Amid the ongoing tariff war between the two countries, US President Donald Trump reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the long-standing border demarcation treaty between the two nations, in a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. According to a The New York Times report, the US President conveyed his desire to renegotiate the boundary during a conversation with the Canadian PM.
The report cited four anonymous sources, familiar with the discussion, stating that in an early February call, Trump not only challenged the legitimacy of the 1908 border treaty but also voiced his concerns about shared water agreements between the two countries.
This comes after Trudeau, addressing the media in Ottawa, called Trump’s justification for imposing tariffs on Canada “completely bogus, unjustified, and false.” He further claimed, “What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that’ll make it easier to annex us.”
According to the report, during the February 3 conversation, discussions focused not only on potential tariff relief but also on Trump’s broader grievances regarding US-Canada trade relations. Among the issues he raised were: Canada’s protected dairy sector, the difficulty faced by American banks in Canada and also Canadian consumption taxes, which Trump believes make US goods less competitive.
Additionally, Trump also expressed interest in revisiting agreements governing the shared use of lakes and rivers between the two nations. These agreements, which dictate the management of the Great Lakes, in Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario, have been in place for decades.
In a separate media interaction on January 7, the US President stated he was considering using “economic force” against Canada. His remarks have fueled ongoing social media narratives depicting Canada as the “51st state” and Trudeau as its “Governor,” sentiments that have reportedly caused frustration within the Canadian government.
Furthermore, the report claims that Trump explored the possibility of ejecting Canada from the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance, which includes the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. He also suggested reconsidering military cooperation between the two nations, particularly their joint role in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
