: Series of attacks on British North America by Irish American nationalists. 
• North-West Rebellion: Conflict with Métis and First Nations peoples in Western Canada. 
• South African War (Boer War): Canada’s first official dispatch of troops to an overseas war. 
• World War I: Canada played a significant role on the Western Front, including battles at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele. 
• World War II: Canada contributed significantly to the Allied war effort, participating in battles in Europe, Asia and the Atlantic. 
• Korean War: Canada sent troops as part of the United Nations force fighting against North Korea. 
• War in Afghanistan: Canada’s longest war since World War II, involving a significant military presence and combat operations. 

Other notable conflicts:

• Seven Years’ War: Canada played a role in the British conquest of New France. 
• American Revolutionary War: Canada defended its territory against the American colonies. 
• Gulf War: Canada participated in the international coalition against Iraq.

The Black Watch

The Black Watch was a feared and famous Canadian regiment. The Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian army was formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1862. The Black Watch was initially tasked with border security in response to the rise of American military strength. The regiment has a long history of military service. Among the conflicts and operations, it has participated in are the Boer War, World War I and II including the Dieppe Raid, the Korean War, NATO operations in Europe and UN peacekeeping missions.

Read more about the Canadian Black Watch in WWII

Boer War

In the Boer War, over 7,000 Canadians volunteered to fight alongside British forces against the Boer republics in South Africa. Canadian troops participated in major battles like Paardeberg and Leliefontein and also engaged in smaller actions during the guerrilla warfare phase. While some Canadians served in British units, many fought in specifically raised Canadian contingents, including the Royal Canadian Regiment and Strathcona’s Horse. The war was significant as it marked the first time Canadian troops fought overseas in a conflict, and they gained recognition for their bravery and fighting ability. (AI Overview)

Canada sent three contingents to South Africa. Of the +7,000 Canadians who served in the war, including 12 nurses, approximately 270 died. (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

The War of 1812

During the War of 1812, Canada, then British North America, played a crucial role in defending against American invasion attempts. The conflict, which lasted from 1812 to 1815, saw Canadians from various backgrounds, including British regulars, Canadian militia, First Nations warriors, and Métis fighters, unite to protect their territory. Their combined efforts, along with support from the British Royal Navy and Army, successfully repelled repeated American offensives. This defense contributed significantly to the development of a distinct Canadian identity and solidified the foundations of a future independent nation. 

Key battles and victories:

Canadians played significant roles in battles like the Battle of Queenston Heights, where Major-General Isaac Brock, allied with indigenous warriors, died defending the territory. Other notable engagements include the Battle of the Thames (where Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, died fighting for the British), the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, and the defense of Montreal. (AI Overview)

World War I

Canada was involved in World War I primarily through its land forces, the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), which fought on the Western Front. The CEF grew to become the Canadian Corps, a powerful formation of four divisions with 100,000 troops. Beyond the Western Front, Canada also made substantial contributions to the war effort through its economy, providing food, munitions, and financial support to the Allies. (AI Overview)

Back to the brutality of the Canadian army in the First World War, as described by The National Post:

British war correspondent Philip Gibbs had a front row seat on four years of Western Front fighting. He would single out the Canadians as having been particularly obsessed with killing Germans, calling their war a kind of vendetta. “The Canadians fought the Germans with a long, enduring, terrible, skilful patience,” he wrote after the war.

The English poet Robert Graves was less charitable. In his 1929 bestseller ‘Good-Bye to All That’, he wrote “the troops that had the worst reputation for acts of violence against prisoners were the Canadians.”

Germans developed a special contempt for the Canadian Corps, seeing them as unpredictable savages. In the final weeks of the war, Canadian Fred Hamilton would describe being singled out for a beating by a German colonel after he was taken prisoner. “I don’t care for the English, Scotch, French, Australians or Belgians but damn you Canadians, you take no prisoners, and you kill our wounded,” the colonel told him…

Throughout the war, stretches of the Western Front observed an unofficial “live and let live” policy between Germans and their French or British enemies. By mutual agreement, both sides agreed not to attack the other unless ordered — and would even schedule truces for meals and bathroom breaks.

There are very few recorded instances of this ever happening with Canadians. As Canadian Corps commander Arthur Currie would often boast after the war, his troops prided themselves on killing the enemy wherever and whenever they could.

“We tried to make his life miserable,” Currie said in 1919.

