By Shachi Kurl, President
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared “sunny ways” when he took office almost 10 years ago, but by the time Trudeau resigned this week, he had taken a winding journey towards a darker destination. In the end, it was not only domestic discontent that did him in but also a fateful threat from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has set trade partners on edge with vows to impose major tariffs. Especially in his crosshairs are the United States’ biggest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, against whom he has vowed to slap 25% levies on the goods they send into the U.S.
Such a move would have a devastating impact on the Canadian economy. The tariffs could result in the loss of more than 1 million jobs and could shrink Canada’s gross domestic product by more than 2.4%, according to estimates by economists at Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School. The U.S. economy would surely suffer, too, but north of the border, it would be catastrophic.
Little wonder then that Trump’s economic sabre-rattling – combined with his sustained trolling on social media urging Canada to become the 51st state and referring to his counterpart as “Governor” Trudeau – became the hill on which Trudeau’s career died. Trudeau went to Trump headquarters in Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 29 to try to talk him out of the tariff threat, but even that didn’t improve matters. And back home, the ground had long been shifting under Trudeau’s feet.