POLITICO is trying to convince its readers that Canadian leaders explored a new source of bargaining power — the electoral calendar — while testing strategies to confront an increasingly adversarial neighbour in Donald Trump. If that's what they believe, they can suit themselves, but it ain't the truth. In my opinion, Washington made a huge mistake by picking a fight with its closest trading partner, underestimating Canada's alternatives and eventually discovering that American voters were not prepared to pay the price for a president's political obsessions. Mark Carney understood the situation. Trump apparently did not.There is an interesting lesson in the American midterm results, and it has very little to do with Canada trying to hurt the United States. Donald Trump managed to create enough economic and political trouble for himself without anyone needing to lend him a hand. Canada simply refused to accept that Washington could dictate the terms of the relationship by bullying its sovereign neighbour. Frankly, here in the Great North, we are nobody's secretaries. Nobody dictates terms to us. You are welcome to come visit, sit down, have a sip of Canadian Club and talk trade. But try to boss a Canadian around, and you might just end up like a moosehead on somebody's windshield.
For years, American presidents understood that Canada was one of the United States' most dependable economic partners. The two countries built an extraordinarily integrated trading relationship, developed shared industrial supply chains, cooperated on security and maintained one of the world's longest peaceful borders. Then came Trump's second administration, with its tariffs, threats and increasingly uncomfortable rhetoric about Canadian sovereignty. Apparently, the president believed that economic interdependence was a weapon that only Washington could use.
He was wrong.
Canada had options, and it had Mark Carney in the driver's seat. That is a formidable combination when dealing with a negotiating partner who assumes that pressure alone will produce concessions. Carney wasted little time. Rather than allow Canada to be cornered, his government examined alternative markets, strengthened domestic economic priorities and reconsidered how to respond to American pressure. It also understood something the White House appeared to overlook: tariffs do not magically make foreign goods disappear without consequences. They raise costs, disrupt supply chains and eventually reach American businesses, workers and consumers.
POLITICO suggests that Canada's response became increasingly strategic, as Ottawa studied American tariff schedules, identified products for which the United States had limited domestic alternatives and considered where economic pressure would be felt. So what? Are we now being criticized for doing our job? For identifying building materials, forestry products and industrial supplies as part of that calculation? Canada was expected to protect its own economic interests, wasn't it? The consequences of the tariff dispute were particularly visible in politically competitive states such as Michigan, where the economies of both countries are deeply connected. That was not Canada picking a fight with American voters. It was the predictable consequence of a trade confrontation initiated by Washington.
But this is where the story deserves a different interpretation. Canada did not manufacture America's affordability crisis. It did not force American companies to pay more for imported materials, nor did it instruct American consumers to absorb the costs of a trade confrontation. Those consequences followed from decisions made in Washington. Canada merely stopped pretending that it had no choice but to accommodate them.
American voters eventually made their own choice. Businesses complained, Republican candidates began distancing themselves from Trump's tariff policies, and the cost of living became an increasingly uncomfortable subject for the administration. In Michigan, polling cited by POLITICO found that 63 percent of likely voters opposed tariffs on Canadian automotive and manufacturing parts, while 74 percent believed tariffs were contributing to affordability problems. Candidates who had previously defended Trump's approach began looking for ways to distance themselves from it.
And why wouldn't they? Americans are not suicidal maniacs. They are not obliged to follow a president into an economic dead end simply because he insists that everyone else is responsible for the damage. People want affordable homes, reasonably priced goods, secure employment and a government that understands the difference between negotiating a trade agreement and picking unnecessary fights with its closest partners.
This is also where Canada was fortunate to have Mark Carney in the driver's seat. His background as a central banker, his experience navigating international financial crises and his understanding of how interconnected economies operate gave him a considerable advantage in dealing with an unpredictable Washington. He understood that a negotiation is not won by shouting louder, issuing more threats or pretending that the other side has nowhere else to go. Sometimes the strongest negotiating position is simply knowing your alternatives and being prepared to use them.
And DEAR POLITICO, perhaps the clearest illustration of the difference in priorities between our countries came this week, when Carney's government committed nearly $30 billion to a national plan aimed at ending homelessness within a decade. The initiative — the sort of thing that might give some Republicans goosebumps — brings together housing, mental health care, addiction treatment and community support. Its first major partnership, in Manitoba, is backed by more than $1 billion in new federal funding and will help deliver over 2,000 supportive and transitional homes, alongside a new Winnipeg Centre for Mental Health and Addictions.This is what economic leadership should also be about: understanding that an economy is not measured exclusively by stock-market performance, corporate profits or the wealth accumulated at the top, but by whether ordinary people can afford a roof over their heads and have a realistic opportunity to build a decent life.
A successful business leader understands that investment creates economic capacity; a responsible community leader understands that prosperity without social responsibility leaves too many people behind. That is the social dimension of Carney's economic agenda. While Washington has spent enormous political energy manufacturing confrontations over tariffs, borders and presidential authority, Ottawa rushed to put public resources behind housing, infrastructure and the social conditions that allow communities to function. The contrast is worth examining, dear southern journalists, without confusing the American people with the decisions of their president.
Carney is also a passionate Canadian. That combination is worth recognizing. He is not approaching this relationship as someone looking for a personal victory over the United States. He is defending Canada's economic interests, its independence and its right to make its own decisions. There is a substantial difference between standing up for your country and declaring another country your enemy. Carney has no reason to confuse the two, frankly, his IQ must be three times Trump's — although, to be fair, that is not the sort of competition in which one needs a calculator. The real difference is that one man understands the value of a partnership, while the other seems to believe that every relationship is a dominance contest. Canada knew the difference before the midterms. Washington is still trying to figure it out. And you there at POLITICO? You just had a bad article day.
Now, a reminder to our southern allies. Do not forget that Canada remains the United States' closest neighbour and one of its most important economic partners. Millions of people on both sides of the border have family, business and personal connections. American workers and Canadian workers are not natural opponents. We just make stronger beer than you and often share shelter with bears and Cariboo to protect us all from the wind chill factor. We may also have better comedians, but, at the same time we are often working in the same industries, depending on the same supply chains and facing many of the same economic pressures. A sensible relationship benefits both countries.
The real political damage, therefore, was not inflicted by Canada. It was inflicted by an administration that mistook economic leverage for unlimited power and political loyalty for public consent. Carney recognized the difference. Trump apparently discovered it the hard way.
Now, regarding the understatement of the year: Canada was lucky to have Carney. Sure, but perhaps we should stop treating that good fortune as an accident. He is a Canadian product, shaped by Canadian institutions, with vast international experience, agreed, but yet raised in a country that has always understood the value of cooperation and tolerance. We should take some pride in that, while Yankees should start taking notes. And if there is one lesson Washington should take from these midterms, it is that America's friends do not have to surrender their interests to remain its friends. Canada did not need to defeat America. It simply needed to stand its ground.Trump took care of the rest.
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