In one particularly cruel episode, Canadians even exploited the trust of Germans who had apparently become accustomed to fraternizing with allied units. Lieutenant Louis Keene described the practice of lobbing tins of corned beef into a neighbouring German trench. When the Canadians started hearing happy shouts of “More! Give us more!” they then let loose with an armload of grenades.

For those Germans unlucky enough to face a trench full of Canadians, one of their greatest fears was nighttime raids on unsuspecting enemy trenches…

At the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, visitors can see a case filled with the fearsome homemade weapons that Canadians trench raiders plunged into the faces and chests of their enemy: Meat cleavers, push daggers and spiked clubs.

While all Commonwealth units were encouraged to conduct trench raids, Canadians were widely regarded as trench raiding’s most enthusiastic practitioners and innovators.

They wore thick rubber gloves and blackened their faces for maximum stealth. They crafted homemade pipe bombs and grenade catapults to increase their killing power. They continued raiding even while other colonial units abandoned the practice…

As their skills grew, Canadian trench raiders were eventually able to penetrate up to one kilometre behind enemy lines, dealing surprise death to Germans who had every reason to believe they were safe from enemy bayonets. In the days before the attack on Vimy Ridge, trench raids of up to 900 men were hurled at enemy lines on a nightly basis. These were essentially mini battles, except instead of holding ground attackers were merely expected to sow death, chaos and then disappear.

More than 42,000 Germans would survive their encounter with the Canadian Corps and live out the Great War as prisoners. But as soldiers’ accounts began to trickle behind the lines, it became clear that untold numbers of Germans attempt to surrender to Canadians were being met only with bayonets or bullets…

Others were cold-blooded executions. In one case, a Canadian surreptitiously slipped a live grenade into the greatcoat pockets of a German prisoner. In another, infantryman Richard Rogerson went on a killing spree at Vimy Ridge after seeing the death of his friend. “Once I killed my first German with my bayonit my blood was riled, every german I could not reach with my bayonit I shot. I think no more of murdering them than I usted to think of shooting rabbits,” he wrote.

In some cases, Cook found evidence of Canadian commanders explicitly ordering their troops not to take prisoners. He quoted James Owen, a then-16-year-old private, who was told by his commanding officer before a 1916 attack “I don’t want any prisoners.” Before the attack on Vimy Ridge, veteran Archie McWade said he was told, “Remember, no prisoners. They will just eat your rations…”

What confused both friend and foe alike was why Canadians were so vicious…

One theory was that Canadians were perpetually avenging the “Crucified Canadian,” a battlefield rumour of a captured Canadian officer that Germans had supposedly crucified to a barn door near Ypres. The crucifixion was almost certainly fabricated.

Another was that Canadians had never forgiven the Germans’ first use of poison gas in 1915, of which Canadian units had been some of the hardest hit. The Canadian Corps would eventually become the most enthusiastic user of poison gas on the Western Front. “We like to think of Canada as pure, but Canadians gassed everything that moved whenever they could,” said historian Jack Granatstein in a recent about the last months of the First World War. As Currie himself would say after the war “if we could have killed the whole German Army by gas, we would gladly have done so.”

World War II

Canada played a significant military role in World War II, contributing troops to key battles and significantly bolstering Allied war production. The Canadian military, particularly the army, navy, and air force, participated in major campaigns in Europe, including Sicily, Italy, and Normandy, and played a crucial role in the liberation of Western Europe. Beyond combat, Canada also became a vital source of war materials, supplying vast quantities of arms, vehicles, and other supplies to Allied forces.

Military operations:

• Italy Campaign: Canadian troops fought their way north through Italy from 1943 to early 1945, enduring fierce battles and contributing to the eventual Allied victory. 

• D-Day and Normandy: Canadian forces landed on Juno Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and played a crucial role in the liberation of Western Europe. 

• Liberation of Belgium: Canadian troops helped liberate Belgium in the fall of 1944, further pushing back German forces. 

• Battle of the Scheldt: Canadian forces were also involved in the crucial Battle of the Scheldt, clearing the way for Allied shipping to reach the port of Antwerp. 

Naval and Air Force contributions:

• Navy: The Royal Canadian Navy grew to be the third-largest navy in the world during the war, playing a vital role in protecting convoys and engaging enemy ships. 

