First they came for the bees…

Everything gets more serious after Labour Day, of course. This time it could be a doozie.

Our retaliatory tariffs come into play at midnight. Dollar-for-dollar against the evil Americans. Many are targeted at red states, as we become the only nation on earth to stand up to Donald Trump’s bullying in such a way. Is it courage? Or suicide?

Past presidents could never have fathomed a trade war with Canada. I met Reagan, Bush and Obama. They treated us as kin. The respect was deep, genuine and reciprocated. What happens in the next few days, or weeks, may shake us all. So steel yourself.

On the weekend the US Treasury Secretary called Canada, “a yippy little dog.” The US is a big German Shepherd, he added, who one day says ‘I’ve had enough”. The Americans have now called the Canada-US exchange rate “unacceptable” as an unfair trade advantage. And Trump posted this:

It’s almost like bashing poor Canada is designed to take eyes off the fact oil has gushed over $90 a barrel again as the unwinnable Iran war flares back to life. US consumer prices are rising, and the midterm elections are approaching. Trump’s public polling is awful even as he enjoys hero status among his base. His crazy actions are endless. He just allowed over 600 million pounds of likely-tainted Brazilian beef into the US from his buddy’s meat packing operations – a man who befriended Melania and gave $5 million for the president’s inauguration.

In other words, there are no guardrails. What comes next could be shocking. Probably not permanent. But irrational – like the new tariffs that crush Canada’s honey production, when we supply just 2% of the US market. If we lose the honey biz, we lose bees. Without the bees we cannot pollinate the canola fields. Canola is Canada’s most valuable crop, worth $43 billion.

What might happen?

The White House could impose a 50% tariff on all Canadian imports to the US, completely abrogating the free trade agreement that is now frayed, but still in place.

We export about $590 billion worth of stuff to the States annually, more than 70% of all our shipments out of the country. Of that, $150 billion is energy – oil and gas – which would be exempted (America needs our cheap energy). Tariffs on the rest would effectively cease cross-border trade.

There are 2.2 million jobs in Canada relying on non-energy exports south. Four in ten are in manufacturing (including cars). Half our forestry and logging jobs are export-oriented. The same in the entertainment and cultural sectors. Plus a half-million people work in services tied directly to US trade.

In short, if 50% tariffs were applied to all non-O&G exports we might see the unemployment rate rise from the current 6.4% to 16.1%.

This is the Carney bluff.

In a few days he hosts a global conference of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and international financiers aimed at attracting vast sums into Canada – $1 trillion is the goal over five years. He says we can no longer trust the White House or the majority of American voters who returned Trump to it – and could be just as protectionist and twisted in the future.

Do we seriously have another choice?

“They want to break us,” Carney said, “so they can own us”

Look again at Trump’s hockey meme. It’s probably coming. Be steady.

About the picture: “Hello Garth. Sending a final photo of our beloved Roxy,” writes Randall. “After eleven and a half amazing years with us she succumbed to a very aggressive sarcoma.  She was an amazing girl.  You have posted a few of her pics in the past, on her own and with daycare friends.  Savour the time you have with these amazing beings!  Its over in a flash.”

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

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/09/07/first-they-came-for-the-bees/