Description: As U.S. President Donald Trump continues to propose absorbing Canada, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe disregards the threat — but says Canada needs to prioritize energy and food security to avoid putting itself in a ‘vulnerable position,’ and criticizes a ‘lack of leadership’ from the federal Liberal government.
We’ve been so discombobulated over the past few months because we don’t have a backup plan. It’s easy to joke about us being the 51st state because we are so tightly integrated with the US already.
If we were less reliant on US trade, unilateral US tariffs would be less effective. We would have partners and allies elsewhere. If Germany was reliant on our steel, or India was reliant on our aluminum, we would hopefully be able to wring support out of them.
We’re talking hypotheticals, so it’s hard to know what would change if we’d made different choices in the past. But, generally, bullies pick on those they can victimize. We’re easy to victimize because we don’t have an economic plan B.
It doesnt matter if there is a backup plan… Canada is the only G7 nation with a free trade agreement with every other G7 nation (not sure about the uk post brexit). Between Harper and Tredeau Canada has been negotiating and signing deals with dozens of other countries. Possibly… in preparation for this.
I agree with you that reducing internal barriers is important, but where i disagree is that you cant just magically move trade as a country. Its up to each individual business. And despite the americans being shitty they still have a the worlds largest economy and our natural trading partner as they are right there, thats just geography, it makes shipping easier.
Its like brexit, the UK wanted to negotiate their own trade deals. Cool. Europe is still their largest trading partner, all they managed to do was fuck themselves… Oh and sign a trade deal with austrailia worth 0.3% of their GDP.
What makes more sense to me is increasing public investment and having people in Canada build things, the idea economy is so much more important than digging shit out of the ground, or renting out things that sit on top of it. Actively working to replace the technologies that we are reliant on the US for.