No country right now better reveals how the world sees America than Canada. In late August, Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from trade talks with the Trump administration, knowing that retaliation could be ruinous for the Canadian economy. Yet the episode also exposes the shambles of Donald Trump's foreign policy. Trump wanted Canada to become the 51st state. Instead, it may become an associate member of the European Union. He wanted to weaken China in the global sphere, but Carney and Canada are now negotiating deals with countries including China in an effort to diversify away from America.
The two countries are hurtling toward a January deadline when massive new tariffs take effect. Who does this help, and what does it mean for America's relationships with its neighbors and the rest of the world? In a conversation with Ezra Klein, former Canadian deputy prime minister and finance minister Chrystia Freeland argues that Americans do not fully grasp how far the relationship has shifted. A recent Canadian poll found that 41 percent of Canadians consider the United States an enemy country, and a Pew Research Center survey found more Canadians view China favorably than the U.S.
Freeland notes that this reversal is striking. In 2023, Canadians saw the United States as an ally and China as an adversary. Today that position has flipped, driven largely by Trump's challenges to Canadian sovereignty and his tariffs. She stresses that Trump is not fundamentally different from his first administration, when he also imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and allies and publicly berated European leaders.
Freeland, who negotiated with the first Trump administration on trade, recalls a G7 meeting hosted by Canada, where Trump refused to sign a mild statement on the rules-based international order and threw candies at Angela Merkel. Her account, drawn from her new book, "Unreliable Boyfriend," portrays a relationship that has grown increasingly strained.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing