The incoming Donald Trump administration and Republicans in Congress nonetheless see Canada as a good friend and ally, however will proceed to press Ottawa on addressing border safety and defence spending, a distinguished conservative advisor says.
Georganne Burke, who has labored in each U.S. and Canadian politics and supported Trump’s return to the White Home, says these two points particularly might be main sticking factors within the Canada-U.S. relationship until the Liberal authorities reveals it’s keen to behave within the methods Trump needs.
“The government has to get serious and understand that (Trump and Republicans) are not asking for anything crazy,” she instructed Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block. “They’re simply saying, ‘Can you guys do what’s needed on the border and can you meet your defence requirements?’
“If I were advising our current government, I would say, ‘Take those things seriously, because if you don’t, there will be a price to pay in terms of your relationship with the U.S.’”
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Trump’s newly named U.S. “border czar” Tom Homan stated in an interview final week with 7News in Watertown, N.Y. — a group near the Ontario border — that there’s an “extreme national security vulnerability” alongside the Canada-U.S. border that may have to be addressed.
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Canada has additionally lengthy been pressed to fulfill NATO’s benchmark of spending a minimum of two per cent of GDP on defence, a goal Ottawa says received’t be met till 2032. That plan has been put doubtful by the parliamentary finances officer.
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Trump has stated he wouldn’t come to assistance from NATO members that don’t meet the goal if attacked by a international adversary like Russia.
Burke stated Republicans she speaks to within the U.S. — together with members of Congress, senators and leaders within the Republican Nationwide Committee — have “a lot of affection” for Canada however view the Liberal authorities as “lax” on border and defence coverage in the identical vein as how they’ve characterised the Biden administration and Democrats.
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Addressing crime and “lawlessness” in main cities — a prime concern raised by Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre, who Burke is near — is one other concern she stated Trump additionally needs alignment on from Canada.
“He intends to end that in the United States, and he would like to see it ended here in Canada as well,” she stated.
There have additionally been issues amongst Canadian trade leaders about Trump’s threats of a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all international imports, which economists say might harm cross-border commerce and drive up costs for customers.
However Burke stated Trump plans to make use of threats of tariffs “strategically” so as to press Canada for motion on the border and on defence.
“Those are areas where Trump believes in using tariffs a little bit for punishment,” she stated. “So he would say, (for instance)… ‘If we’re going to have to hold the load for you on defence, it’s going to price you cash to do that.
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“There’s a logic to it, if you think about it.”
Burke added Canada ought to think about the potential impacts on its commerce relationship when “all (Trump is) actually asking for the government to do is fulfill its responsibilities as a neighbour.”
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The federal government has additionally stated it is able to each handle a possible inflow of migrants fleeing the U.S. for Canada if Trump carries out mass deportations, in addition to enforcement to cease potential safety dangers from coming into the U.S. and eradicating individuals who enter Canada illegally.
Each Homan and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who Trump picked as his subsequent homeland safety secretary, will seemingly have an eye fixed on Canadian border safety given their northern U.S. roots, Burke stated.
She additional defended Trump’s extra controversial cupboard picks, together with Rep. Matt Gaetz as lawyer normal, Fox Information host Pete Hegseth as defence secretary, and famous vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well being secretary.
“I think that the people he’s chosen, he’s chosen strategically for a reason,” she stated. “They have the kind of experience that he wants, and sometimes not the experience that (others) would expect to see.”
Though she known as Kennedy “a quirky guy,” she added, “Trump kind of likes quirky people, in case anyone hasn’t noticed.”
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