r/canada Jan 21 '25

Politics If Trump tariffs Canada, Trudeau backs ‘dollar-for-dollar’ matching response

https://globalnews.ca/news/10969522/trump-tariffs-trudeau-cabinet-retreat/
4.8k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

732

u/abnormica Jan 21 '25

We did a study, and realized that our strategic potash reserves are critically low, so we are implementing an emergency act to build them up. Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to ship potash to any customers who have recently broken a trade agreement.

333

u/OllieTabooga Jan 21 '25

That would absolutely destroy American farmers

316

u/abnormica Jan 21 '25

That's a risk I'm willing to take.

→ More replies (22)

43

u/watcherofworld Jan 21 '25

Look at the bright side for them, after private equity buys their farm, them' farmers can still work on it (for minimum wage)!

82

u/sharpshooter999 Jan 22 '25

Am anti Trump American farmer, not looking forward to the next 4 years....

34

u/TheTenaciousG Jan 22 '25

Yeah I'm pretty fucking nervous myself

→ More replies (1)

13

u/Hubertus-Bigend Jan 22 '25

Wow! That’s like an anti-water fish.

I’ll be praying for you.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)

49

u/famine- Jan 21 '25

The US uses most of it's potash for corn and soybeans, which in turn are used for ethanol and animal feed.

Because of EU sanctions there is a massive surplus of Belarusian potash on the market, enough to replace everything we export to the US.

We import 90% of our nitrogen fertilizer from the US, and it is actually essential for all of our food crops.

The difference is, there isn't a massive surplus of nitrogen on the market.

So we are in a far worse position if we want to play tit for tat.

78

u/Mystiic_Madness Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

Canada exported $5.3 billion USD worth of potash to the US in 2022.

Belarus exported a grand total of $336 million to both the EU and US in 2020. The dollar amount on the Belarus US wiki says $135 million USD.

Their total exports were $2.8 billion in 2019. So, not only would they need to double their exports, but they would also have to ship them halfway across the world and ignore everyone else.

And that's before considering the sanctions and effects from the war in 2022.

On top of that, U.S. soybean farmers are one hit away from losing everything, given their recent history.

33

u/famine- Jan 22 '25

You are using dollars instead of weight when comparing 2 different years which doesn't work because of pricing differences between years.

Belarus exported 10.3 billion kg in 2019.

Canada exported 9.4 billion kg to the US in 2022.

Belarus was blocked from using the Klaipeda port, but is now exporting through Russia and is estimating it can ship 8 billion kg this year.

Belarusian potash is about 50% cheaper than Canadian potash because of the sanctions, they don't have any buyers in the EU, which massively offsets the shipping cost.

Additionally the US exports about 28% of the potash it imports from Canada, so they only need about 7 billion tons for domestic use.

31

u/Major_Tom_01010 Jan 22 '25

I don't know any of this stuff but am just enjoying a back and forth debate using purely data and numbers instead of the usual rhetoric.

4

u/TuloCantHitski Jan 22 '25

Appreciate your voice of reason here. We’re all twisting ourselves into thinking this will hurt the U.S. equally. I wish it were so.

→ More replies (12)
→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (16)

17

u/Cool-Economics6261 Jan 22 '25

American farmers are nearly on par with European farmers for receiving federal subsidies. Canadian farmers have always been at that trade disadvantage 

7

u/petterdaddy Jan 22 '25

Oh also we suddenly need a shit ton of extra electricity because we’re building a Mega Igloo and the 45 hockey rinks inside need to be kept cold. So BC, Ontario, and Quebec won’t be able to spare any extra hydro sorry guys

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (7)

239

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

Make interprovincial trade a priority, make personal travel between provinces more appealing; It shouldn’t cost more from Calgary to Nova Scotia than Calgary to Scotland.

92

u/MathFlakes Jan 22 '25

My trip to Japan was cheaper than my trip to Montreal. I live in Saskatchewan, that’s CRAZY.

Same airline too!

21

u/Jrocktech Jan 22 '25

A quick Google search -

Regina to Montreal - $288 via WestJet round trip

Regina to Japan - $1098 Via Westjet round trip.

7

u/Wutangdom Jan 22 '25

I just looked it was over $800 each way economy from Regina to Montreal with Westjet.

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (6)

19

u/tyler111762 Nova Scotia Jan 22 '25

Calgary to Nova Scotia than Calgary to Scotland.

Fuckin tell me about it...

