A local comentator yesterday made an interesting assertion – she didn’t think anything Trudeau or Sheinbaum had to say to trump made the difference. trump is claiming a win for the US. Yes, both Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen the borders with increased policing but those were actions already being undertaken, and likely desirable. No, she believes the pushback against the 25% tariffs came from a few significant close trump confidants who screamed loudly when both Canada and Mexico revealed their retaliatory tariffs and some personal businesses (like Tesla and Starlink) were going to be hurt! (The early morning big drop in both US and Canadian stock markets was an indication of what would come if the tariffs were actually levied.)(A good explanation by Matt Stoller.)

OK, so the tariffs have been shelved for the next 30 days. Where does that leave us? Stuck with the same “cat and mouse” game, more musings about the “51 state”, questions about what will happen in a month answered with a cryptic “Watch.” We’re stuck in limbo for a month.

Yesterday Canadians, (Mexicans, too, I’m guessing) began boycotting “produced in US” products. My grocery shopping on Sunday took me 20 minutes longer because I read every label and put back anything connected with the US. I wasn’t shopping yesterday but I know when I go to any local store in the next day or two I’ll find Canadian products marked with shelf labels or small Canadian flag stickers to make my shopping Canadian easier! I must check whether any such labelling will happen online – I have to look for it. I have to make the same effort to buy Canadian when shopping online!

The thing is, we Canadians need to keep that up, not just for a week. Not just for a month. We need to make buying Canadian a priority going forward. Our politicians need to keep this conversation going.

In part that will happen because there’s an election in Ontario shortly, and the Liberal Party of Canada is in the midst of a leadership race where these threats made by trump will continue to be a major issue. When parliament resumes in March, I expect the government to fall to be followed by a national general election where our vulnerability to trump’s whims will be front and centre.

While PP (Poilievre) has managed to take a “tough” stance on Canadian retaliation to the stupid tariffs, he can’t resist lying about our energy exports, he can’t stop himself from belittling anything the Liberal government puts forward. His “Canada First” is tinged with a kind of bombast that reveals the posturing he’s addicted to. I have a very close friend, a staunch Conservative, who keeps telling me PP is “a smart politician”. I can’t see it. Forced into defending Canada, he’s still singing his one song – he can’t bring himself to stand as a leader of a signifiant resistance to a US takeover. He’s certainly not persuading me to vote for him. I wonder how many other Canadians are evaluating the situation similarly.

The next thirty days are important. I have decided to stop worrying about the impending tariffs, not because they’ve been set aside, but because I refused to live with the uncertainty. I do believe as March 3/4 draws nearer the nonsense from south of the border will reappear, with new unmeetable demands and both Canada and Mexico will scramble once more to strategize ways to push back.

In the meantime every Canadian needs to be creative about finding small ways to strengthen our sovereignty! It’s not enough to refuse to buy US today. We need to keep it up going forward and for the foreseeable future! It’s part of the “playing offence” that Jean Chretién was advocating!

In the meantime sign the Pledge For Canada!