Protecting trade is more important than fearing a U.S. takeover, says former diplomat
Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada his 51st state is ‘simply ridiculous,’ says Jon Allen
Former diplomat Jon Allen is urging for a measured response to the mounting threats from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to use "economic force" to absorb Canada.
While the threats to Canada's economy by imposing tariffs merit attention, he says the idea of a takeover is "simply ridiculous," and cautions against the "Churchillian-style defenses" being raised by some Canadian politicians.
Allen, who worked as a diplomat at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, told The Current's host Matt Galloway that Canadian premiers should gather to discuss strategies for protecting the country's trade.
"I think they should all agree on which trade measures they have to defend against, and which ones they want to impose themselves. This is important ... they stand up for Canada, for our sovereignty, but that's really not under threat."
In a press conference on Tuesday, Trump spoke again about his plan to impose "substantial" tariffs on Canada and Mexico upon his return to the White House in less than two weeks. He previously warned that he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico unless the neighbouring countries make significant improvements to border security.
Trump also expressed intentions to acquire other territories. He said he would consider joining Canada and the United States together, as well as taking over the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland and the Panama Canal.
His remarks about Canada becoming the 51st state have sparked condemnation from politicians across the country, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying on X, "There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States."
Allen, a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in Toronto, spoke to Galloway about how Canadian politicians should address Trump's threats. Here's part of their conversation.
How seriously should we take these threats, in particular from him? I mean, initially people thought that this was just trolling. He's winding up the nation, he's poking at Justin Trudeau at a vulnerable time in the prime minister's life. But this, to some people, feels different. How seriously should we take this?
I think we have to separate out the ridiculousness of his threats to take over Canada, and to take over Greenland, and to take over the Panama Canal on the one hand, and the tariff threats on the other.
As for the former, Trump is a bully. He's a narcissist. He won the primaries, and he beat a couple of candidates — Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris — by doing just what he's doing now, calling people names, denigrating them, using the media.
He is a master at using the media constantly, and I'm afraid that we all feed him. I just wish that this could be a tamping down, so that he doesn't get the kind of air space that he does.
On the question of taking over Canada, it's simply ridiculous. And these Churchillian kind-of defences that some of our premiers and others are making, I think, are simply not necessary. They stoop down to his level.
On the question of tariffs, that is a problem. We've seen it before. But I should just say on that, our officials, the people at our embassy, Kirsten Hillman, our ambassador, our Canada-U.S. cabinet committee, have been aware of these threats.
We've seen them in the last Trump administration. We know which exports that we can put tariffs on, we know which imports that we can put tariffs on, and we know how we can withhold exports in states that desperately need some of our products. I think we're going to be prepared to try and defend Canada from a trade perspective.
Is there a chance that … the way leaders are responding from this country, to what Trump is saying, could embolden him in some ways to squeeze Canada harder and try and extract further concessions?
No, I don't think so. I mean, you've got to remember,Trump promised that he was going to build a wall, and the Mexicans were going to pay for it. He promised that the war in Ukraine was going to be over [on] day one.
I don't think it's going to happen. And the Israeli hostages are not going to be out on day one either. He makes these claims. He makes these threats.
What is ... the best course of action for Canadian leaders and diplomats now? Whether you buy it or not, Donald Trump saying that he's going to use economic force against this country can rattle people. So how should leaders and diplomats respond?
Well, as I said, Canada has been aware of these threats, and it has been exposed to these threats for years. That's why we have a NAFTA 2.0. That's why we negotiated trade agreements over autos in years before.
The embassy and officials know the key products, in key states, of key lawmakers. We've studied this — we have lists, and if Donald Trump wants to impose tariffs on us, we can impose counter-tariffs on them.
But you don't see this as a different moment? I mean, when he flies his son to Greenland, when he says that he wants to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, it just feels to some people that big changes to the international order are on the docket here.
Donald Trump [has] got about two years before he becomes a lame duck, and when he can't run again, unless he tries to change the American Constitution, he's got a lot of things on his plate.
You know, from exporting 11 million refugees, and building detention centres and dealing with what is going to become serious inflation in this country. If he poses tariffs on China, and Canada, and Europe, I think this is all just 'Donald Trump-talk.'
The fact that his son flies to Greenland, I think, is ridiculous. Greenlanders may want to become independent, but they certainly don't want to become Americans, and neither do Canadians, so I think we just ignore the hype.
I wish this interview, and other interviews, are all a part of it. We can't stop talking about Donald, and I think if we could only just ignore him to some extent, this kind of crazy language would go away, and he's going to have to start dealing with America, and running America.
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Audio produced by Julie Crysler and Enza Uda. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity