SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
Sign of the Times
Another day, another round of tariff announcements from the U.S. as Donald Trump ratchets up the pressure in his nasty trade war with Canada. The White House posted five new proclamations yesterday, adding to an ever-expanding list of Canadian goods that are either blocked from import into the U.S. or subject to steep new tariffs. Most alcoholic beverages, some dairy products and motorcycles, molasses and whey products are now on the banned list while cheese products, motorboats and paper products face 50 percent tariffs. In a video posted yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Carney reiterated that he doesn’t “believe in escalating the conflict” but defended his tit-for-tat strategy, saying, “We can’t let American goods into Canada tariff-free while they charge our companies to export.” Meanwhile, in B.C., new signs have begun popping up at U.S./Canada border crossings reading: “Welcome to British Columbia, Canada. Strong, proud, and will NEVER be the 51st state. Sorry!” Premier David Eby said the signs make it clear that his province is “all in for Team Canada” and that the message is meant to be humorous but also unmistakably clear. “Nobody wanted this trade war,” Eby said. “Canadians sure didn’t start it, and working families on both sides of the border will be worse off because of it.” | Unsplash
SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
We’ve Been Here Before
On the day that Canada unleashes $27 billion counter-tariffs against the U.S., former prime minister Jean Chrétien offered a blunt appraisal of the intensifying trade war – but also struck a note of optimism. Looking dapper and ready for a fight in a Labour Day interview with the CBC, Chrétien, 92, is an old hand at navigating Canada-U.S. trade tensions. As prime minister between 1993 and 2003, he co-signed the original NAFTA trade deal with the U.S. alongside then-U.S. president Bill Clinton. Backing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s retaliatory measures, Chrétien said, “We have to stand up to the bully,” and didn’t rule out using energy and resources as bargaining chips. (Failing that, we could always dust off his old “Shawinigan Handshake.”) Describing Trump’s playground tactics – changing the name of Lake Ontario or posting anti-Canadian AI videos – as “cheap and nasty,” he felt this was indicative of an administration that’s “running out of arguments.” Despite all the negative noise, Chrétien says he sees a road map to trade peace. “They need us and we need them,” he said, suggesting that common business interests between the two nations will eventually prevail. Surviving commerce wars with the U.S. is nothing new. “We have faced that challenge for generations,” he noted. And we can do it again, but only when, as Carney has said, Americans “stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough, and start being serious.” | Getty Images