• Air Force: The Royal Canadian Air Force participated in major air campaigns, including bombing raids and fighter combat, contributing to Allied air supremacy. (AI Overview)

A document housed in the AHS Library, from G1 Roundtable47, Our Oldest Good Neighbor (1946), is titled ‘What Was Canada’s Role in World War II’. It makes the following points from the US perspective:

• Canada, of its own free will, entered the war in September 1939 because it then realized that Nazi Germany threatened the very existence of Western civilization.
  
• Almost from the beginning Canadians were in the thick of the fighting — in the air. In that element the Dominion made its most striking contribution to the general war effort. On the outbreak of hostilities, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was established in Canada to develop the air forces of Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as of Canada. It was under the direction of the Royal Canadian Air Force, and it cost the Canadian government well over 1.5 billion dollars.
  
• Here it may be well to note that Canada’s population is only about one-eleventh that of our country. We have to multiply Canadian figures by eleven, therefore, to get the approximate American equivalent of Canada’s war effort.
  
• By 1944, the Royal Canadian Air Force had a strength of more than 200,000. This was only a part of what Canada did in this line, for at the same time nearly half the ground crew personnel and more than a quarter of the air crew strength of the Royal Air Force were also Canadians.
  
• The Royal Canadian Navy, which started from scratch in 1939, grew to 700 ships and 95,000 men. This force too was in the fight from almost the beginning. It participated in the daring rescue at Dunkirk, and it took over more and more of the Allied convoy work across the north Atlantic — half of it by 1943 and most of it by the end of 1944.
  
• The Canadian army numbered in 1944 about half a million men, five-sixths of whom had volunteered for overseas service. Some of it formed most of the force that suffered disaster at Dieppe in the summer of 1942. Some fought alongside Americans and British in Sicily and Italy. But the main military effort of the Canadians began in June 1944 with the landing on the beaches of Normandy and continued with the fight across France and into Germany.
  
• Canadian units were out in Hong Kong when the Japanese attacked it on Pearl Harbor Day, and the Canadian declaration of war against Japan was made the evening before our declaration. A battalion of Canadian troops took part in the landing on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands.
  
• Canada’s place in the world is much bigger than it ever was before. Though not a great power, Canada is no longer a small one. It is one of the middle powers—perhaps the strongest of them—and as such is bound to play an important part in the affairs of the world.

The Korean War

Canada played a significant role in the Korean War as part of the United Nations (UN) forces, contributing personnel to the army, navy, and air force. Over 26,000 Canadians served in Korea between 1950 and 1953, with 516 losing their lives in the conflict. Canada’s involvement stemmed from its commitment to the UN and its support for collective security and the United States during the Cold War. 

Canadian soldiers, particularly the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and the Royal Canadian Regiment, were involved in key battles like the Battle of Kapyong and the defense of Hill 355. (AI Overview)

NORAD

Pride in Canadian military accomplishments was imbued in the population in the decades after the Korean War. Fear of a Soviet long-range bomber attack or nuclear strike was behind the creation of NORAD in 1958.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is responsible for the shared monitoring and defence of North American aerospace.

According to a Canadian government backgrounder, “Over the years, the strength of NORAD has rested in its ability to evolve in response to the changing threat environment. For example, in 1985, Canada and the US agreed to modernize NORAD by replacing the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line with the North Warning System (NWS). In the aftermath of 9/11, NORAD implemented Operation NOBLE EAGLE to address air security threats. By 2006, our countries had renewed the NORAD Agreement in perpetuity and added maritime warning to the overall mission.”

Public perception

When the Canadian government sent troops to Afghanistan, public perception was mixed. While some Canadians, especially veterans and those involved in aid and development, believed the mission was worthwhile, others questioned its effectiveness, given the resurgence of the Taliban and the ongoing conflict.

Support for the military as measured by defense spending as a percentage of GDP has fluctuated, but over the past decade it has failed to meet the 2% target expected by NATO.

This is a major bone of contention with the current Trump administration, which views Canada and other nations not meeting the 2% threshold as defense laggards riding on the coattails of the US.

(Prime Minister Carney has said Canada will meet the 2% target by March of this year. $9.3B in new spending includes military recruitment and pay increases for personnel. (CBC News))

However, a recent poll suggests that Canadians’ support for the military is on the rise.

Abacus Data found a combined 67% of Canadians now have a very or mostly positive impression of the Canadian Armed Forces, an increase of 7 points since March. Notably, the share of those with a very positive impression rose from 21% to 31%, a 10-point gain.

Favorable opinions remain strongest among Canadians aged 60 and older, as well as those living in the Atlantic region.

