After Donald Trump threatened to break off trade negotiations over Canada's digital services tax, Mark Carney quickly rescinded the tax.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
As obnoxious as he is, Donald Trump may actually be doing Canada some good. His demands are forcing this country to rethink bad ideas, question sacred cows and brace itself for the challenges of the future.
Just this week, the U.S. President gave Prime Minister Mark Carney an excuse to jettison a wrong-headed tax on foreign tech giants. Because just about all of those giants are American, Washington has opposed it from the start, under Joe Biden’s administration as well as Mr. Trump’s. The heaps of money that were to flow to Ottawa from the tax would have come from the pockets of the millions of Canadians who use Amazon, Apple, Google or other digital providers. Higher taxes inevitably mean higher rates for consumers.
Mr. Trump refused to continue trade talks with Canada until Ottawa got rid of the tax, which was about to take effect. Mr. Carney duly killed it. A capitulation? No, a sensible concession. Good policy, to boot.
I can think of at least three other ways that Mr. Trump’s Blame Canada campaign is forcing us to reconsider the way we do things. Start with national defence. Mr. Trump has said for years that Canada and other countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are freeloading off the United States, relying on Washington to keep the Western alliance well armed while scrimping on armaments themselves.
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Canada was one of the worst of the laggards, its rate of spending near the bottom of the pack. By outsourcing our defence to our mighty next-door neighbour, we saved countless billions – money that was freed up for other needs such as hospitals, roads, parks and schools. The generous health care and other social programs that Canadians cherish were in effect underwritten by the U.S.
That had to change some time. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine showed how vital it is to keep NATO strong, united and well armed. Now the alliance itself is calling for all members to increase their defence spending dramatically over the next decade.
“For too long, one ally, the United States, carried too much of the burden,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said at last month’s summit. That is changing, he said, and Mr. Trump “made this change possible.”
That may have been an attempt to feed the ego of the egomaniac in the White House, but it was not wrong.
Or consider interprovincial trade. The absurd barriers to the flow of goods, services and labour across Canada have been an issue for decades. Everyone agreed they were absurd. Editorial writers turned blue in the face pointing out their absurdity. Premiers and prime ministers huddled every few years to talk about doing something. Next to nothing actually happened. Try getting one of Quebec’s many excellent craft beers in Ontario.
Now, at last, we are seeing some progress. The punishing, nonsensical tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump have put a fire under the provinces and the feds. If we cannot have free trade with the United States, we should at least be able to trade freely with each other.
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Even Canada’s system of supply management is getting a second look. Under this Soviet-style scheme, marketing boards, rather than the free market, govern the output of eggs, milk, cheese and poultry. Authorities set minimum prices and impose production quotas. High tariffs on imports of these basic commodities ensure that the cozy little set-up survives. The result for ordinary consumers is far higher prices than they might otherwise pay for simple things such as a brick of cheddar or a carton of yogurt.
Mr. Trump attacked the system in his first term and is at it again. He is not alone. Canada’s other trading partners complain bitterly about it, too. But the agriculture lobby is so strong, especially in Quebec, that no government has dared to dismantle it.
Whether Mr. Carney’s will remains to be seen. The recent Throne Speech reaffirmed support for supply management and new legislation attempts to prevent Ottawa from sacrificing it in trade talks. But the system is probably the biggest remaining irritant for Mr. Trump, and Mr. Carney might be forced to make concessions to strike a tariff deal with him. Good.
Should we all be giving Mr. Trump a great big cheer, then? Of course not. He is bad for his country, for us and for the world in ways too many to count. He is a bully and blowhard. He has insulted our leaders and threatened our sovereignty. On many issues, pushing back against his demands is the way to go.
But some of what he says about the way we do things is right. We do hide under American skirts for our defence. We do coddle our farm producers and hobble foreign competitors.
If Canada is to survive the Trumpian onslaught, it must do more than simply put its elbows up and stand strong. It must become more efficient, more productive, more innovative. It must change.