With Americans heading to the polls in November to choose their next president, it bears pondering how each candidate’s approach may impact Canada.
While neither of the main contenders has specifically addressed what his or her foreign policy for Canada may be, Donald Trump’s four years in office, Kamala Harris’s tenure as vice president of the Biden administration, and their various recent public postures offer some clues.
Trump on Trade, Economics
With his signature “America First” policies, Mr. Trump’s tenure introduced a number of protectionist measures aimed at prioritizing his country’s national interests over those of trading partners, including Canada.It also incentivized the use of high-wage manufacturing labour, a move expected to boost production in the United States and Canada, which suffered from lost jobs to Mexico for years.
Mr. Stagg said overturning the U.S. EV mandate may not have a major impact for Canada in the short term, but over a longer time, “so much money has gone into these factories that it is going to hurt [Canadian] jobs.”
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Harris on Trade, Economics
President Joe Biden only recently dropped out of the race and the Democratic National Convention won’t be held until the middle of August, where delegates will vote to approve the party’s platform. However, it is likely Ms. Harris will continue with the current administration’s policies of “Bidenomics,” which involves focusing on middle-class workers, promoting green energy, and increasing tax rates for wealthy Americans and corporations.Given her focus on climate change policies, there’s less chance that Ms. Harris would do away with the country’s federal EV mandates, leaving the situation as is on that front to define the demand for Canadian-made EV components, should Canada maintain its current course on that sector.
Ms. Harris had said in 2019 that she is not a “protectionist Democrat.”
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Defence Spending Challenge
Throughout his tenure as president, Mr. Trump increased the pressure on NATO members, including Canada, to meet their defence spending target of 2 percent of their GDP. He recently called those who don’t meet their commitments “delinquent.”Mr. Trump’s campaign website says his government would strengthen the country’s alliances by “ensuring that our allies must meet their obligations to invest in our common defence.” During his speech at the Republican National Convention on July 14, Mr. Trump’s pick for vice president said the administration would ensure there are “no more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer.”
“For a Trump administration, the military angle is a high priority,” he said. “On the other hand, tariff issues are enormously complex, and American interests can find themselves inadvertently gored unless the issues are handled with great care.”
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Diplomacy and Alliances
While the Liberal government has said it will work with whoever is in the White House, there have been indications by cabinet ministers that they find it more difficult to work with a Trump administration. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in August 23 that it was preparing for “what could be a very difficult situation” if Mr. Trump or someone with similar policies became the next U.S. president, as Canada’s economy is “greatly tied” to that country.A year later during a NATO meeting in London, UK, Mr. Trudeau was caught on a hot mic appearing to mock Mr. Trump in front of other world leaders for having a lengthy press conference, to which Mr. Trump later responded by calling him “two-faced.”
Following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots, Mr. Trudeau issued a statement saying they were “incited” by Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trudeau has said that if Mr. Trump becomes president again, it would bring “a certain amount of unpredictability,” and that it “won’t be easy” to work with him, but added that his government would be ready for whoever becomes the next president.
He was also quick to call Mr. Trump after the former president was the subject of an assassination attempt on July 13, wishing him well and condemning the attack.
But Mr. Trudeau has arguably enjoyed better relations with the Democrats. He was twice endorsed by Mr. Biden’s old boss, former President Barack Obama, during elections, and he praised Mr. Biden after he decided not to seek re-election, saying NATO and the G7 have been “lucky” to have had Mr. Biden leading “in some extraordinarily consequential times.”
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William Brooks, a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, says how well the U.S. administration works with a Canadian government is also to some degree dependent on their compatibility with the Canadian government, and the situation could be different if the Tories were to form government after the 2025 Canadian election.
“In the ’80s, it was the Reagan administration, the Thatcher administration, and the Mulroney administration, and they found ways to benefit each other, because they were on the same page basically,” he said in an interview.
Sometimes, a substantial misalignment on certain policies can result in dramatic impacts.
But when it comes to international alliances, given the tendency of Mr. Trump to prioritize national interest over multilateral initiatives, Canada could see more pressure from its traditional ally.
Regarding NATO’s spending requirement, Mr. Ettinger says given that Canada is unlikely to meet its commitment, “this just leaves whoever’s the prime minister during the Trump administration in a very difficult spot in having to manage an impossible set of expectations.”
Mr. Stagg believes that Mr. Trump would be “less supportive of Canada” than Ms. Harris would be.
“His whole thing is about making America great,” he said.
Mr. Brooks, however, says that if Mr. Trump’s policies really do make the United States a stronger country economically and on the world stage as he claims, then the country’s allies, especially Canada as its closest ally, would benefit as well.
“When America is strong, Canada does well,” he said. “When one side does well, both sides do well.”
Mr. Ettinger says ultimately, Canada-U.S. relations go much deeper than who occupies the seat of either government at any given time.
“The Canada-U.S. relationship is largely determined by the pre-existing nature of this enormously complicated relationship,” he said.
“It helps if the people at the top get along, but it does not determine a whole lot.”