US tariffs on Canada and vice-versa

Turning from the military to the Canada-US trade war, Canadians’ respect for the United States as both an economic and a military partner has been shattered since Trump in his second term included Canada in a global trade war.

On April 2, so-called “Liberation Day”, a 10% tariff on non-CUSMA (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement)-compliant potash and energy products was imposed, along with a 25% tariff on cars and trucks not built in the US.

This was followed by a 50% tariff on aluminum and steel imports from all countries including Canada, effective June 4.

Other tariffs that were previously mentioned remain on the table, such as:

• 50% tariff on copper as of Aug. 1.

• Tariffs on Canadian lumber, which would be in addition to the existing 14.7% tariffs, as well as on Canadian dairy products.

• Semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals are also under consideration for tariffs, though no details have been provided on the timing or rates.

• The elimination of the duty exemption for low-value shipments under $800 (de minimis exemption). (CFIB)

One of the biggest concerns of Canadian businesses selling into the US is the fact that Trump keeps changing the rules, making it extremely difficult to plan. The latest is his threat to impose a 35% tariff on non-CUSMA Canadian imports starting Aug. 1. Prime Minister Carney and his team of negotiators are trying to reach a trade deal with the US before then.

In response to US tariffs, Canada has imposed a 25% tariff on $30 billion worth of US goods, introduced tariffs on an additional $29.8 billion worth of US products in retaliation for US tariffs on aluminum and steel, and levied a 25% tariff on all US vehicles that don’t meet CUSMA requirements, in response to similar tariffs introduced by the US. (CFIB)

Buy Canadian, stay-cation

Canadians have seen food prices skyrocket in the post-covid years along with many other consumables. With Canadians buying so much from the US — the country is by far our largest trading partner — the threat of inflation looms large on imported American goods.

That, and Trump’s provocative statements about making Canada the 51^st state, have brought about a “Buy Canadian” movement that eschews the purchase of US goods and travel state-side.

Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova are among the provinces that have banned the sale of US alcohol from government-run liquor stores.

According to the Financial Post,

On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford renewed his call to buy “Canadian-made everything” to pressure the United States to negotiate a trade deal.

“We’re encouraging all provinces and territories: start buying Canadian-made vehicles, start buying Canadian-made everything — that will hurt more than anything at all,” Ford told reporters at the premiers’ meeting near Huntsville, Ont.

The FP article references a Bank of Canada consumer survey that shows Canadians plan to keep up their boycott of US travel and products.

Half of consumers said they plan to cut their spending on US goods and vacations. About 60% plan to spend more on goods made in Canada and one-third plan to spend more on vacations within Canada.

Among the US products hit by the strong Buy Canadian movement are diapers and baby wipes, American bourbon and whiskey, and citrus fruits from California.

Most Canadians said they are willing to pay up to 10% more for goods made in the country.

New data quoted by CTV News shows there were about 26,000 fewer cross-border trips from eastern Ontario into New York State in June — the fifth straight month of declines.

Removing inter-provincial trade barriers

The Trump tariffs have elicited a push to lessen or remove inter-provincial trade barriers that have been a trade irritant for decades. An inability to sell alcohol between provinces is one such irritant.

At a summit this week in Ontario between the country’s premiers and the prime minister, the Ford government announced an MOU between British Columbia and Ontario to collaborate on interprovincial trade, attempting to reduce duplication, pull down barriers and harmonize various regulations and standards. (Global News)

Ontario now has 10 new agreements to reduce internal trade barriers with other provinces and three territories.

“With President Trump’s ongoing threats to our economy, there’s never been a more important time to boost internal trade to build a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy,” Ford said in a Monday statement.

“By signing these MOUs and working together, we’re helping Canada unlock up to $200 billion in economic potential and standing shoulder to shoulder to protect Canadian workers across the country.”

The next day, BC signed trade deals with Manitoba and the Yukon. The deal with Manitoba includes measures to increase the mobility of regulated workers between the two provinces, as well as allowing direct alcohol sales from Manitoba to BC consumers. BC alcohol can already be sold direct to consumers in Manitoba.

The Yukon agreement focuses on the removal of trade barriers as well as the alignment of standards for regulated occupations. (Global TV News)

Diversifying trade

Along with streamlining trade between provinces and territories, there is growing interest to diversify the shipment of goods and services away from the United States — again in the face of Trump’s tariffs.