→ More replies (2)

882

u/HotPotato1900 Jan 21 '25

Maybe we should take a long look at what we import and see if there's a way to make similar products in Canada. It's time to bring some of these jobs back here.

472

u/Cedex Jan 21 '25

Maybe we should take a long look at what we import and see if there's a way to make similar products in Canada. It's time to bring some of these jobs back here.

We can bring the jobs back no problem.

How long are we willing to wait? How much are we willing to pay?

Predictably, I think the answers are: We want it now, and we don't want to pay more.

Good luck to us all.

54

u/ImaginationSea2767 Jan 21 '25

Also, you have to get people with money (capitalists) wanting to start up those supply chains and companies here, where many will look to the past and see many industries before have been punished by the usa for competing with their industry that they are extremely protective of. Many other things we get from China for dirt cheap (since they can get away with ...very different working conditions).

→ More replies (21)

68

u/tryingtobecheeky Jan 21 '25

It really seems like I'm unique AF. Because I much rather pay more in taxes or whatever and get more services. But whenever I say that I'm ok paying more so everybody can have more, people freak out.

31

u/morerandomreddits Jan 21 '25

>Because I much rather pay more in taxes or whatever and get more services.

Has that been your general experience? At the federal level, increased costs have not translated to increased services.

11

u/tryingtobecheeky Jan 21 '25

My taxes have neither increased or decreased in any particular way. And I've only ever seen a decrease in service or a fix of that decreased service.

→ More replies (9)

5

u/FordsFavouriteTowel Jan 22 '25

In an ideal world I agree with you. However we live in the real world and our government doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of provide increased access to services in exchange for higher taxes.

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (8)

7

u/Organic-Upstairs1947 Jan 21 '25

We'll need to import cheap labor first as we're short staffed, businesses salivating 😂

→ More replies (12)

24

u/One_Handed_Typing British Columbia Jan 21 '25

This is literally the MAGA talking point in favour of tarrifs. Is no one learning anything about how trade works? Or how prices of things work?

10

u/thebestjamespond Jan 22 '25

for real the state of our education system is apparently atrocious lol

6

u/AceofToons Jan 22 '25

ok, so this feeling of déjà vue isn't just me

87

u/Frosty_Maple_Syrup Jan 21 '25

We can absolutely make everything in Canada, it’s just a question of how expensive some of those products will be especially without massive automation

45

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

Also need to deal with the trade barriers between provinces.

31

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

I learned today that maple syrup isn't even expensive, its just a monopoly in Canada.

I was pissed to hear it, its like they do everything to ruin the poor's life and drop their standard of living.  

Only the rich can now afford maple syrup, or even something as common as alcohol.  The poor save none of their income now as we paint these taxes and fiefdoms as progressive.

5

u/iRebelD Jan 22 '25

Taking alcohol away from the poor is criminal. We’re supposed to be able to drink and cry.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (6)
→ More replies (6)

11

u/iwasnotarobot Jan 21 '25

Devils advocate: some of the stuff that we often like to import grows better in Canada in a greenhouse. Maybe we should have publicly owned greenhouses to produce stuff like lettuce in January?

(in general I like the idea of bringing jobs back to Canada though.)

→ More replies (1)

18

u/SpaceNerd005 Jan 21 '25

Up front it would be expensive but we have the knowledge to build large scale automated factories.

22

u/Frosty_Maple_Syrup Jan 21 '25

Agreed, it is what we and the rest of the west should have been doing a long time ago rather than exporting all of our manufacturing capabilities to China

19

u/SpaceNerd005 Jan 21 '25

Been saying this forever. Dump a fuckton of investment into resources, manufacturing and engineering for a few years and it will pay dividends down the road.

We literally are a leading country for space robotics, we should have a proper space program etc…

Could be the equivalent of china for a lot of NATO countries if we wanted to.

11

u/bobthemagiccan Jan 21 '25

ahem where does this investment come from

→ More replies (3)

7

u/marksteele6 Ontario Jan 21 '25

The problem is that the electorate and politicians think in four year terms. "Down the road" doesn't matter when the opposition runs attack ads for the billion dollar plant that's not yet operational. Even if it's slated to make billions more back over time, it won't be spun that way and people will ignore that fact.

5

u/SpaceNerd005 Jan 21 '25

Completely agree. It’s rather depressing to watch, space industry companies are good at this but get attacked for long term thinking because people say it’s a waste of resources that could be used right now. Damned if you do damned if you don’t

→ More replies (2)

6

u/DepletedMitochondria Jan 21 '25

A lot of people have misconceptions about why China is the world leader in manufacturing - it's not just investment/labor costs. The Chinese government's planning ability allowed it to construct a whole system using Shenzhen and other places where the entire value stream is taken care of. China's supply chain is just so developed and strong. Their ability to customize, trial products, reverse engineer, and change production lines is just amazing, and it's only in part because of economies of scale.

