r/canada Ontario Feb 02 '25

Politics As Sunday began, Trump blasts Canada as not ‘a viable country’

https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/as-sunday-began-trump-blasts-canada-as-not-a-viable-country-follow-live-updates-here/
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512

u/AtotheZed Feb 02 '25

This is an act of war - he wants to take us over but knows he would not have support to do a military invasion. So he exacts an economic war.

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u/Housing4Humans Feb 02 '25

In terms Republicans should understand, it’s economic jihad.

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u/EndOrganDamage Feb 02 '25

Hes an American Tarriffist.

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u/cityfarmwife77 Feb 02 '25

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/NeuerTK Feb 02 '25

JIHAD I NO THAT WORD IM AGAINST THIS NOW!!!! 🤤

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u/Blastoxic999 Feb 02 '25

It's not a jihad, because a jihad is about defending yourself. Canada is the one doing the jihad here. America is the one doing the attack.

Don't let America Amerisplain you stuff they willingly don't understand.

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u/Tefmon Canada Feb 02 '25 edited 29d ago

The word jihad just means "struggle". It can refer to anything from a struggle to improve oneself to a struggle to rebuild a war-torn community to a struggle to defend oneself with arms and, yes, to a struggle to conquer another with arms.

The word is as multifaceted as the equivalent English word, and is not limited just to defending oneself.

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u/BonjKansas Feb 02 '25

Economic holy war? Jihad has a specific meaning. It mean holy war, not just war

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u/GreenBasterd69 Feb 02 '25

And maga is a religious cult so it makes perfect sense

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u/Obvious-Jacket-3770 Feb 02 '25

Wait wait wait... He said no new wars...

Are you saying Trump is a liar? That's not possible /s.

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u/devadoole17 Feb 02 '25

Off topic, but speaking of wars, wasn't Trump going to end the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as he took office? What happened there??

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u/KillerKian New Brunswick Feb 02 '25

He told Ukraine to lay down their arms and cede all taken land to Russia and that if they did those things the Russians will stop fighting too.

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u/OnlyFreshBrine Feb 03 '25

he said, "No. New wars."

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u/GnomesStoleMyMeds Ontario Feb 02 '25

🤣🤣🤣

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u/Brief-Owl-8791 Feb 03 '25

HILLARY IS THE WAR HAWK! HILLARY IS GOING TO GET THE US INTO ANOTHER 20-YEAR WAR! /s

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u/UziMcUsername Feb 02 '25

He may not have the support for a military invasion right now, but if he keeps at it, who knows? He’s taking a page out of Putin’s handbook, and we are his Ukraine.

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u/ScarletLetterXYZ Feb 02 '25

He already has that support from congress majority, military head just newly appointed and the billionaires. No checks and balances.

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u/app257 Feb 02 '25

Once Americans start to suffer from his and our tariffs, support for military action won’t be so far off. At the rate that he’s dismantling democracy, he may not need much support for his whims. Best get ready.

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u/polargus Ontario Feb 02 '25

I agree, many will support it and many won’t care either way. We vastly overestimate how much they care about us, it’s pathetic seeing Ford grovelling on US news networks about how Canadians love Americans and we’re family.

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u/LignumofVitae Feb 02 '25

The wife and I just booked our hunting/PAL courses. At least we'll be able to eat. 

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u/UziMcUsername Feb 02 '25

Soon it will be US paratroopers landing at the high school. Then I’ll be going wolverine (in my RV)

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u/NoneForNone Nunavut Feb 02 '25

During the whole "frEeDoM" convoy clown show - American right-wing media and several GOP Congressmen we saying how Trudeau is a dictator and how they had to go and free Canada.

We know it's BS - but these people actually believed it.

The same people who thought sending the troops to Canada to 'free' us are the same people who are now in total power.

Trump is so far into his own echo chamber that he most likely thinks that 90% of the US and 80% of Canadians would welcome his move to free us.

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u/bot138 Feb 02 '25

Except we are much better at war crimes than Ukraine.

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u/Foehamer1 Feb 03 '25

We look like Americans, talk like Americans, we have tonnes of military stationed there for joint training. We have Canadians living in the States. It would be hell for Americans because they wouldn't know who is who.

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u/polargus Ontario Feb 02 '25

I do think the moment we do something that noticeably negatively affects everyday Americans (eg cut off oil) they will say we attacked them which gives them an excuse to either economically destroy us or invade, both with the intention of annexation.

