Interview with Arnold August, writer, political commentator, and analyst of the North American continent, on the political situation in Canada and its relationship to the US.
Originally published in The Left Chapter.
There was a lot of talk in the media about Trumpâs desire to annex Canada and make it the fifty-first state of the United States. Even the 2025 Canadian elections were fought on this line. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned and appointed Mark Carney as his successor. Even though many say that Canada is inherently opposed to the United Statesâ big brother attitude, the ruling elites are hand in glove with the US.
To learn more about this, P. Ambedkar of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research spoke with Arnold August, writer, political commentator, and analyst of the North American continent, on the mood of the people and what lies in store for Canada.
How Did Prime Minister Mark Carneyâs âAnti-Trumpâ Narrative Play Out During the Campaign? Also, Former Prime Minister Trudeau Reacted Sharply to Trumpâs Statements on Canada.
The liberal ruling elites faced a formidable challenge in the face of widespread public hostility to the US throughout Canada. How should [ruling elites] portray Carney as a patriot standing for Canadian sovereignty? Yet even the Carney âanti-Trumpâ narrative was shaped in the US. In April, the New York Times set the tone for Canada, dictating to their Canadian counterparts: âCanada Votes: Whatâs at Stake? Many Canadians believe Mondayâs election is the most important of their lifetime. It will determine who will take on a stagnant economy and deal with President Trumpâ.
In a 22 April 2025, Wall Street Journal article headlined âHow Canadaâs Trump-Style Candidate Blew a 20-Point Polling Leadâ, it concludes that â[Conservative Party leader] Pierre Poilievreâs populist message was resonating until Trumpâs antagonism pushed Canadians toward former central banker [Mark Carney]â. The New York Times also chimed in by anointing Carney in this way: âCanadaâs Anti-Trump Finds His Moment⌠Mark Carney, the new prime minister seeking a full term in the elections, has built his campaign around President Trumpâs threats to the countryâ. The state-run Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) took the cue from the US media: âTrump reinserts himself into Canadian politics, saying âas a state, it works greatââ, by positioning itself and Carney as opponents and not subservient to Trumpâs policy.
The reality is that Canadaâs Trump-style candidate did not blow a twenty-point polling lead. Instead, the US-Canada elites switched from the Conservatives to the Liberals. Why? The reason is that they figured that Carney would be in a better position to co-opt the rising anti-US tide in Canada, rather than the Conservatives, in being compatible with Trump, while at the same time not allowing this treason to be so obvious. Trump himself let the cat out of the bag. Trump, speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting at the White House after the election results, said, âI think weâre going to have a great relationship⌠He called me up yesterday and said, âLetâs make a dealâ⌠He couldnât have been nicerâ. âHe was running for officeâ, Trump said, speaking of Carney. âThey both hated Trump, and it was the one that hated Trump, I think, the least, that won. I actually think the Conservatives hated me much more than the so-called Liberalsâ.
One must grasp how the dominant mainstream liberal media and the Liberal Party, the party that dominated most of Canadaâs history, âmanufactured consentâ for the following narrative. During this ongoing election period, Canada was embroiled in an âexistentialâ battle to defend its âsovereigntyâ by pushing back against Trumpâs 51st state anecdotes. To do so, it is necessary to dissect the political culture and psychology of the ruling elites. They harbour and actively cultivate a superficial smug posture that places Canada and Canadians as being superior to the US and Americans. The folklore given is that âWe are not like the Americansâ. Yet, it is merely pompous posturing. While the vainglorious liberals exhibited ostentatious pretence, Canadians at the grassroots levels were sincerely seething with anger at the US in the Canadian anti-American traditionâŚ
Yet, these same pundits are so slavish regarding the US. It was embarrassing to watch the CBC pundits when they could not hide their joy that Canada was finally ârecognisedâ in the US press. The body language was outstanding. They were gushing with pride: âWe made it!â
In your question, you mentioned that Canada has seen âa sharp reaction from Trudeau to Trumpâs statementsâ. This is true only in the sense of counter tariffs. However, as far as the key issue of pushing back against the 51st state menace, the records tell us another story.
During Justin Trudeauâs visit to greet Trump at Mar-a-Lago on December 1, soon after the president was elected, Canadaâs prime minister said he looks forward to âlots of great conversationsâ with the president-elect. There was no mention at all about the 51st state. When it was revealed that Trump raised the 51st state at the time, one of Trudeauâs ministers in Mar-a-Lago, claimed âTrumpâs quip about Canada becoming the 51st state was a jokeâ.
However, it was only on January 7, almost a week after Mar-a-Lago, that Trudeau said that âthere isnât a snowballâs chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United Statesâ.
What Transpired in the Carney-Trump May 6 White House Meeting?
While Justin Trudeau has been discredited, it is pretty surprising how his successor, Mark Carney, has largely escaped this demonisation. This came about because of corporate media manipulation both in Canada and internationally. Thus, the very same Liberal Party went from the âdevilâ to virtual âsainthoodâ, simply by changing the face of its leader. Therefore, we will first lay out what the two leaders said value-freely to deal with the Donald Trump-Mark Carney May 6 summit in the White House. It is approached this way to avoid offending those who, both internationally and in Canada, understandably bought into the magical transformation of the governing Liberal party. It has been converted, as if by sleight of hand, into a standard bearer of Canadaâs sovereignty in opposition to Trumpâs 51st state talking point.
How Has Carneyâs âAnti-Trump Canadian Sovereigntyâ Narrative Been Manufactured?
Upon Carneyâs arrival at the White House entrance, stepping out of the car, the press noted that Carney copied Trumpâs âsignature clenched fist saluteâ. However, this was only the beginning.