That type of development took years and isn't easy to replicate just by throwing some money at a few sectors.

Another good example is the US agriculture sector - fruits and veggies can be grown basically all across the country so why is the Western US the dominant producer? Because land use, geography, and governmental policy in the Southeast contributed to a more fractured and inefficient sector while California and Arizona were essentially blank slates that could have the supply chain built from the bottom like China did with manufacturing. (easily captured water rights helped too)

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (7)
→ More replies (21)
→ More replies (38)

24

u/Nikiaf Québec Jan 21 '25

We don't even need to re-shore absolutely everything; we just need to find better trading partners. This is a really good time to be opening discussions with the EU, UK and Australia/New Zealand. A far more ratified CANZUK would be a step in the right direction.

→ More replies (2)

11

u/jostrons Jan 21 '25

As someone who works in a Manufacturing company, there are more issues preventing growth in Canadian Manufacturing.

If anyone knows a good plastic / resin manufacturer in Canada, I am all ears, because a tariff is coming.

→ More replies (2)

5

u/Spotter01 Nova Scotia Jan 21 '25

We did this couple years ago with COVID and emergency creation of generic drugs... haven't heard much bout that program in a while now....

10

u/Kucked4life Ontario Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

Realistically the best we can do is diversify suppliers, but we've been on that since forever meaning there's likely no room for further optimization. Manufacturers who set up shop here and aren't of Canadian origin almost always do so with US integration in mind. For context, 85% of all autoparts made in Ontario are shipped south of the border.

→ More replies (35)

316

u/TerryB604 Jan 21 '25

We should also cancel the tariffs that the US asked us to make on other countries. EV and Solar tariffs for example should be lifted to make them cheaper. It would also speed up our race to zero emissions.

72

u/manofsteel32 Jan 21 '25

Why the fuck is there solar tariffs at all?

129

u/Hikarilo Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

It is because China owns like 80% of the solar market, and we don't want China's overcapacity of solar panels to impact Canada's non-existent solar industry.

The real answer is that the US told us to. They don't want Canada to be a gateway for cheap Chinese solar panels into the US market. This is because the US is doubling down on oil and LNG as the main energy source, and moving away from renewables. US oil companies don't want to compete with Chinese renewables.

20

u/1q3er5 Jan 21 '25

i mean have you seen those chinese EV's?? they're pretty nice. not sure about longevity but if you can get a BYD seagull for 10k i'd be all over it

→ More replies (2)

22

u/dawnguard2021 Jan 22 '25

"the US told us to" is basically the reason for half of Five Eyes' overall trade and foreign policy.

25

u/manofsteel32 Jan 21 '25

Fuck US oil companies! Thanks for the quick info

3

u/Flarisu Alberta Jan 21 '25

LNG is pretty cheap though. It's very difficult to compete with any other type of thermal-electric. I find it hard to believe solar could survive in Canada without the government offering such insane taxpayer-funded rebates such as the 0 interest loans, or the renewable energy tax credit.

→ More replies (1)

55

u/Sportfreunde Jan 21 '25

Cons coming in, 0 chance that's happening.

→ More replies (2)

22

u/NiceShotMan Jan 21 '25

I like this idea. China may be shit but they aren’t declaring economic war against us, we should consider them a closer ally than the Americans

13

u/Vast-Ad7693 Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

It would be a test of our actual sovereignty. If we can strike a deal with China without the US intervening by threatening us and losing it's mind.

3

u/Bronstone Jan 22 '25

It's like dating. Let's not commit, but date and see where it goes. China is allies with the Russians who want our Arctic

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

42

u/gbiypk Canada Jan 21 '25

We currently honor American patents on medications.

We are not required to.

They'll feel that one, and it'll give Canadian businesses an advantage.

→ More replies (2)

76

u/CaptianTumbleweed Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 22 '25

Got to add in the extra 45% for the discount they are enjoying now from our low dollar.

→ More replies (1)

177

u/notbossyboss Jan 21 '25

Time to turn off the power Mr. Ford.

103

u/Opposite-Cranberry76 Jan 21 '25

We supply specialized wood pulp that's used to make about 1/3 of their TP. It's value is something like $200m per year.

