Mansoor’s Musings: Tariffs reprieve has been a wakeup call for Canada

By Mansoor Ladha on February 26, 2025.

President Trump’s tariff war against Canada has had a favourable impact in that it has united the country as never before, prompting the federal government, provinces and territories to launch their own countermeasures to hit back at the American economy and to review their relationships within the country.

There has been a resurgence of Canadian pride from coast to coast, unprecedented in the country’s history. The 30-day reprieve from tariff imposition has given Canadian policymakers time to think and review their next move.

Buy Canadian goods seem to be the common mantra willingly adopted by local shoppers, thanks to President Trump. A list of alternative Canadian products has been widely circulating which I have been carrying with me whenever I go grocery shopping. I applaud alcohol outlets who have removed U.S. made wines and liquor from their shelves,

On a personal note, I initiated a liquor boycott in Tanzania against the apartheid South Africa regime at the time. The boycott was very successful in placing a dent on buying South African goods. Another personal imitative I have taken is to cancel my annual vacation to Phoenix, Arizona, every February. I believe we all have a part to play to safeguard Canadian sovereignty and to promote local products. I applaud a B.C. coffee company which has called on cafes across the country to abandon “Americano” and rename it “Canadiano” instead. Americano is basically an espresso diluted with water.

Those who are regular Costco, Walmart and Amazon shoppers will have a moral dilemma, but it is my hope that national pride will outsmart buying habits. Revenue accrued for Canadian products sold at even these outlets ultimately goes to their U.S. head offices.

This is the time, the moment to take pride in Canada and in made-in-Canada products. A time has also come for Canada to explore new markets in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere. Canadian premiers have an obligation to remove trade barriers between regions to make the country prosper and become independent of foreign goods. A recent poll found 91 per cent of respondents think Canada needs to reduce its reliance on the U.S. as a trading partner.

A time has come for all provinces to band together and support building pipelines within the country which have been ignored for a long time.

The show of solidarity between Canada’s premiers to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade unfortunately lasted less than eight hours as Quebec Premier Francois Legault insisted there was no way Quebec will accept the Energy East pipeline to transport Alberta crude oil to tidewater in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Because this project is within Canadian borders, it would not require U.S. approval which was mandatory in the existing Enbridge line. The country would be anxious to see what decision Quebec makes when the Energy East pipeline proposal is put forward again. It would certainly be a test case for Quebec’s national sentiments and its loyalty to the country’s interests.

Trump earlier cited flow of fentanyl and the easy entry of illegal migrants from Canada to the U.S. as reasons behind his decision to impose the tariffs. Canadian officials have vigorously argued the amount of fentanyl flowing into the U.S. is minimal and federal and provinces bordering the U.S. have taken elaborate security measures to tighten the borders and Canada has appointed a Fentanyl Czar as requested by Trump.

Yet it is doubtful if the aggressive steps taken by Canada will satisfy Trump who cannot be trusted since he is in the habit of bringing new issues all the time. Besides claiming to annex Canada, Greenland and Panama Canal, his latest bizarre twist has been to propose to rebuild the Gaza Strip into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” urging Palestinians to leave and settle in Egypt or Jordan, both of whom have rejected the proposal.

A witty British writer has analyzed why British people don’t like Trump by saying that “Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So, for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.”

Forced displacement contradicts human rights, diversity, equity and ethical values and Trump’s suggestion has been described not only “preposterous and a complete violation of international law,” but also amounting to “ethnic cleansing.”

Within hours, Palestinian leadership, as well as the leaders of several Arab nations – including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan – rejected Trump’s weird idea. Officials from the U.N. have condemned the proposal, saying forcible removal of Gazans would be “strictly prohibited” and cautioning against “any form of ethnic cleansing.” The governments of Spain, France, Russia, China and others also issued statements decrying Trump’s suggestion.

The next four years are going to be interesting and turbulent times for the world and especially for Canada. There is no doubt, when Trump sneezes, Canada will suffer!

Mansoor Ladha is a Calgary-based journalist, travel writer and author of Aga Khan: Bridge between East & West, Memoirs of a Muhindi, Off the Cuff and A Portrait in Pluralism: Aga Khan’s Shia Ismaili Muslims.

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