Good morning. World leaders are not responding lightly to Donald Trump’s expansionist musings – more on that below, along with the latest on the L.A. wildfires and B.C.’s new mask rule in hospitals. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Calls intensify for stricter rules on who can vote in Liberal leadership race
- Ottawa targets a raft of U.S. goods, including steel products and Florida orange juice, for tariffs
- Manitoba launches a probe into the death of patient who waited hours in a Winnipeg emergency room
Claudia Sheinbaum's history lesson.ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Politics
A territorial turn
On Tuesday, in a 70-minute Mar-a-Lago news conference that included classic Donald Trump obsessions such as low-flow showerheads and windmill-hating whales, the U.S. president-elect pivoted to his recent expansionist pursuits. He floated wielding “economic force” to convince Canada to join the United States. He mulled using straight-up military force to seize Greenland from Denmark and reclaim the Panama Canal. He pledged to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring.”
Yesterday, in response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum came to her own press conference bearing a prop: a large world map from 1607 that labelled North America with its historic name. “Mexican America,” Sheinbaum read out, gesturing to the continent. She smiled. “It sounds pretty, no?”
I did not have “map trolling” on my early-2025 bingo card, but here we are. Already, Trump has posted two graphics on Truth Social showing Canada and the U.S. as a single nation, including one emblazoned with the stars and stripes. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party – which arguably has more pressing matters to attend to – tweeted out a map “for anyone who may be confused,” with a border dividing the “United States” from “Not the United States.” And in a quainter bit of territory-marking, Danish King Frederik X just updated the royal coat of arms to prominently feature Greenland, the autonomous region whose foreign affairs Denmark controls.
Justin Trudeau also tweeted there wasn’t “a snowball’s chance in hell” of Canada joining the U.S.The Globe and Mail
Welcome to Trump 2.0 – this time, with added manifest destiny.
What is Trump doing here?
It’s conceivable there’s a strategy to Trump’s sabre-rattling. China and Russia have increased their presence in the Arctic and Latin America, so by stretching the U.S. sphere of influence from Greenland to Panama, Trump could curb their military and commercial activities in those regions. Greenland is rich in rare-earth materials crucial for everything from phones to electric cars, and its melting sea ice is opening up new shipping routes at the top of the world. The Panama Canal, operated by the U.S. for most of the 20th century, is another vital waterway – and Trump seems to think it’s price-gouging American vessels, which account for three-quarters of the canal’s traffic. As for why he might want to conquer Canada? I guess, like Everest, because it’s there?
More likely, these takeover threats are a negotiation tactic for the incoming administration – an opening salvo to nab lower rates for U.S. ships travelling through Panama, or to beef up America’s existing air-base operations in Greenland, or to get the upper hand before trade discussions with Ottawa begin. It’s not a bad move. Three weeks ago, Ontario Premier Doug Ford promised to cut off electricity exports to the U.S. if Trump went ahead with his 25-per-cent tariffs. Yesterday, Ford pitched working together on a new energy infrastructure instead.
Or maybe all this manifest destiny talk is simply red meat for MAGA, which loves Trump’s proclamations of strength and doesn’t seem to mind that he never did build that wall, much less make Mexico pay for it. If Canada isn’t inclined to become the 51st state, well, then, that’s our problem. When Ford appeared on Fox News this week with a message that Canada “is not for sale,” host Jesse Watters quickly claimed offence. “I would consider it a privilege to be taken over by the United States of America,” he said with a smirk. “That’s what everyone in the world wants – American citizenship.”
How should world leaders respond?
A decade after Trump’s first campaign kickoff, and 11 days before his second stint in the White House, it’s still tricky for politicians (and kings) (and newsletter writers) to know just how seriously to take the words that come out of his mouth. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh went with righteous indignation on Tuesday: “Cut the crap, Donald. No Canadian wants to join you,” he posted on social media. Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, opted for weary exasperation, responding to Trump’s claims of Chinese influence with: “There are no Chinese soldiers in the canal, for the love of god.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen tried to put a positive spin on the whole affair, welcoming U.S. investment in the Arctic region. Trump then sent his eldest son, Don Jr., on a day trip to Greenland’s capital to hand out “Make Greenland Great Again” hats.
At a stop in Paris yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had his own suggestion. “The idea expressed about Greenland is obviously not a good one, but maybe more important, it’s obviously one that’s not going to happen,” he told reporters. “So we probably shouldn’t waste a lot of time talking about it.” That’s almost certainly sound advice. It’s also very hard to imagine anyone will take it.
The Shot
Los Angeles is burning
Flames on the Pacific Coast Highway.Apu Gomes/Getty Images
At least five people have died, more than 100,000 residents have been displaced, and thousands of buildings have burned as hurricane-force winds fuelled the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles’ history. Read the latest on the fire here and see more photos from Los Angeles here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Workers, volunteers and visitors must now wear masks in B.C. health care facilities, as cases of the flu, RSV and COVID-19 are all on the rise in the province.
Abroad: Glasgow – the epicentre of Europe’s overdose crisis – is about to open the first supervised drug-use site in the United Kingdom.
Catching up: Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc is out. Ex-MP Frank Baylis is in. Mark Carney: still deliberating. Here’s everything we know about the Liberal leadership race so far.
Weighing in: The Globe’s new healthy living reporter, Graham Isador, checks out an assortment of gym memberships, from $15 a month up to $1,000. (Guess which one has the private ice bath.)