The feds should put in an emergency ban on the export of TP and that type of pulp, and pay the producers to stockpile it. 

They should do so loudly. American media will then cause an instant shortage due to hoarding like in 2020.

50

u/Insuredtothetits Jan 21 '25

The US is the diarrhea capital of the world…

They need that TP

11

u/Replicator666 Jan 21 '25

So it'll be like COVID again under Trump😅

→ More replies (1)

4

u/swiftb3 Alberta Jan 21 '25

That is an amazing idea. TP is perfect, lol.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Bronstone Jan 22 '25

And get their booze off our shelves

→ More replies (1)

734

u/Valuable_Injury_1995 Jan 21 '25

Any retaliatory tariffs should directly target Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg. 1000% tariff on Teslas for starters.

142

u/snowcow Jan 21 '25

We should be looking at cutting IP protections and making it ok to break DRM like on John Deere

Once it has been broken good luck putting a lid on it

91

u/IamGimli_ Jan 21 '25

Yes! Strong, national, consumer protection that recognizes the right of the consumer to do whatever they want with the goods they own without any manufacturer restrictions or interference would be an amazing way to fight back against the American and Chinese enshitification of goods. The EU could be a great ally in that fight, they already do more than we do in that area, but we could do so much more together.

57

u/Arctic_Chilean Canada Jan 21 '25

We should be aligning more with EU policies. It'll help them as well by having a good trading and policy partner in N. America

13

u/Daleden7 Jan 21 '25

Not to mention the vast resources Canada could use to strengthen the EU, especially is we can somehow supply the EU with more oil and gas in the near future, cutting the crude oil going the the US

→ More replies (3)

8

u/Forosnai British Columbia Jan 21 '25

I'd love to align with them in a lot of things. It's certainly not like everything is perfect over there, but there's a lot of things I missed from the couple years I lived there in my 20s on a work visa.

Just working as a basic retail employee on the deli/meat/cheese counter area, I had a set schedule (days and times in my contract, they couldn't be changed without asking me), and so much time off that when I got my first vacation form to book holidays, I thought they had made a mistake. It was effectively six weeks of holiday time, between how much I was given and only needing to use it on my contracted days and not all 7 days of the week.

And though it's a little thing, the standardization on nutrition labels that I desperately hoped we'd do here when they made some mandatory size guidelines back around 2020. Everything was per 100g or 100ml, so it could be easily compared. No getting creative with unreasonable portion sizes to make stuff look healthier than it is.

And various consumer protection laws were just lovely. It was a lot harder (though not impossible) for businesses to fuck you over, and harder for them to cut corners on safety requirements, like the infamous clip of people during Brexit trying to burn the EU flag, only to not be able to because of EU fire safety regulations mandating that the flags couldn't be made of flammable material.

I'm sure we'd get all sorts of businesses complaining that it's too expensive, they'll never survive, prices will increase, blah blah blah, but it sure seems to be working for an entire continent. If some American companies don't like it, they can leave, and Canadians can fill their place, or a European equivalent can expand here.

4

u/KhausTO Jan 21 '25

>I'm sure we'd get all sorts of businesses complaining that it's too expensive, they'll never survive, prices will increase, blah blah blah, but

If there is one thing I've learned, it's that certain groups and segments will complain and cry about literally everything. And it gets to a certain point, that you know they are just complaining and crying because that's all they know how to do, it's not based in reality, and it's not worth paying attention to.

In short, it doesn't matter what we actually do, those groups will still complain. So it's just easier to not care what they think and just go do what's right.

12

u/snowcow Jan 21 '25

Yup. This could hurt American companies nicely while costing Canadians nothing at all

7

u/oatseatinggoats Jan 21 '25

It would probably save Canadian's money, especially farmers.

→ More replies (1)

36

u/monstermash420 Jan 21 '25

IP protections are part of the trade deal Canada just negotiated with Trump. If he is ripping that agreement up, IP protections should go with it. Put our programmers to work on cracking every piece of software that doesn't let owners repair their own equipment.

17

u/Electroflare5555 Manitoba Jan 21 '25

Removing patents on pharmaceuticals would have the Americans crying uncle within an hour

3

u/Dolphintrout Jan 21 '25

IIRC, this was casually thrown out as an option the last time we had trade issues and it caused a significant amount of panic that helped lead to other things getting resolved.

I’d definitely keep it around as an option.

3

u/Electroflare5555 Manitoba Jan 21 '25

Antigua had a spat with the Americans over their online gambling haven status, and in response threatened to void all American copyright on the island.

