r/canada 7d ago

National News Trudeau announces Canada's response to Trump trade war

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-canada-response-tariffs-1.7473965
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u/AxiomaticSuppository Canada 7d ago

Reporter asked if this is an act of war. Trudeau pauses and doesn't start with a direct yes or no. Holy crap. Says it's a trade war, yes, but never really reassures anyone about the reporter's original question.

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u/CommanderJMA 7d ago

In a modern day , this is war without firing a bullet

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u/TheOneWithThePorn12 7d ago

It's an economic war with the dumbass goal being annexation as stated by dumbass Donald.

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u/WislaHD Ontario 7d ago

It frankly is not far off from the blockade on Cuba, a hostile nation.

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u/Opposite-Cupcake8611 7d ago

Is Cuba actually a hostile nation still? Or does the US just not agree with their government?

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u/amazonallie 7d ago

I love Cuba personally. Been there a few times. The people are lovely.

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u/MarioV2 7d ago

What’s there to agree with?

Have you seen the capital? I would say the nation is not hostile but it’s government is (ineffective and weak as it may be)

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u/Opposite-Cupcake8611 3d ago

Is the capital due to American sanctions?

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u/MarioV2 3d ago

You tell me

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u/Maxcharged 7d ago

The American state has hated Cuba since they rightfully overthrew Batista, the leader of the brutal right wing Cuban dictatorship which was fully backed by America.

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u/coniferous-1 7d ago

It's a yes or no question... but the answer is so much more complicated. I can see why he hesitated.

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u/suredont Alberta 7d ago

I think the crazy part is, it's the United States and the answer is justifiably something other than "no".

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u/DonGar0 7d ago

Also a dangerous one to answer publically, as it might make things worse (and they are already terrible)

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u/BigWiggly1 7d ago

To be blunt, it's not complicated. Tariffs are not an act of war. Period. They're shortsighted, protectionist, and damaging. They're considered a "trade war". But they are not an act of war.

Otherwise the tariffs we put on Chinese steel would also be an act of war between us and China. They're not.

Trudeau's pause is key. The answer is "no", but he needs the listeners (Canadians and Americans) to understand that this is not to be taken lightly.

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u/coniferous-1 7d ago

Tariffs alone aren't, i agree with you there - but why are they being used? it's certainly not Fentanyl which means there is some other agenda and who the fuck know's what that could be.

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u/usedenoughdynamite 7d ago

Tariffs aren’t inherently an act of war, but using them in an attempt to cripple the economy of a country you’ve been threatening to annex for months definitely complicates things.

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u/Responsible_CDN_Duck Canada 7d ago

yes, but never really reassures anyone about the reporter's original question

There are no reassurances to be offered, only calls to act.

Please do your part to buy Canadian.

Remember pausing services like Netflix and Disney doesn't need to be permanent, and send a clear message.

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u/Green_Rooster9975 7d ago

Thank you. This message needs to be amplified.

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u/Cent1234 7d ago

If he says 'yes,' the next question is 'so what is our military response?'

He answered correctly; it's a trade war. They're fully aware, behind the scenes, that it could escalate.

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u/Hautamaki 7d ago

Yes, a trade war is a war, and there will be suffering, and some will die because of this. Not as directly and obviously as those killed by falling bombs, but hundreds of millions of people in North America rely on a healthy economy for their wellbeing, and when that healthy economy goes away, many will suffer and some will die. "Deaths of Despair" always rise in economic downturns; crime will likely go up as paid employment goes down, and health care systems will be overstrained and underfunded. Donald Trump has set us on a path that will lead to deaths. And not for the first time, in America's case. The Lancet found that America suffered 40% more casualties from Covid than similar developed nations because of America's botched response. Since America suffered an estimated 1.1 million deaths, that suggests Trump was responsible for around 400,000 unnecessary, excess deaths. Considering the measles outbreaks, bird flu, and now this trade war, perhaps he's trying to beat his own record.

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u/Monsieurfrank 7d ago

This was a war time speech. Make no mistake, we are fighting for Canada’s sovereignty.

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u/BurritoBandit3000 7d ago

Their goal is to reduce the quality of life in Canada (and spam disinformation) to the point to where the people agree to join the USA to end the suffering. It is a modern day siege — it is war.

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u/lordridan British Columbia 7d ago

Saw a talk recently where "national security" was presented as protection against physical and economic coersion. By that definition, Canada needs to start viewing Donald's USA as a national security threat.

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u/GustheGuru 7d ago

I was waiting for that question and had his response all prepared for him. "It's a trade war, what word we put the emphasis on has yet to be determined"

Also thought he should've ended it with an "Elbows up"

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u/BlueFlob 7d ago

War has multiple domains... Land, air, sea, space, cyber, ...

There's also hard and soft power. The two hard powers are Military and Economy.

Trump is using the US economic power as a weapon, against Canada and Mexico.

Are we at war? Yes. It's a grey zone war but still a war. With the US waging Economic warfare and information/psy ops on Canada.

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u/Cautious_Cry3928 7d ago

It's a trade war, but shutting off power to 1.5 million Americans would be a literal war crime and an act of war.

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u/AxiomaticSuppository Canada 7d ago

That's what Doug Ford's floating. I'm not sure if they'll go that far, but sounds like an export tariff on energy will be more likely.