00:00:00.000It's the KinsellaCast, starring Warren Kinsella.
00:00:17.180Hey, it's Warren. Welcome to the KinsellaCast, and welcome to an earlier release of Self-Same
00:00:23.600podcast, because all of us have had our weekend scrambled by the decision of the Trump administration
00:00:32.340to go after us with tariffs, not just rhetoric. So we're still trying to figure all that out.
00:00:38.860So I've spoken to people earlier, but still have a good show for you. So Brian Lilley and I talking
00:00:44.140about that, implications of that, where we're going to start to see evidence of the impact of
00:00:50.500the tariffs, John Raz, talking about the political impact. And then Ben Moroney, Adam Zivo and
00:00:57.420I, Candace Bergen, but also Derek Burney. Derek Burney, it was interesting. Ben asked Burney
00:01:03.880about something I said. I'm going to play you what I said. And Burney agreed with me. So
00:01:10.360we'll put that at the, towards the back end of the show. And I've got music. I don't know
00:01:16.200what it is. I'd like, I'm in Australian kind of surf punk these days, but I am. I've got
00:01:22.880Tired Lion, Australian band from Perth, been around since 2010. With or Without is the name
00:01:29.040of the tune. Kick things off. Violent Soho from Brisbane. Jesus Stole My Girlfriend. Pretty
00:01:36.240funny tune. The Moving Stills from New South Wales. They're very surfy with a song called 19.
00:01:42.500Dear Seattle. Also from New South Wales. The tune called Daytime TV. And then this band
00:01:48.760called the Hot Nasties. And I was thinking, I need a song that talks about Canada being
00:01:55.720under attack. When was the last time Canada was under attack? Has anybody written a song
00:02:00.480about that? And then I remember, yeah. Pierre and I did when we were 15 about the October
00:02:06.480crisis. So I've got the Hot Nasties, our band playing the October 7-0 at the tail end of
00:02:13.200the show. And hopefully you get a kick out of that or not. So the tariffs are here. How did
00:02:23.520we get here? Simple. We, all of us, under successive governments of different political stripes, allowed
00:02:31.360our trade with the United States to balloon to 80% of what we export. That was a critical
00:02:38.220mistake. And all of us went along with it. And it's a mistake that has left us too vulnerable
00:02:43.120to the whims of our biggest customer, which is never a good strategy. Canadians who have been
00:02:49.680justifying Donald Trump's bogus bullshit pretexts for imposing these crippling tariffs aren't very
00:02:56.960good strategists either. They've been dutifully dancing to Trump's tune, just like he wanted us
00:03:02.520to. And so this newly returned US president exaggerated, actually fabricated the fentanyl and
00:03:09.320illegal migrant threats. So he couldn't be accused of violating the very trade agreement he himself
00:03:15.240signed with Canada and Mexico in his first term. His fentanyl and illegal border crossing claims were
00:03:22.040bullshit. And they were pretext to get him out of the USMCA obligations he had. Nothing more,
00:03:28.680nothing less. But anyway, that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is changing course because
00:03:33.440the tariffs have arrived. And they're making us less dependent on trade with the US. What matters
00:03:39.300is getting national leadership to guide us through that and the difficult years ahead. What matters now
00:03:46.160is linking arms with those who support Canada and building new alliances, economic
00:03:51.880and otherwise. Because the United States, right, finding those allies, pretty hard to do. Like
00:03:58.180lots of Canadians, I think, I felt when this stuff started to be talked about, I thought most Americans
00:04:07.140would rally to our side. You know, when he started talking about using economic force against us to
00:04:13.000make us the 51st state, like some of us thought the majority of Americans would object. You know, for
00:04:18.220example, when he published maps, like the anti-Semites and the pro-Hamas people do with Israel,
00:04:25.060you know, publishing maps in which we don't exist anymore, from sea to sea. Anyway, that hasn't
00:04:31.040happened for the most part. And few Americans have spoken up for Canada. And social media, for sure,
00:04:37.520there have been a few voices opposing Trump's plans to annex Canada. There's a Republicans against Trump
00:04:44.500group on X. And they tweeted that his claims about us were false. Quote, all Canadian leaders from
00:04:54.400right to left oppose this idea. According to a recent poll, 82% of Canadians are against joining
00:04:59.980the US, end quote. Lieutenant Governor, I guess they say Lieutenant Governor down there, Danny Heck in
00:05:06.280Washington State said, quote, Canada is not our 51st state. They are our neighbor. They're one of our
00:05:13.380largest trading partners, our ally, having fought alongside us in every war, and our friend, a
00:05:19.300friendship built on shared values and a commitment to democracy, end quote. Brian Krasenstein, who
00:05:25.980is a social media friend of mine and an influential podcaster, said, quote, Canada has been one of our
00:05:34.760closest allies, a key trade partner, shares countless common interests with us. This isn't
00:05:40.260diplomacy. It's a cringeworthy display of ego, masquerading as leadership, end quote, here, here.
00:05:47.180Bruce Heyman, who was the US ambassador to Canada from 2014 to 2017, he told the Canadian journalist
00:05:54.340that as an American, I hate this, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, she was also impressed by it.
