If you’re part of the “orange man bad” brigade, do yourself a favour—stop reading now. Seriously, put down your pitchforks and extinguish your torches. I come not to praise Donald Trump, but neither do I come to condemn him. Instead, I want to make a case that, despite the volcanic rhetoric from certain political quarters and the Liberals’ tireless efforts to make Trump the bogeyman of Canadian politics, the man has, in fact, handed Canada an unexpected gift.
First, let us dispense with the lazy claim—repeated ad nauseam by our current federal leadership—that Trump’s tariff policies are erratic and senseless. Nonsense. Nothing could be further from the truth. Trump’s foreign policy is guided by a clear and deliberate doctrine: Fortress America. Under this vision, the U.S. pivots from being the world’s hall monitor to prioritizing the creation of a mighty and self-sustaining North American economy. An economic juggernaut, impervious to Chinese and Russian machinations, shielded from destabilizing Middle Eastern influences. Trump sees a fully integrated Mexico-Canada-U.S. bloc as the ultimate global powerhouse, benefiting all three nations immensely.
Consider the strategy: The push to reclaim influence over the Panama Canal (after the Chinese snatched up key functions). The interest in Greenland—an Arctic foothold of strategic significance. The heightened attention on Canada and Mexico. These are not the whims of a mad king but the chess moves of a president playing the long game.
At the core of Fortress America is the belief in a deeply interconnected North American alliance—a partnership rooted in shared values, joint prosperity, and common security responsibilities. This means strengthening borders, securing Arctic interests, and cracking down on criminal exploitation of weak points, whether in drug trafficking or foreign interference. The vision is bold: a continental engine of unrivalled economic and military strength.
Now, enter stage left: Canada’s Liberal government. While most Canadians instinctively understand our natural affinity with the United States—culturally, economically, and historically—our current leadership does not. Instead, they flirt with open-border globalism and embrace the same muddled policies as the European Union and Joe Biden’s Washington. They downplay crime, demonize lawful gun owners, and cozy up to Beijing’s interests—both in trade and, more disturbingly, in their silent tolerance of China’s organized crime networks operating on Canadian soil.
And this is where things become truly troubling. China, with its unyielding Arctic ambitions, finds in Canada a disturbingly willing accomplice. The fentanyl trade is but one symptom. Far too easily, the poison moves across our porous border and into American streets. The claim that only “one percent” of fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. comes via Canada is laughable. It merely reveals how little of it we are intercepting.
But the damage doesn’t stop at security. Liberal policies, enthroned on the altar of climate dogma, have inflicted grievous wounds on our economy. Our energy sector, once the envy of the world, is in tatters. Our national defence is a skeleton force. Our confederation itself frays at the edges. Canada, once confident and sturdy, has become a brittle shell—economically vulnerable, militarily irrelevant, and politically adrift.
Here is where Trump’s unexpected gift comes in. His tariffs—though painful—have stripped away Canada’s illusions. They have laid bare the mediocrity and mismanagement of our federal leadership. While Mexico found a way to align with Trump’s vision, Canada stubbornly clung to petty virtue-signalling and domestic grandstanding. The tariffs were not mere economic bludgeons; they were clarifying instruments. They revealed the extent of our decay.
And therein lies the opportunity. Trump’s policies have forced Canada into a painful but necessary self-reckoning. We now stand at a crossroads. We can either seize the moment, redefine ourselves, and forge a future as a strong and self-respecting partner in this continental alliance—or we can continue down the path of decline, content to be a feckless and fading nation.
One final thought: If, after three terms of Liberal misrule, Canada has become so impoverished, so weakened, and so devoid of resilience that it cannot recover, then perhaps it is time for Albertans—and perhaps others—to consider the unthinkable. If our own leadership has no intention of defending our prosperity, perhaps it is time to strike out independently—for the sake of our economy, our future, and the futures of our children.