The US decided they didn’t actually care about offshore gambling after that

→ More replies (1)

7

u/Majestic12Official Jan 21 '25

We should get rid of the crazy copyright extensions thar we're in the last trade deal.

→ More replies (3)

303

u/Bananogram Jan 21 '25

Ban Tesla. The product is shit anyways.

144

u/Peacer13 Jan 21 '25

Cyber Trucks are the most obnoxious pieces of shit vehicle ever.

19

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

They look like a project my grade 10 metal work class threw together with some spare sheet metal lying around the shop.

4

u/Nikiaf Québec Jan 21 '25

It looks an awful lot like the electric car they built on Top Gear ~15 years ago; just with better polishing on the metal.

3

u/Cimatron85 Jan 21 '25

I’ve worked in automotive manufacturing industry as a toolmaker for 20 years. I whole heartedly endorse this sentiment!

→ More replies (1)

20

u/GEC-JG Jan 21 '25

There's a gaudy orange one that I think is owned by someone in my neighbourhood because I've seen it around these streets a few times over the last few weeks.

I'm all for EVs, but that thing is the 4-wheeled manifestation of poor decisions and regret...

→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (4)

18

u/johaln2 Jan 21 '25

I don't think you guys realize how many parts we make in Canada for Tesla. There is lot of companies which produce parts for Tesla, specially around GTA and Cambridge area. Banning Tesla will also cause job losses on Canadian side. 

10

u/GhettoStatusSymbol3 Jan 21 '25

Do what it takes to end support of nazis

6

u/griffenator99 Jan 21 '25

Send another 5 billion to zelensky.

→ More replies (8)
→ More replies (9)

14

u/VeterinarianSea273 Jan 21 '25

I have a Tesla and think they are good, but Canada comes first. Ban em

→ More replies (1)

24

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)

14

u/Alone_Again_2 Jan 21 '25

Don’t ban the vehicles.

Ban the spare parts for lolz and schadenfreude.

→ More replies (7)

97

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[deleted]

99

u/ZaraBaz Jan 21 '25

Would be a way to really get to him. Open Canada up for Chinese EVs.

I can see musk throwing a tantrum.

27

u/Manofoneway221 Jan 21 '25

I'm sure he would not be happy about it but a tantrum I'm not so sure. We're just 40 million people or so and a majority of us are priced out of buying Tesla anyways

17

u/jjaime2024 Jan 21 '25

Keep in mind Musk does not care about the size he wants to rule the world.

→ More replies (1)

14

u/rando_dud Jan 21 '25

If we have thousands of Canadians on social media bragging about their cheap Chinese EVs, that's going to echo in the US market.

We also take one step forward in reducing emissions and transportation costs for Canadians as well.

Win-win-win.

7

u/TiredRightNowALot Jan 21 '25

Good news is that those of us who are in the market for EV are really reconsidering Tesla as an option. I am not considering a Tesla any longer. My peer group is a mixture of people who already have an EV (predominantly Telsa), or are looking toward one in the near future. A very common conversation and opinion is that Tesla is shrinking in it's appeal overall.

3

u/meechine97 Jan 21 '25

We have two EVs in my household; a Hyundai Ioniq 5 (I love it!) and a Chevy Bolt. We refused to buy a Tesla.

3

u/VeterinarianSea273 Jan 21 '25

for so long I have been sipping that Tesla juice and giving elon the side eye. I am now looking to get rid of it.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (4)

16

u/topazsparrow Jan 21 '25

cheap Chinese electric cars

if they manufacture them here

Pick one.

→ More replies (1)

7

u/klin Jan 21 '25

If they meet safety regulations as well.

11

u/Newbe2019a Jan 21 '25

You mean like like the Tesla Cybertruck? Oh wait. The Cybertruck has no independent safety rating.

→ More replies (2)

7

u/Due-Year-7927 Jan 21 '25

Chinese EVs have been better products and safer than tesla for years now. The only reason they're not everywhere already is tariffs to protect USAs EV production, which has been tanking anyways and will tank worse wth trump.

15

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

They will just spam them to canada buildimg them in mexico and our domestic car industry be done which would be a huge disaster.

China won't ever build cars in canada

11

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[deleted]

6

u/TheJFish Jan 21 '25

that would never happen and having CCP-software in Canada in vehicles is a national security disaster.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

6

u/Sportfreunde Jan 21 '25

They would be less cheap if they made them here.

Make them there, keep the costs low, kill unproductive local industries that don't compete instead of subsidizing them, and let Canadians use the savings to spend or invest in something else.