00:06:01.580I'll say, this isn't how you treat friends. And she said, quote, I'm not opposed to tariffs outright,
00:06:05.600but we can't treat them like a one size fits all solution. We certainly shouldn't use them
00:06:10.400to punish our closest trading partners, end quote. An American journalist, Aaron Rupar, who I follow,
00:06:17.100he's got nearly a million followers on X alone, and he had the best and the pithiest take, I think.
00:06:23.360I'm sorry, Canada. Elsewhere, though, American allies have been few and far between. Like,
00:06:29.620even, as Brian Lilly and I talk about on this week's show, Senator Bernie Sanders, when asked
00:06:35.540about Trump's expansionism, said he was all for it. That's a quote, all for it, because he believed
00:06:41.260that it would get America universal health care, like Canada has. And he's wrong, of course. We'd get
00:06:47.100their system, not the other way around. Other Americans, including elected ones, have been
00:06:52.580openly hostile. Texan Republican Congressman Brandon Gill, quote, listen, I think that the people of
00:07:00.880Canada, for that matter, should be honored that President Trump wants to bring their territory
00:07:05.220under the American fold, end quote. Well, fuck you, Mr. Gill. Similarly, Utah Senator Mike Lee
00:07:11.860said that the U.S. should take over Alberta and leave the rest. Fuck you, Mike. And the game show host
00:07:18.120and boating enthusiast Kevin O'Leary, who professes to be a Canadian from his perch in a mansion in
00:07:24.080Boston, has done the media circuit to defend Trump's aggression. And O'Leary, who is unilaterally
00:07:31.080appointed himself Canada's ambassador to Mar-a-Lago, says, quote, what has caught the imagination
00:07:37.240of Canadians is an economic union beyond what we have now, end quote, which is bullshit, which
00:07:42.800is a lie. Multiple polls have been conducted up here in the Great White North since Trump started
00:07:47.720going on about taking us over. And all have found more than 90% on the right and the left, from
00:07:54.140Pierre Polyev to Justin Trudeau, strongly oppose this so-called idea. But for those of us casting our
00:08:00.600eyes down south to see if any of our allies will step up to a microphone and defend us, it ain't
00:08:06.520happening. We're on our own, folks. Time to get ready.
00:08:12.980Why are we here? Where do we belong? Everyone is a walking ghost. The people of love. And I have my drink.
00:08:24.020And I think I'll get it right this week. Why are we here? Where do we go? Caught by the feeling that we know. Take me. Take me. Take me to the home. Take me.
00:11:32.880And we're back on an extraordinary day with my friend Brian Lilly, my colleague Brian Lilly.
00:11:46.720But Brian, before we get started, I wanted to play a clip that both you and I have seen in the past 48 hours and have sent out to our readers and followers.
00:11:55.800And it's a clip by Ronald Reagan, former U.S. President, Republican, talking about trading partners of the United States of America.
00:12:05.240So let's just play that clip right now of President Reagan.
00:12:09.020Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies.
00:12:14.020We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world, all while cynically waving the American flag.
00:12:26.820The expansion of the international economy is not a foreign invasion, it is an American triumph, one we worked hard to achieve, and something central to our vision of a peaceful and prosperous world of freedom.
00:12:41.080After the Second World War, America led the way to dismantle trade barriers and create a world trading system that set the stage for decades of unparalleled economic growth.
00:12:51.460Yes, back in 1776, our founding fathers believed that free trade was worth fighting for, and we can celebrate their victory, because today, trade is at the core of the alliance that secure the peace and guarantee our freedom.
00:13:08.880It is the source of our prosperity and the path to an even brighter future for America.
00:13:15.340Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you.
00:13:19.920All right, so that was Ronald Reagan talking about trading partners and allies.
00:13:27.100Brian, what do you think about what President Reagan said?
00:13:31.800Well, I think it was very smart, but it's from a bygone era, unfortunately.
00:13:38.020You know, at that point, Reagan was fighting protectionists primarily within the Democratic Party, but some within his own party, as he was expanding free trade with Canada and other nations.
00:13:48.520And eventually, what Reagan put forward there and his free trading viewpoint became the Washington consensus.
00:14:00.340You know, Bill Clinton's view on trade, despite being a Democrat, was not really any different than Ronald Reagan's.
00:14:08.840But then things changed, you know, I think partly fundamentally, it's, you know, bringing China into the WTO, which Clinton did in, I think, 97, and everyone thought was a great idea.
00:14:23.940Bipartisan support on China, well, China's been a bad actor on trade.
00:14:29.700And just thinking about it now, if we want to go back to the roots of why Canada's in this position that we are now, it would be to blame China.
00:14:37.040Because of how they have been accepted into the world trading systems built up after World War II, but then have abused them for their own benefit.
00:14:52.680Well, explain, but explain, if I can just jump in, explain then to people who don't follow this stuff as closely as you do, how is it that Canada gets hit with 25% tariff, and China only gets hit with 10%?
