Oh Canada: No 51st State This!
The Coast Range peaks of British Columbia, most prominently the Golden Ears, loom up north of Bellingham. The skyline is especially gorgeous on a cold, clear winter’s day. The mountains are “out” but the political climate is ominous this winter. President Trump is threatening to slap tariffs as high as 25 percent on Canada’s exports to the United States.
With bellicose rhetoric, Trump has talked of Canada as “the 51st state” and applying “economic force.” The 49th parallel, he says, is “an artificially drawn line.” Trump has gone out of his way to humiliate Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau tried flattery during the first Trump administration, only to hear the POTUS say Trudeau was “destroying” Canada. When Trudeau journeyed to Mar a Lago after the November election, it was only to be once more mocked.
Used to keeping its cool, the Great White North is having an anxiety attack — as well it might. Exports from Canada to the United States totaled $439.6 billion in 2023, with the biggest export ($58.21 billion in vehicles) followed by oil and natural gas, electrical products, and aluminum.
The Pacific Highway crossing in Blaine is one of the five most traveled trade routes between the two countries. Its economy still anchored in natural resources, British Columbia sends us wood, pulp and paper, oil and natural, gas plus strategic minerals.
https://www.postalley.org/2025/01/30/oh-canada-no-51st-state-this/
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