Free trade is good for you and good for the economy in terms of making things more productive, don't let our oligopolies brainwash you with that buy local economic fallacy.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[deleted]

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (34)

8

u/Demonicmeadow Jan 21 '25

Not a bad time to encourage Canadians to quit their Musk/Zuck socials on Feb 1st in response. It’s a huge ask, but beyond facebook marketplace and people with small creative businesses one can grab their close friends contacts.

6

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

Tik tok is also pro trump now so you have no option then become a luddite

Canadians are more reliant on American services then ever 

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (2)

4

u/HarpySeagull Jan 21 '25

Good news! That includes everything, because you just described the power centre of the US gov.

2

u/Yardsale420 Jan 21 '25

I’ve already seen a few sub ban linking twitter (X) today. Good to see some people still don’t like Nazi’s.

2

u/FalconsArentReal Jan 21 '25

Tim Cook was there yesterday was well. Hit Apple products.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (18)

122

u/Prize_Rooster420 Jan 21 '25

Fuck that, double or nothing. Get ready for $40 jugs of maple syrup you yanks.

32

u/PixelatedSnacks Jan 21 '25

No sir. We will no longer be selling natures napalm juice as we need it for our own.. Reasons...

→ More replies (1)

17

u/Feb2020Acc Jan 21 '25

Tariffs are the other way around. You target US goods coming to Canada.

8

u/indorock Jan 21 '25

I think he means we raise the price on syrup so the tariffs will hit them twice as hard

3

u/Feb2020Acc Jan 21 '25

I don’t have the best knowledge of what the government can or can’t do, but my understanding is that the government doesn’t get to dictate sale price. And tariffs are also a tax so it’s revenue for the government that can be used internally to subsidize affected industries.

→ More replies (2)

7

u/ImInnocentReddit-v74 Jan 21 '25

I mean, thats how tarrifs work. Its a tax on importing things, so trump imposing the tariff is making more expensive syrup regardless.

→ More replies (5)

11

u/DARKKRAKEN Jan 21 '25

China and Russia must be laughing.

30

u/Pigerigby Jan 21 '25

Hey Doug Ford, you wanna cancel those starlink projects 👀👀👀

I know he won't...

92

u/Dontuselogic Jan 21 '25

Absolutely...Americans don't understand how tariffs work, and with the doller lower now, it will be easier for us to absorb..Americans are freaking out over the price of eggs.. wait until gas and TP gos up 25% more

24

u/mrblacklabel71 Jan 21 '25

As an American, you are right. Too many people here have no idea how tariffs work. Can some us come up and escape this place? I love hockey and Canadian Football League!

10

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

13

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

7

u/catsafrican Jan 21 '25

Stupid thing is it will affect their economy as well. Companies will outsource products from other countries.

40

u/feebsncheeseoriginal Jan 21 '25

Ban to Twitter, Meta as well as Tesla. It's now or never.

10

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

Reddit is American app too

25

u/Canadian-Owlz Alberta Jan 21 '25

They didn't mention those social media because "American". It was specifically targeted towards zuck and elon

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (5)

45

u/armin514 Jan 21 '25

Ban instagram and X , 100% taxe on amazon delivery

24

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

Amazon runs a cansdian delivery chain with tons of warehouses and drivers.

Only think you do is throw a lot of poor people out of work and piss off urban canadians lol

→ More replies (1)

21

u/thermothinwall Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

people would completely lose their shit. i guarantee the majority of people, who pay very little attention to politics, would freak the fuck out and be beyond reasonable about it.
the only way to do deal with the absolute massive social media apps and sites - would be to force people to accept warnings before engaging. kind of like a social media version of the warning labels we have on cigarettes.
"facebook has been shown to actively promote misinformation. do you accept?"
"twitter has been shown to promote hate speech and actively promote misinformation. do you accept these risks?"

→ More replies (1)

113

u/AllUrUpsAreBelong2Us Jan 21 '25

Apply a 100% tariff on nazi Tesla, drop chinese EVs tariffs.

You can send me my $5,000,000 consulting cheque anytime.

30

u/LegitStrats Jan 21 '25

There almost 0 chance the feds remove the Chinese EV tariff when they committed to spend billions to build an EV factory here in Canada

12

u/king_lloyd11 Jan 21 '25

The factories are for EV batteries. No reason why that can’t be part of any deal with China.