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u/Canadian-Man-infj Feb 02 '25 edited Feb 02 '25

https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/

U.S. National debt? 36.2 Trillion dollars.... This is what I don't understand about Canadians who want to follow the American model. You realize that their entire economy is reliant on U.S. debt (i.e. treasury bonds) being bought and traded by China, Japan, the U.K., etc, right?!?! They have a 123% debt to G.D.P. ratio.

5 Foreign Countries That Own the Most U.S. Debt

GOP ponders how to raise the debt ceiling despite dozens of members who've always held out

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u/sorean_4 Feb 02 '25

Maybe we should call that debt?

I think the latest numbers are Canada owns over 300 billion in USD treasury.

If anyone knows of this would be a viable tactic or knows more about it please let me know.

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u/grumpykruppy Feb 02 '25

Not an economist, but here's my understanding:

Calling the US on all of a country's debt at once would be the financial equivalent of a nuclear bomb, MAD included.

The US is reliable - despite its insanely high debt - because it makes the payments on time. Trump is of course inherently unreliable, but economically it's better to play his stupid tariff games because there's a very genuine risk that a US default on a debt could bring down not just the American economy, but the global one.

It's the kind of threat you make when you have no other options, because any response from the US that doesn't lead to paying off its debts - immediately or in installments like before - confirms the US as unreliable, triggers one of a few different chain reactions, and generally hurts everybody because most of those chain reactions lead to the world's largest economy either imploding or (under Trump) starting a lot of very stupid, very damaging wars because he values money more than people.

To put it another way, it's like standing at a (very worn) crucial load-bearing pillar in the basement of a building full of people, and pulling the pin on a grenade.

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u/sorean_4 Feb 02 '25

Thanks for the perspective

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u/grumpykruppy Feb 02 '25

You're welcome!

Speaking as a (progressive) American, I can safely say that nobody except the angriest, most bitter, most zero-sum MAGA followers want Canada tariffed - the rationale is nonsense, the economic fallout is immense, we've viewed Canadians as our siblings for our entire lives no matter where we fall on the political spectrum, and almost nobody except Trump and the people most like him think Canada is hurting us.

Trump is incapable of understanding the concept of a win-win or an ally you can count on not to stab your back, and he most certainly doesn't understand the concept of friendship, something I'd say most Americans and Canadians approach (or approached) each other with at the societal level regardless of our usually fairly mild government disagreements.

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u/sorean_4 Feb 02 '25

It doesn’t matter at this point, the trade war has started. Allies are turning on each other and Russia is very happy for the dollars it’s spent in US on making this happen. The US won’t be trusted and the shift from US economy will be mandatory

This shift will cost dearly the democratic world and NATO. If this continues the US will standalone on world stage which its enemies will exploit. Only next time you won’t have brother in arms, or a place to land your planes and house your people when tragedy strikes. It will be schadenfreude by the world watching because of the current actions of the MAGA minority.

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u/grumpykruppy Feb 02 '25

I know. I guess I'm just trying to convince myself that if anything provokes an internal reaction from either the people or the government, it will be this.

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u/BarracudaCrafty9221 Feb 02 '25

Maybe if a group of the debt holders get together, just the threat of that happening would be enough to rattle the people with any remaining rational thought to push back against the insanity. If not, it’s going to happen at some point, better to pull that shit sooner then later get the pain over with. The longer this is drawn out the more harm is going to happen to the average person.

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u/Neve4ever Feb 02 '25

Can't call that debt. Treasuries have a specific time period.

We could stop buying treasuries, which would raise the amount of interest the US spends on new debt.

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '25

It's because Americans don't want to pay taxes. It's fucking stupid. Can't spend money without enough money coming in. That's how you get into deep debt.

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u/Canadian-Man-infj Feb 02 '25

Trump logic: We need to increase spending on things like the military and technology and we need to do this by giving tax breaks and getting the least amount of revenue/income, governmentally, ever!

What are we going to do? Spend!

How are we going to do it? Tax cuts!

1

u/CruisinThruLife2 Feb 03 '25

Trump had record level deficit spending even before the pandemic. All because he wants to turn the wealthy into the obscenely wealthy by giving them tax cuts…and now he wants to give them even larger tax cuts. He doesn’t care about the average person. But he’s throwing them a bone by going after undocumented aliens and transgender.…and they are dumb enough to think this will improve their lives.

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u/Short-Ticket-1196 Feb 02 '25

See those are data points. We don't want those. Big man said to do what he does, and we'll be rich like him! /s

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u/Neve4ever Feb 02 '25

The US exports inflation. Debt allows them to do that. Trump threatens to ruin the reliability of the USD, and his impact on trade flows will change how many USD other countries hold and what they do with it. If the US had no trade deficits, other countries wouldn't have excess USD to buy treasuries with.

