Let’s clear the air.

Trump’s at war with us. Our friend has chosen to be our enemy. Canadians who support him are traitorous.

Every Kevin O’Leary, Danielle Smith, Jordan Peterson, convoy trucker, F*uck Trudeau flag-waver and maple MAGA asshat on this site or anywhere on social media has chosen the wrong side. By purposefully attacking our nation, structure, people and leaders, calling it a ‘shithole country’ and denigrating its leadership you have weakened us. You emboldened the enemy. Let him exploit differences. Made us look like prey. And this, Pierre Poilievre, includes you. Negative and accusing – day after day after day.The damage done to the country will soon be measurable in recession, job loss, price escalation and pain.

Trump has sidelined Congress, assumed powers the US founders never envisioned and veered America towards authoritarianism. To break a trade deal he needed to declare a national security emergency. So he manufactured one. But this is not about the border. Or fentanyl or migrants. Canada is not to blame. We didn’t deserve it, earn it or ask for it.

Source: Scotiabank Economics

The US leader, now surrounded by his sycophants, thinks 19th Century economic policies of protectionism and beggaring other countries to pad your own nation will work in this world. He’s wrong, of course. He wants people like us to pay for tax cuts for Americans. He also wishes to hobble and hurt our country in the crazy belief economic pain will lead us on a path to becoming the 51st state. Rich in water, energy, minerals, land and talent.

Some people who think of Canada as a transactional place – ‘what can you do for me?’ – helped this moment arrive. Our own blog poll shows about 15% here would submit to becoming Americans. Too many, hating the price of real estate or the number of brown people on the bus, see the country as a failed state, because they’re failing. Expectations unmet.

It will take patriotism, grit, emotion and pride to get out of this box. One man’s actions will shutter factories, make people miss mortgage payments, kill retailers and restaurants, whack real estate, stop construction, raise the cost of living, indebt governments further, raise taxes and rob hundreds of thousands of the dignity of work and the means to support their families.

For nothing. Because he can.  It’s aggression. It’s historic. You have no idea what’s coming.

Sadly, this may be permanent – so long as MAGA runs America.

“I believe that the motivating forces are more about how this administration is embracing a highly insular, protectionist and isolationist stance on everything to do with international relations from trade to climate policy to healthy policy and immigration,” says economist Derek Holt. “A sign of this is also coming from murmuring around incorporating tariff revenue into a formal budget for the US federal government. Peter Navarro, an advisor to the US administration, admitted as much in a CNBC interview, saying that the goal of the US administration is to replace revenue sources with tariffs which signals moving toward incorporation into budget proposals as a broader package. If this truly is the intent of the US administration, then it would signal a desire to use tariffs not as a temporary tool to address specific grievances howsoever legitimate but rather as a permanent source of targeted revenue which is a game changer that reveals what this US administration is all about.”

Precisely. The border-drugs-aliens thing was a ruse. We fell for it. The maple MAGA fanboy mutts barked and chirped it. All the while Trump’s plan is to Hoover us, the Mexicans, the Chinese, the Euros – everybody – in order to cover US spending, lower US taxes and help the US enter a golden age of mercantilism, oligarchy and authoritarian leadership.

We can capitulate. We can resist. Either way the outcome is about to get rough. Take your pick. On your knees, or on your feet.

About the picture: Sarka is a retired Canadian service dog, part of ‘Ned’s Wish,’ a registered charity committed to supporting law enforcement and the Canadian Armed Forces by providing financial and educational support to enhance the quality of life for their K-9 retirees in Canada. “We are dedicated to improving the quality of life of retired police and military dogs. We create financial support to aid in the cost of healthcare, and we provide education on the importance of caring for police and military dog retirees. On average, police and military dogs retire around seven years of age, and the average life span of a police dog is between nine and twelve years. Police dogs comprise a small portion of the canine population, but the majority of their lives are spent in service to ensure the safety and well-being of others. Retired police dogs are near the end of their lives, so by virtue Ned’s Wish is about quality, not quantity. Ned’s Wish exists to help retired police dogs enjoy their remaining years.” More here.

To be in touch ro send a picture of your beats, email to ‘[email protected]’.