Canada takes a stand; and Donald Trump blinks

A last-minute phone call between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump has staved off a massive trade war. Mike Le Couteur explains.

WASHINGTON — After months of bullying, trolling and cajoling, U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to strike fear and trembling in America’s biggest trading partners ended with a whimper.

D-Day for punishing tariffs on all goods entering the United States from its neighbours came and went as the American strongman placed a 30-day pause on the potential trade war.

Canadian leaders stood up to the would-be king by preparing to enact equally punishing tariffs of its own. Canada struck back and galvanized the nation and the world to forcefully reject American imperialism. As a result, Trump looked into the abyss of his own making and blinked.

The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal’s editorial page led with the headline, “The Dumbest Trade War in History.” The conservative-leaning newspaper went on to say, “Mr. Trump’s justification for this economic assault on the neighbors makes no sense.”

Not stopping there, it wasn’t just the convicted felon’s press acolytes that pushed back on the flummoxing tariffs, but fellow Republican politicians. Unwilling to stay quiet, some voiced grave concerns about the twice-impeached commander-in-chief’s bizarre ambitions to move forward with tolls on America’s most stalwart allies.

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said in a post on X: “The Maine economy is integrated with Canada, our most important trading partner. Certain tariffs will impose a significant burden on many families, manufacturers, the forest products industry, small businesses, lobstermen, and agricultural producers.”

Also joining in the pushback against the tariffs was Kentucky’s Republican Sen. Rand Paul. He stated on X, “Tariffs are simply taxes. Conservatives once united against new taxes. Taxing trade will mean less trade and higher prices.” Canada’s planned response targeted Paul’s deep-red state with retaliatory tariffs on its most famous export, Kentucky bourbon.

In only a matter of days, the chorus of complaints, recriminations, and dismissals of the looming trade war on America’s largest trading partners grew louder and louder. While the usual partisan attacks from Democrats are pro-forma, the unusually pointed response from inside the president’s own party decrying the inevitable destruction of local economies played an integral role in Trump’s 11th-hour decision to spare U.S. consumers from jarring price hikes.

Perhaps no voice was more influential than that of the Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The top senate Republican’s caucus will be defending more senate seats than Democrats in the 2026 midterms. A bruising trade war would not only stifle growth but could be politically damaging for his party’s chances of retaining control of power in an off-year election. Clearly, the South Dakota Republican was growing increasingly concerned about how these tariffs would land.

The newly installed Republican-leader repeatedly said he did not support the sweeping tariffs, exclaiming they would lead to higher inflation. South Dakota’s largest global market is Canada, which represents 44 per cent of total exports from the largely agricultural state. Moreover, it imports just under $700 million in goods from Canada annually.

The more than $150 billion in tariffs originally announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would have been particularly stinging to many of the rural and red states represented by a majority of Republicans throughout both chambers of Congress. Canada’s far-reaching economic influence on the U.S. is unmatched by any other nation.

- Trump and Trudeau make a deal: Canada-U.S. trade war delayed by ‘at least 30 days’

The country is the largest importer for more than two-thirds of American states. The more than $155 billion tolls by Ottawa as recompense for Trump’s trade war could have sent the entire country into an economic tailspin. In fact, American businesses were faltering even as the talk and tone grew more ominous. Market’s faltered; consumer products were pulled from Canadian shelves; and citizens of the north’s pride and fervor reached a fevered pitch as millions across the nation began boycotting America products; even booing the national anthem during sporting events.

Yet, Trump’s tough-guy schtick was alas put in check and the North American partners and friends averted a major disaster, at least for now. The embattled Canadian prime minister miraculously found a way to center President Trump on one of his many disinformation claims just long enough for Trudeau to assuage the mercurial leader’s mythical concerns and strike a deal.

Trudeau adroitly took a page from the Trump marketing playbook by re-packaging planned and existing immigration initiatives and presented them as something new and different. This allowed the two-term president to maintain a veneer of strength, at least in his own mind, and walk back a trade policy that even his own side referred to as “dumb.”

Canucks should stand and walk proudly today, for this battle goes to them. The raging bully stormed, berated, and belittled the Great White North as less than since his historical return to power. Yet, Canadian leaders galvanized a nation and never retreated, never bowed, and pressed ahead. Always a nation of equals next to its southern neighbor, Trump has now learned that lesson the hard way.

His penchant for menacing and macabre antics carry no weight in the face of reality. Canada’s leaders know their worth, the real value of the economic relationship, and more importantly, how to use these tools in a standoff with a petulant and petty tyrant. Canada did not preen; it did not gloat; but it did make Trump blink.

Eric Ham is a bestselling author and former congressional staffer in the U.S. Congress.