Reuters reported on July 9 that Canadian government data shows exports to the U.S. dropped by 10 percentage points to 68% of total exports between May 2024 and May 2025, primarily of manufacturing products such as cars and parts, and products made with steel and aluminum.

The country in May exported more gold, petroleum, uranium and pharmaceuticals to the United Kingdom and the European Union, and to Australia and Indonesia compared to a year earlier.

Exports of a variety of commodities to Singapore, Italy, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Germany and Japan increased.

Trade data also showed that from March to May, the UK replaced China as Canada’s second-largest export market. Canola and crude oil exports to China dropped amid China’s tariffs on Canadian agricultural imports.

An energy superpower

Prime Minister Carney has vowed to expedite “nation-building infrastructure projects” including new pipelines and railways to connect Canada, develop critical mineral mines, and turn the country into an “energy superpower”.

Towards that goal, the parliament passed Bill C-5, also known as the “one-economy act,” becoming law on June 26.

The legislation fulfils a campaign promise by Prime Minister Carney to speed up approvals of projects, including mines and oil pipelines. Proponents of such projects often face duplicate environmental permitting processes involving the federal and provincial governments and affected First Nations. 

Carney told the Calgary Herald in June that a new Alberta-to-BC pipeline is likely to be included among the federal government’s list of projects of national interest covered by C-5.

A previous pipeline proposal known as Northern Gateway was shelved amid opposition from environmental groups and local First Nations. To date, the twinned Trans Mountain route is the only pipeline shipping Alberta’s landlocked crude for export on tankers from Vancouver.

According to World Nuclear News,

The First Ministers “welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to ensuring all federal assessment decisions are rendered within two years, beginning with projects of national interest” and agreed to work towards implementing ‘one project, one review’ with the goal of a single assessment for all projects – in a manner that respects federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction – to “help kickstart economic growth and ensure that projects get built in a timely manner.” They also pledged to consult with Indigenous Peoples.

At the current premiers’ meeting in Ontario, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed an MOU saying they plan to work together to study a potential east-west pipeline made with domestically produced steel to connect to the not-yet-built James Bay deep-sea port in Ontario.

It also means the two provinces will study the feasibility of building a railway line from the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario to mineral processing facilities in Western Canada. (Global News)

Conclusion

This article attempted to knit together two themes: First, to dispel the notion that Canadians are pacifists who turn the other cheek in a fight. Far from avoiding a battle, Canadian soldiers have garnered a fearsome reputation for brutality, seen in WW I through trench raiding, killing prisoners or mistreating them, exploiting the trust of Germans, and not adhering to scheduled truces.

Trump’s characterization of Canadians as “nasty” is thus historically accurate, at least when there’s a fight on.

The second theme is national unity. Trump’s attempt to cow Canadians through economic intimidation has backfired, bigly. A US travel and goods boycott means few Canadians are traveling to the States by air or by car and are preferring local goods over American imports. Of course, not everyone has the luxury of this choice, as many US imports beat Canadian goods on price.

The more important effect of the Trump tariffs is arguably the push to reduce interprovincial trade barriers and to streamline the process of building infrastructure of national importance. In both these areas, over-regulation has stunted growth and kept Canada in the slow lane when it comes to big projects. A city like Vancouver takes years to build one new subway line, or one new bridge. In China, 815 kilometers of high-speed rail was completed in less than five years. The replacement of the Sanyuan Bridge in Beijing was completed in a record 43 hours, whereas highway construction machines can lay down 10-15 kilometers of road per day. (AI Overview)

The comparison between authoritarian Beijing and democratic Ottawa may not be the most fitting, but working together to “build baby build” is something worth getting behind not only for the economic gains it would produce but the national pride it would engender. Few realize it but Trump has given us a golden opportunity. As chaos reins south of the border we have the chance to establish an orderly path forward.

Let’s become an energy and a mining superpower that doesn’t involve railing oil south or shipping concentrates abroad for processing. We can build more oil refineries in Eastern Canada to process crude shipped from Alberta. We can build more smelters to refine minerals produced domestically.

The federal government has the difficult job of juggling federal, provincial and First Nations interests in reaching its goals, but it can be done. Canadians have shown they are nasty in war and when dealing with a tyrant in Washington who has threatened our livelihoods and our sovereignty. But ownership of natural resources grants immense power. Let’s use it to exert leverage over our adversaries and to start new trading relationships with countries that show us respect.

Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com

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