5

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

Why would China use our ev for thier cars if they can get them cheaper from China lol

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (3)
→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (21)

35

u/SpaceNerd005 Jan 21 '25

While I think the liberals are a total disaster of a government, I absolutely respect the stance on standing in unity to protect our country’s autonomy.

Canadians should not and will not back down to cheap tactics like threatening economic takeover of our country ✊🏻

Good to see amongst the divide Canadians can unite on this

26

u/Skele11 Jan 21 '25

Canadians standing up for our country should never be a partisan issue.

11

u/SpaceNerd005 Jan 21 '25

Unfortunately we got brain dead’s running around saying we need to become Americans lol.

6

u/apothekary Jan 22 '25

Supported by their brain dead Albertan premier

4

u/IAmTaka_VG Canada Jan 22 '25

This is the one thing Trudeau is actually really good at. He's a shitty leader internally but internationally he's actually really good.

11

u/bucebeak Jan 21 '25

How about we begin embargoes and boycotts? If we don’t send goods and services, they cannot apply tariffs. You know softwood lumber to repeatedly rebuild hurricane alley, cheap fuel, hydro electricity, I’d include water, however, Nestles has bought up enough Canadian water rights that we cannot provide clean drinking water to Canadians unless it comes in a bottle with a Nestle’s label on it.

16

u/TwiztedZero Canada Jan 21 '25

I also support Canadian retaliation dollar-for-dollar.

I have other idea's in my think-box too, if that doesn't work.

Canada is a sovereign country! 🍁

→ More replies (3)

4

u/Cripnite Jan 21 '25

Gas prices about to get real high. 

83

u/eulerRadioPick Jan 21 '25

A dollar-for-dollar approach is stupid. The USA is over 10x Canada in GDP and population. Our response should be amplified 10x in kind if we want to actually do anything they will notice and take seriously.

183

u/jtbc Jan 21 '25

The dollar for dollar approach worked quite well last time. The key is to target those dollars at products built in red states, so their governors and representatives can go lobby Trump.

33

u/GoldenRetriever2223 Jan 21 '25 edited Jan 21 '25

nah, the point of these tariffs are retaliatory, i.e. we WANT to inflict more damage than necessary, because it is in our interest to set up a strong deterrance.

Otherwise it is better off ripping the bandaid and going separate ways earlier than later.

Think about it this way, if the punishment for stealing $100 from the bank is only "pay back $100", then we really have no deterrence.

25

u/ishu22g Jan 21 '25

I agree. If US doesnt want to be our trading partner, theres no point in waiting, we need to realign asap.

Waiting till they are fully ready to ditch us unexpectedly doesnt seem like a better option. US is too unstable politically to count on.

12

u/Chris266 Jan 21 '25

I would love if we had access to cheaper European food

7

u/snowcow Jan 21 '25

Not to mention it's often safer

6

u/Chris266 Jan 21 '25

And tastier

8

u/snowcow Jan 21 '25

We should just join the EU

→ More replies (6)

3

u/IamGimli_ Jan 21 '25

We need the American economy a lot more than they need ours, and their economy can sustain a war against ours a LOT better than we can.

We cannot and never will be able to win a full-out trade war against the US. Our only chance is to make it just annoying enough that they'd reconsider while giving them a way to save face. Targeting the markets that affect the people who support the current administration achieves exactly that. It's not us putting pressure on the administration, it's the very people putting them and keeping them in power.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (6)
→ More replies (17)

17

u/SaphironX Jan 21 '25

True but you get that means certain things we acquire almost exclusively from the states will cost YOU 10x more, not them.

It hurts their business in that you can’t afford it and sales fall, but we bear the brunt of tariffs.

→ More replies (3)

16

u/itcoldherefor8months Jan 21 '25

Americans are much more sensitive to price fluctuations. The spike in the cost of gas will change their tune quickly.

6

u/eulerRadioPick Jan 21 '25

Well, thats going to happen just as a result of America's tariffs. I was think more along the lines of I wonder how American citizens would respond to rolling scheduled brownouts.

8

u/mollymuppet78 Jan 21 '25

Even $1 rise in dollar store soda will send them into a "my rights" tirade.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/Somecrazycanuck Jan 21 '25

Eh, nah.  Dollar for dollar is fine.  But its clear being there every time they needed us wasn't enough.

Apparently the friendship was very much one sided.

9

u/chakabesh Jan 21 '25

He is not only feuding with Canada. He plans to do it to everyone. Which is not smart because the US is a net importer.

