Is the US playing Canada like a fiddle on trade? That’s the gist of a story by CBC writer Janyce McGregor as she casts a cynical eye on Liberal victory laps at steel and aluminum mills across the country. She quotes people saying that lifting the tariffs on these metals was a mere tactic in the US trade war on China. Canada got what appears to be a reversible respite from tariffs so the US can present a united North American front to Beijing. McGregor suggests the tariffs could easily return. Long gone are the days when Canada was the essential next-door ally in the war against Communism. Now, it seems, the relative smallness of Canada’s population — a mere 37 million — make it just another small-time player. No more punching above our weight. More like getting beaten up from time to time. A nasty new reality to reckon with.
