First, as outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on March 4, the goal of Canada's efforts in the newly launched trade war is to end the tariffs.
We didn't want them, we don't deserve to have them imposed on us, and our best hope is to get back to the status quo at the start of the year, with the USCMA trade agreement in place, offering predictable rules and easy movement of goods.
Literally all Canadians asked for was nothing, no change. And instead we were attacked.
The United States is nine times the size of Canada in terms of population, even bigger economically. It's by far our largest trading partner. It can, without doubt, do more damage to us than we can do to it.
So how do we win a trade war?
We focus on what unites us. We're united in our anger, and we're united in our solidarity.
Our anger was at first undirected and symbolic. Booing the U.S. national anthem at hockey games, or buying "Canada is Not For Sale" hats.
Now it's becoming focused. Canadian trips south of the border seem to have dropped dramatically. People are re-arranging vacation plans, either staying in Canada or going overseas to friendlier nations. Snowbirds are reportedly selling their Florida condos and moving back to winter in Montreal. Informal boycotts and attempts to buy local, to buy Canadian, have taken off.
Directed anger is useful, but it can only get us so far. If our anger, our support for retaliatory tariffs and export taxes, for chucking U.S. alcohol out of our liquor stores, and maybe even cutting off power heading south ends the tariffs, then that will have been worth it. But it might not be enough.
If the trade war drags on, we'll need to lean on each other, and on our other allies.
Here in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, as in communities across the country, local governments and the business community are working together on buy local campaigns, on sourcing government contracts and purchasing within Canada, and on strengthening our economic resilience.
At the provincial level, internal trade barriers are at long last coming down. There's support now for all sorts of measures that would have run up against stubborn resistance three months ago – recognizing professional credentials in all provinces, for example, and making it easier for local beer, wine, and spirits producers to sell their goods across the country.
Finally, federal initiatives will be needed, including supporting industries that will be hit hard, improving trade abroad with Asia, Europe, and Latin America, and providing aid for Canadians who will lose their jobs as a result of the likely future recession.
If we stick together, we can weather this, and we can win.