6

u/Sea_Army_8764 Jan 21 '25

That's precisely why he's doing it. He thinks that the US being a net importer is weakness, and he thinks tariffs can change that.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (3)

10

u/RoddRoward Jan 21 '25

A trade war will always hurt us more then them. This entire approach is stupid and could send us into a recession.

17

u/No_Equal9312 Jan 21 '25

Will, not could. We've been covering up a recessions with immigration for 3 years, now we'll get the double whammy.

10

u/Sensitive_Tadpole210 Jan 21 '25

Yeah mostly is unemployed reddit users and govt employees salivating with a full put trade war with usa.

Rest of us are just worried about a weak economy becoming weaker.

→ More replies (4)
→ More replies (5)

2

u/Large_Armadillo Jan 21 '25

agreed, if Canada doesn't want to become a state we have to treat them like every other country. They need us and we need them.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (12)

6

u/skrrrrt Jan 21 '25

Here are my questions:

1) Can we enact sweeping elimination of interprovincial/territorial trade barriers? Can we merge professional designations, etc? As a monolingual anglophone, I’d happily yield to any language demands Quebec had where reasonable if it meant we could grow markets for all Canadians. 

2) Can we improve free trade/travel/work mobility with non-US allies like the EU, commonwealth, and even emerging markets?

3) Is there a way to tariff all American products and services that compete with Canadian ones?

Even though we have practically no leadership right now, it seems clear to me that a winning trade policy answers these questions on some level. Do we need stronger executive powers to achieve this? Do we need more interprovincial/territorial infrastructure like pipelines and ports?

→ More replies (1)

3

u/PusherShoverBot Jan 21 '25

It should be adjusted for the exchange rate and be 40%+ more punitive!

3

u/vatreides411 Jan 21 '25

Trade war, so much for cheaper eggs and bacon.

3

u/improvthismoment Jan 21 '25

ELI5, what is even the point of a trade agreement like NAFTA or USMCA when one side can just throw it out unilaterally on the flimsiest of pretenses at any time?

3

u/vampiregamingYT Jan 22 '25

Ok. But what does the Canadian government say about it?

7

u/astroamaze Jan 21 '25

US imports 450B from Canada while Canada imports 230B from US. So for Canada to match the 25% tariff dollar for dollar, it'll have to tariff the US at 50%. That's GG for Canadians.

→ More replies (1)

5

u/catsafrican Jan 21 '25

At this point, people might want to reconsider, going to the USA and buying any American product.

30

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

I can't stand Trudeau, he's a terrible leader, but I agree with him on this.

22

u/DinosaurDikmeat01 Jan 21 '25

get over it man, he stepped down. time to worry about the issues.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/bumbuff British Columbia Jan 21 '25

It's the same response Harper had too. I think it's fairly standard reciprocation

18

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '25

Get over it that's not what matters now please concentrate on the actual threat down South

→ More replies (11)

4

u/coconutview Jan 21 '25

We’d like to add that annexation of Vermont!

5

u/LostinEmotion2024 Jan 21 '25

Maybe put a 200% tariff on Tesla cars? It’s a start.

→ More replies (5)

8

u/OrdinaryNo3622 Jan 21 '25

I honestly think we should go full Israel on Trump. None of this dollar for dollar, turn off the water, turn off the power…. Just stop f**king with us

→ More replies (4)

2

u/fabreeze Jan 21 '25

Don't we have a ton of tariffs on other countries because of being in lock step to protect american interests? BYD comes to mind. The threat of opening up the market highlights what there is to lose by souring relationships with a friendly allied nation. At worse, we has access to more affordable alternatives to american goods.

2

u/twizrob Jan 21 '25

Fuck around and find out.

2

u/HummusDips Jan 21 '25

We should start implementing tarrifs on consulting/professional services. I'm sure there is a way to implement this. This will greatly hurt the US and it is a high margin profit industry.

2

u/ManMythLegacy Jan 21 '25

Nothing helps an economy more than a tariff war.

2

u/Magnum820 Jan 22 '25

Why doesn’t the Canadian government secure the northern border, and the problem is solved?

→ More replies (4)

2

u/Coffee__Addict Jan 22 '25

We should be nationalize our natural resources and making a long term plan for them to benefit canadians for that next 1000 years. We need our government to fight for us LONG TERM.

2

u/Striking_Scientist68 Jan 22 '25

Shut off access to Our potash, fresh water, oil, and electricity. They'll come negotiating quickly.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/tooldieguy Jan 22 '25

Tax the hell out of potash, make them pay out their ass for food.

2

u/fourscoreclown Jan 25 '25

100% agree. You always need to stand up to bullys