00:15:07.240That I couldn't tell you, other than, I don't know, the goods from China are lower value.
00:15:17.840They're the things that Americans rely on, buying at Walmart, at Target, your everyday items, so much of that.
00:15:28.700I don't know if that is what their suggestion is.
00:15:32.260And there's no doubt that, you know, whatever is going on with cross-border fentanyl trade between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, that the origin of it all traces back to China.
00:15:45.860And they are the worst player in that.
00:15:48.820So, look, I don't get it, and I'm not going to try to explain.
00:15:53.400But my point on Reagan is that that viewpoint is gone.
00:15:57.800And it's not just gone in the Republican Party, although there's still people like Rand Paul who were expressing similar sentiments.
00:16:05.680But, you know, just like there was a consensus against tariffs, that's gone.
00:16:11.820Like, even Bernie Sanders was saying he was fine with the tariffs that Trump's going to put in.
00:16:15.520So, we're in a very different era right now, and my worry is that because we did take the relationship for granted, and I remember speaking with Democrats about the Trudeau guys getting blindsided by some of Biden's protectionist moves.
00:16:39.380They said, well, once Trump was gone and Biden came in, they just kind of took everything for granted.
00:16:45.600We've taken the U.S. for granted on a lot, and we just assume it's on cruise control.
00:16:51.320And I don't think that our diplomats or our politicians understand what's this fundamental change in attitude in Washington.
00:17:04.500I don't think they get it, and that's leaving us in a really bad position.
00:17:09.420Stephen Taylor, conservative activist, pointed out something that I think is very accurate, that the Trudeau guys have zero insight into Trump's Republican Party.
00:17:21.680And, like, Trump's not a Republican, he's not a Democrat, or he's not a conservative, but he does control the Republican Party now.
00:17:29.580And, like, they know fewer people than folks like Stephen and I who go down to CPAC every couple of years, the Conservative Political Action Committee.
00:17:39.080They just have zero insight into that world.
00:17:41.800But free trade is a conservative principle.
00:17:44.980Every conservative I've known, you know, I grew up in Alberta.
00:21:42.300Lutnick is saying, you know, we're going to get them no matter what.
00:21:45.740Trump's saying it has to do with fentanyl, 98% of which is produced, precursors and the product is produced in China and brought in by Americans.
00:24:28.640You've got to make compromises, and immediately after USMCA was signed, the Americans ended up, under Biden, not Trump, under Biden, ended up filing two trade panels against us, one on dairy and one on auto parts.
00:24:48.520And on dairy, they said, wait a minute, we had an agreement, and you've changed the rules so that half a billion dollars of Wisconsin milk that was being used in cheese production, not, you know, going in the milk that you and I probably put on the table, half a billion of this per year is now being blocked.
00:25:08.560And then they say on the auto parts, well, I thought we agreed to a more restrictive idea of what was a North American-made part, and you and Mexico are putting more Chinese and export parts into your parts.
00:26:03.600But why wouldn't, on the auto parts, why wouldn't we want to make sure that there's more Canadian steel or aluminum in it instead of Chinese?
00:26:11.040So sometimes you've got to make these compromises, and these small compromises would benefit the larger economy.
00:26:20.000When you hear Trump say Canada's treated as awfully on trade, these are the types of things that he's talking about, things that were irritants to the Biden administration.
00:26:27.900But now we're not dealing with Joe Biden.
00:26:33.340And maybe we should have taken the L on those two and not be facing these tariffs.
00:26:39.900You know, at some point, we will have to negotiate our way out of this.
00:26:44.200I know I'm being accused of capitulating to the U.S. and not being on Team Canada by people who, by the way, have been undermining the Canadian oil industry.
00:27:44.000Now, like I've searched DEA news releases and reports and State Department stuff, and I can't find it.
00:27:51.160But on the illegal migrants, which Trump doesn't talk about as much, I've said to you before, and the numbers are there, we're a growing problem.
00:30:26.360I think people are foolishly looking at Mark Carney and saying, well, he's an economist, so he knows best.
00:30:35.020You know, I know a lot of economists, and I did a podcast with two of them on Full Comment earlier in the week.
00:30:41.120So if people want to hear about what's threatening us beyond the tariffs, because the tariffs are a small part of this, the bigger threat is from Trump's restructuring of the American economy.
00:30:55.620But Mark Carney, I think, you know, he looks like he's walking away with the liberal leadership, and people believe that he's really smart.
00:31:03.900Well, he, on his carbon tax thing, he said, well, we'll get rid of the consumer one, then jack up the one for industry.
00:31:15.480And Todd Battis at CTV Atlantic, same guy that interviewed Pierre a week ago, said, well, won't people eventually pay that?
00:31:35.060He's out building his shack in Costa Rica or whatever.
00:31:38.140So, anyway, well, I guess the sad reality, I feel terrible for people who are anxious tonight, wondering, asking their spouse if they're going to lose their job, what it means for their future.
00:31:50.160So I'm saying a prayer for all those people.
00:31:53.080And I guess it's a lot for you and I to talk about in the coming weeks, isn't it?