Make No Mistake: Justin Trudeau Is Responsible for the Tariffs and Now He’s The Only One Who Can Stop Them

Just as he warned a couple weeks after his landslide victory election, President Trump on Saturday implemented a 25% tariff on both Canada and Mexico, as well as a 10% tariff on China, which was to be effective Tuesday, February 4. Were the Canadian economy specifically to crash and burn, it would be instinctive to blame financial suffering on Donald Trump. But let the record clearly show that the one truly responsible for these tariffs is our own government led by Justin Trudeau.

For many years under the Biden administration, the US has dealt with a massive fentanyl crisis, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans just in those recent years. This fentanyl seeps into the country through the open borders, both at the north (the Canada-US border) and at the south (the US-Mexico border). Clearly illegal immigration isn’t the only issue plaguing our neighbour’s borders, as just in the last fiscal year, enough fentanyl was seized at our border — the shared Canada-US border — to kill approximately 9.8 million Americans. That’s not even including the number that could or may already have died from the fentanyl that has not been seized coming across our border. The Conservative Party of Canada posted astounding numbers on this topic: “In the 12 months up to September 2024, US border agents seized about 11,600 pounds of drugs entering the United States from Canada. Seizures of fentanyl doses more than tripled between 2023 and 2024, rising from 239,000 doses to 839,000. A year ago, CSIS told Trudeau that they had identified more than 350 organized crime groups actively involved in the domestic illegal fentanyl market. And just last month, the RCMP uncovered a ‘super lab’ operating in rural British Columbia that was capable of producing 95 million lethal doses of fentanyl.” On the illegal immigration front, Canada’s hands aren’t clean either; illegal border crossings hit never-before-seen record high numbers every year for the last four fiscal years. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, even stated that illegal crossings at the Canada-US border were up 600-800%, saying many Indians, Turks, Pakistanis, and SIA’s (Special Interest Aliens, which the DHS defines as “a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests”) use the northern border because of it’s openness and the easy accessibility to enter Canada. Despite Trudeau’s claims, Canada’s border is not secure, and the US is feeling the effects of it in lethal ways. (This is evident in the fact that additional commitments to secure the Canadian border made yesterday by Trudeau did cause Trump to delay the tariffs temporarily; more on that later.)

But border problems isn’t the only way we’re ripping off our generous ally. Canada has consistently failed to commit to paying our fair share in defence spending (2%) for NATO, putting more financial strain on other countries but mainly on the US. The trade deficit also weighs heavily on the US with it being an estimated $250 billion over the last four years. The deficit is the highest it’s been in decades, according to Global News. This margin also extends to trade, as 77% of our exports are to the US. The dependence is not totally mutual, however; only 18% of the US’s exports are to Canada. In short, the US can do without us in many regards; but we cannot survive without them. This is why the dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs that both the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party (led by Pierre Poillievre) support would be absolutely disastrous for Canada. These retaliatory tariffs that Trudeau initially promised could easily cripple our economy, but the US economy would take a very minor hit, if any hit at all. Progressives have tried to say that imposing tariffs alone can hurt the US economy, but this isn’t correct. Just look at Trump’s first term as proof. He brought in billions of dollars in tariffs, and their economy thrived. If done correctly, tariffs can be massively successful for the imposing country, particularly for a country like the US. For example, tariffs can serve to bring jobs back home since international importing is more difficult. So an economy as large and diverse as theirs can bounce back even from retaliatory tariffs; we cannot.

Given the numbers, it’s evident that a 25% blanket tariff on all Canadian imports into the US would serve to weaken our economy immensely. Notably, though, the proposed 25% tariff does not include Canadian energy, which was marked down to receive an only 10% tax. This is likely thanks to Alberta Premiere Danielle Smith, who has had several correspondences with Trump and his team and probably convinced him to go easier on Alberta’s oil and gas, of which the US is a major buyer. While the US has vast amounts of resources at their hands to make up for any loss of Canadian imports, they are still dependent on us for many natural resources like energy.

So will the next few months lead to a devastated economy on the brink of collapse for Canadians? Thankfully, Trump announced yesterday on Truth Social that “Canada has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country. Canada will implement their $1.3 Billion Border plan, and as per Prime Minister Trudeau, will be, ‘reinforcing the Border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are, and will be, working on protecting the Border. In addition, Canada is making new commitments to appoint a Fentanyl Czar, we will list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the Border, launch a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering. I have also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl, and we will be backing it with $200 million.’ As President, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of ALL Americans, and I am doing just that. I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!” Trudeau confirmed all these commitments in an 𝕏 post. This is very welcome news for both Canadians and Americans, as long as Trudeau makes good on his promises.

And so it falls incumbent on the same person responsible for these tariffs — Justin Trudeau — to work hastily and expediently over the next 30 days to save our economy through actions he should have taken long ago. As long as he honours these commitments and proves his willingness to work with the US and take the border situation seriously, I believe in 30 days Trump will back off of the 25% tariffs and either eliminate them entirely or lower them drastically. There are obviously still things that need to be addressed, such as our defence spending and international banking agreements (which have been brought up by the Trump administration in passing). But Trump, the master dealmaker that he is, is getting what he wanted from the tariffs and is honouring his word on them, proving that the threats always were as a result of Canada’s lax border security and fentanyl-handling.

But here is where Canadians disaffected of Trudeau’s weak leadership need to be very careful to not fall victim to the new narrative the regime will try to push. I’ve watched public sentiment in Canada, even amongst people close to me who sang Trump’s praises as recently as last week, shift drastically against Trump. I joke that I’m one of the few people left in Canada who understands what Trump is doing, why he’s doing it, and supports his actions for America. He’s totally justified in acting in this manner; Trudeau has allowed Canada to take advantage of the US in numerous ways and did nothing to stop the flow of fentanyl from our nation which could kill tens of millions of Americans. If they are our ally, why do we treat them as such? If Canada is so against becoming the 51st state and insists on maintaining “sovereignty” and “independence,” why do we make them subsidize us? Is it too difficult to understand that Trump is just putting America First, as now suddenly everyone in Canada is claiming to be Canada First?

Let the record show clearly that these tariffs are not “Trump Tariffs.” They are the result of years of incompetence and pathetic leadership from Justin Trudeau. The Liberals will try to blame any economic downfall on Trump to deflect from the fact that they are responsible for it all. They want you to redirect your anger at America. Don’t let them change the narrative. Remember their actions when you go to the ballot box.

Cover Photo Generated by Grok AI