CANADA’S TARIFF INCOMPETENCE

David Parker, April 10

Yesterday, we witnessed a textbook example of Trumpian negotiation. He creates chaos to expose people’s real positions and then reacts accordingly. Many people prefer to live in the delusion that Trump is a clueless buffoon. But only those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) can seriously believe that a multi-billionaire who has won two (possibly three) U.S. presidential elections is simply stupid. You can dislike his negotiation tactics or disagree with his economic policies, but to claim he is not one of the great strategic minds of our generation is pure partisan slop.

In fact, it’s this very caricature—pushed by the left and echoed by the leadership of both the CPC and the Liberals in Canada—that makes his methodology so effective. Trump is consistently underestimated because his opponents refuse to see him as a rational actor. Personally, I disagree with tariffs as sound economic policy. They are, at their core, a form of taxation—a government attempt to centrally control the economy and manipulate outcomes. I believe, and have always believed, that the free market is the best mechanism for economic decision-making. But let’s be clear: China is not a free market.

Now that the dust has settled on the latest tariff announcements and Trump has issued a 90-day pause on most countries, the heart of his strategy is coming into focus. The target is China—and the rationale is easy to grasp. The United Nations predicts that China will surpass the United States economically within the next 10 to 15 years. China is already the manufacturing hub of the world and dominates rare earth mineral production. This is the threat Trump sees, and he’s chosen to confront it head-on.

China did not receive a 90-day pause. In fact, Trump raised their tariffs to 145% as of today. In response, China imposed retaliatory tariffs of 84% on American goods. This is an economic act of war on both sides, and it’s fair to say that America is the aggressor—because they’re trying to maintain their dominance in the global economy.

Meanwhile, Canada is the only other country that has announced retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Every other nation has either withheld retaliation, begun negotiations, or is already striking new deals. MAGA world is celebrating this as a classic example of The Art of the Deal. Meanwhile, Canada has aligned itself—whether intentionally or not—with China.

Worse still, we haven’t even done a good job of siding with China. We followed the U.S. lead in slapping a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, prompting China to retaliate by hammering one of our major exports—canola. This disproportionately impacts farmers in Western Canada, which the Liberals couldn’t care less about, but should matter deeply to the CPC. Instead, Pierre Poilievre is busy condemning Trump—because that’s what Canadians want to hear. They want to hear that the "Orange Man" is bad.

The problem here is populism. Most Canadians want to “punish” the U.S. for Trump’s tariffs and his absurd comments about annexing Canada. They don’t care about the economic consequences—many don’t even understand them. Canadians are acting like toddlers throwing a tantrum after being told “no.” The Liberals know this, and they’re gleefully increasing taxes on Canadians through tariffs, using nationalism as the cover.

This level of incompetence is expected from the Liberals. They’ll exploit any wedge issue to cling to power and enrich their friends. But we should expect more from Pierre Poilievre, who claims to be a champion of the free market. Yet even he has discovered that the core of Canadian identity is not rational—it’s rooted in not being American, in a deep, enduring envy of the U.S.

Trump’s target is clearly China. That’s become obvious in the past 48 hours. America has ignored the threat from China for decades, and now they must choose between accepting decline or launching an economic war. Canada could have waited, like the rest of the world, to see what Trump was trying to achieve. But the Liberals couldn’t resist. They saw an opportunity to exploit anti-Americanism and whip up a “patriotic” frenzy—especially among Boomers—based on a smug sense of moral superiority over our southern neighbor.

Now, we stand isolated with China as the only countries to retaliate against America. In doing so, the Canadian public has revealed a deep-seated resentment toward its largest trading partner and only neighbor. Worse, this has sabotaged the CPC’s electoral prospects. Now we have two major parties campaigning on raising taxes through tariffs—and when it comes to big government and a centrally planned economy, Canadians will always choose the Liberals.

Canada is no longer a serious country. Our population is so easily manipulated by propaganda that we’re now seeing unhinged headlines like, “Does Canada’s future lie with Europe?” or Mark Carney’s delusional claim that, “If America won’t lead, Canada will!” We were once a proud and prosperous nation—prosperous because of our deep relationship with the United States. Even Trudeau’s malevolent father had the humility to admit, “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”

And this is the tragic irony of our moment: in our desperate quest to define ourselves against America, we have become everything we once mocked in others—petty, vindictive, irrational, and ultimately self-defeating. Canada’s leaders are not playing chess on the world stage; they’re playing checkers in a sandbox of their own insecurities. By lashing out at our greatest ally and trade partner, we have chosen ideology over prosperity, emotion over strategy, and tribalism over truth. The Americans are maneuvering to preserve their global position. China is playing the long game. And Canada? Canada is playing pretend—draped in delusions of moral superiority, led by cowards, cheered on by fools. History will not remember our posturing. It will remember our decline. Not because we were conquered, but because we chose immediate emotional gratification over principles.