The TOI correspondent from Washington: US-Canada ties hit the ice on Tuesday after MAGA boss Donald Trump threatened to shut Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier out of the American market unless it moves production to the US and Ottawa began imposing retaliatory tariffs ranging from 15% to 50% on about $20 billion of U.S. goods after Washington imposed comparable tariffs on Canadian products.The sharp escalation in a trade war between two countries that once prided themselves on having the world’s least dramatic border was accompanied by bizarre theatrics from Washington, where Trump supporters reveled in memes showing the US President beating up Canadian PM Mark Carney in a hockey rink.The violent meme, an animated version of the Trump post showing him towering over Carney with the caption “GET UP, GOVERNOR” — a jab tied to his insistence that Canada would be better off as America’s 51st state — outraged many commentators on both sides of the border. “This video is disgusting, an embarrassment to all Americans. To me at least, it suggests mental instability on the part of Trump and underscores the patience and firm, measured dignity with which Prime Minister Carney has managed an out-of-control bully,” noted NYT columnist Nicholas Kristoff.Many Canadians mocked the video, reminding MAGAts chortling over the confrontation that Carney, 61, was an accomplished hockey player who was a goalie at Harvard and played for Edmonton Oilers, and should Trump, 80, take to the rink, he’d be on his backside in no time.But in Washington, where trade policy is normally conducted with briefing papers and acronyms, the North American relationship has lately acquired the atmosphere of a rowdy sports bar. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rubbed it into Ottawa over the weekend by comparing Canada to a “yippy little dog” like a dachshund snapping at the heels of a German Shepherd (USA) as the long celebrated ties between neighbors and close allies went to the dogs.On Monday, Trump dropped another bombshell by singling out the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, arguing that more than 50 percent of Bombardier’s revenue comes from the US, while Canada blocks companies such as Gulfstream Aerospace from doing business there. In yet another show of cartographic trolling, Trump also shared a post showing all of Canada and Mexico, as also Central America, the Caribbean, Greenland. and Iceland, in American flag colors. Iceland called in the U.S ambassador on Monday to protest.Ironically, Bombardier underscores the deeply intertwined economic ties between the two countries. It employs more than 3,000 people in the US and works with roughly 2,800 American companies across 47 states, and because of its substantial American footprint, is seen as a prime example of the difficulty Trump will have with his peculiar fixation of punishing Canada.The US, with its vastly larger economy clearly has the bigger stick according to trade experts. Carney acknowledged as much in a video post on Tuesday, saying while he didn’t believe in escalating the conflict, the harsh reality is that the American tariffs will hurt some Canadians. “This won’t be easy, and I won’t pretend otherwise,” he said, pledging to protect Canadians affected by the US trade war.But Canada, which sends roughly 68% of its exports south of the border, is hardly standing on an empty rink. It supplies the U.S with crucial energy, electricity and raw materials, while Canadian purchases support factories and farms across numerous American states. Carney has pointed out that Canada is the biggest customer for US goods in 26 states while urging Washington to stop “doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough” and start negotiating seriously.Instead, Washington has doubled down on the memes, while seriously expecting Ottawa to fold.