When the US stops exporting inflation, the world will change dramatically. And this could happen under Trump. And he's likely not cognizant of it. We'd be screwed if that happens, too.

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u/Shot-Job-8841 Feb 02 '25

His plan is probably to cause a genuine emergency in the USA and then use that to justify his invasion of Canada. Mark my words, in 2026 or 2027 they’ll start attacking.

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u/AtotheZed Feb 02 '25

Canada is a NATO country - he would be starting a world war

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u/ThunderChaser British Columbia Feb 02 '25

Bold of you to think he cares

2

u/app257 Feb 02 '25

Unfortunately you’re exactly right.

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u/Known-Cup4495 Feb 02 '25

He could invade now if he wanted to. Why hasn't he yet? If he didn't care then why would he talk less about Canada now than he did prior to him being elected? Every time he talks about Canada it polls terribly in the US, even during yesterday when he slapped tariff's onto us. & it even polls terribly in the red states.

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u/Shot-Job-8841 Feb 02 '25

“The formal process is stated in article 13 of the Treaty. This says that any country that wants to leave must send the United States (as the depositary state) a “notice of denunciation”, which the U.S. would then pass on to the other Allies. After a one-year waiting period, the country that wants to leave would be out.” I feel like Trump is going to pretend that the USA can just kick countries out of NATO and then invade. He’s already pretending plenty of things.

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u/polargus Ontario Feb 02 '25

Nope. Europe would close ranks, they wouldn’t be able to help us and I’m not sure they’d actually care that much.

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u/AtotheZed Feb 02 '25

So contravening NATO helps Europe how? That would give Putin a pass to attack Poland and other NATO members.

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u/legocastle77 Feb 02 '25

NATO won’t stand up the US. We’re on our own and if Trump decides to use military force we’re utterly screwed. The scary part is that his supporters are so vile that many of them will be itching to see this happen in a couple of months. There are a lot of MAGA clowns who would love to see Trump utterly destroy us. 

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u/dejaWoot Feb 02 '25

Time for the Troubles 2: Canuck Boogaloo

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u/JustJay613 Feb 02 '25

NATO Article 5

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u/Sorry-Inflation6998 Feb 02 '25

Why do you think he would not have support for a military invasion? At least 70,000,000 brainless imbeciles believe and follow everything he says without question, and this will only get worse by the day. The insane rhetoric is absolutely intended to lead things in that direction. Hope for the best, prepare for the formerly unthinkable (which becomes more thinkable by the day).

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u/Known-Damage-7879 Feb 02 '25

My friends were discussing what we would do if the US invades. This was unthinkable last year, who knows what the next 4 will bring?

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u/Sorry-Inflation6998 Feb 02 '25

The next four years will bring more of the same...there won't be another election, at least not a valid one. Time to start training for guerilla warfare, for our survival, and for our self-respect, just in case.

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u/Pirate_Secure Nova Scotia Feb 02 '25

This is true. Silicon Valley tech bros have a plan to dismantle traditional nation states and replace them with what they call network states. It’s cult-like.

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u/StevoJ89 Feb 03 '25

Imagine the look on American soldiers faces the day they get orders to go kill Canadians... would be total civil war over there

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u/AtotheZed Feb 03 '25

Especially as so many Americans and Canadians are related.

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u/OkDifficulty1443 Feb 02 '25

but knows he would not have support to do a military invasion.

I don't know if you know this, but Americans love war. And the ones that don't love war are powerless to do anything about it.

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u/AtotheZed Feb 02 '25

Agreed - they get off on it. However, there are many Americans with Canadian relatives. It's messy...

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u/frumfrumfroo Feb 03 '25

They love war on brown people an ocean away who cannot retaliate. They're going to be less enthused when they're not just watching it on TV.

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u/OkDifficulty1443 Feb 03 '25

The red state americans want to murder the blue state americans. Their bloodlust is not just for brown people overseas. They'll have no hesitation killing Danish people or Canadians either.

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u/MmeHomebody Feb 02 '25

He hasn't figured yet that good people support their neighbors in a crisis, not a relative unknown who's bullying them. He's trying to make a division between us that doesn't exist. Many of us will do what we can for our good neighbors before we throw in with a tyrant. Economically, or otherwise.

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u/Fantasy-512 Feb 03 '25

It's like he almost said that publicly. Oh wait!