Trump opened the Oval Office meeting by congratulating Carney on his âhistoric election comebackâ. Carney nodded and smiled approvingly. However, Carney did not see it fit to question Trumpâs open interference in the Canadian electoral process, as admitted by Trump himself. Trump acknowledged last March that he was boosting the Liberalsâ fortunes, but continued with his attacks, nonetheless. âI donât care⌠Iâd rather deal with a Liberal than a Conservativeâ.
In an interview with NBCâs Meet the Press, two days before the meeting with Carney, President Trump said he still wants to make Canada the 51st US state and does not envision the United States using military force to seize the neighbouring country. Regarding the goal of the 51st state, in the Oval Office, Carney put on a show indicating that âCanada is not for saleâ. In the Canadian TV coverage, it was revealed by a political reporter âinsiderâ that Carney had been rehearsing for some time for the Washington appearance. Thus, as we saw above, he devised the real estate analogy to flatter Trump.
However, there is a problem. Trump never asserted that he wants âto buyâ Canada. On the contrary, his narrative consists of annexing Canada, taking it over by doing away with the âartificial lineâ separating the two countries. Furthermore, while some would argue it is far-fetched, Trump did not rule out military force to achieve his goal. Even the Canadian mainstream media had to admit that Carney had to deal with this âmenaceâ if he wanted to return to Canada with his head high, given the high animosity in the country against the US.
When Trump responded to Carneyâs comment that Canada will ânever be for sale to the USâ (even though he missed the target), the President âcleverlyâ used Canadian pop star Justin Bieberâs hit âNever Say Neverâ. Carney can be seen meekly raising his finger to speak like a child. However, when Trump finally gave him time to speak, this is where some âdramaâ entered the scene. However, how dramatic was it? And was it a game changer? Letâs see. Carneyâs response to ânever say neverâ, which is being fostered as an âiconicâ Canadian anti-Trump moment, is not in the transcript. Why? Despite the Canadian leaderâs attempt to insert himself in the conversation dominated by Trump, Carney had already lost the plot. His ânever, never, never, never, never!â (yes, five times) was drowned out in the cacophony of reportersâ questions directed to Trump. Furthermore, we can see Carney laughing as he repeated that, even though annexation is far from being a joke.
If his ânever, never⌠â was so much an expression of anti-US Canadian sovereignty, then surely it must have expressed itself on the issue of lifting tariffs. However, regarding this contentious point, which is also supposed to be at the heart of US-Canada tensions, Trump said, âNo, just the way it isâ, to be dealt with over time. Carney just nodded along, stone-faced, in agreement. Not surprisingly, Carney later seconded Trumpâs view by saying that, regarding one point to be hoped for from the Canadian side, lifting tariffs, Carney proceeded with a copy and paste of Trumpâs evaluation: later⌠âto be part of a âbigger discussionâ.
If tariffs were so crucial, why was it not raised again by Carney on his own, in one form or another? Trump spoke for about three-quarters of the time, leaving only the other quarter for Carney, who had about the same number of reportersâ questions directed to him as his American counterpart. Trump dominated, by among other tactics, exhausting quite a lot of time attacking his Democratic political opponents, which had nothing to do with the issues at stake.
To make it clear, I have no affinities at all with the Democrats. On the contrary, I have written books against them and penned articles. For example, most recently, one articleâs title tells it all as I favourably relished the 2024 defeat of Obama/Biden Harris: âGenocide as the Principal Cause of the Democratsâ Crushing Defeatâ. The same glee applies to their liberal media promoters: âLiberal Media and Personalities: The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fallâ.
Trump also zeroed in on his Canadian opponents. Carneyâs body language was pathetic. When Trump ridiculed Trudeau as âGovernorâ, Carney pursed his lips. He was visibly nervous and remained stone-faced while shifting in his chair, anxiously waiting for the tirade to blow over. When Trump went after his current member of the Cabinet, former Trudeau foreign and finance minister, without mentioning Chrystia Freelandâs name, we are treated to the same vacuous reaction. Once again, I have been and am a staunch opponent of Freeland and Trudeau, as this articleâs title indicates: âJustin Trudeau: Most Slavish, Superficial, Hypocritical, Pro-US Prime Minister Everâ. However, the point I am trying to make to our readers is that Carney, far from embodying anti-Trump, sovereigntist Canadian sentiment, is as âslavish, superficial, hypocritical, pro-USâ as Justin Trudeau.
Far from the Oval Office representing a victory for Carney and his diplomacy, Trump got the last word in: âBut why are we subsidising Canada $200 billion a year, or whatever the number might be, itâs a very substantial number. And itâs hard for the American taxpayer to say, âgee whiz, we love doing thatââ. And he ended the meeting tight there, no more questions from reporters either: âThank you very muchâ.
In addition, we can ask if Carney missed an ideal opportunity to tell the truth to the world on the key issue of the 51st state controversy. When Trump mused that it âtakes two to tangoâ, thus confusing the aggressor (the US) and the aggressed (Canada), rather than obediently nodding along, he would have asserted that it is the US that must back off.
Pindiga Ambedkar is a researcher with Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He works on issues of discrimination, labour, and education.
Arnold August, M.A. in Political Science from McGill University, is a Montreal-based author and journalist specialising in geopolitics and international relations, Global South, multipolarity, Russia-Ukraine-NATO, Palestine, Iran, Latin America, Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), Venezuela, Cuba, First Peoples, China, BRICS, West Asia and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). He is a member of the Canadian Freelance Union (CFU) of UNIFOR.
The official response to Katrina was a catastrophic failure of the state. The real story of survival was written by a coalition of the discardedâex-offenders and Black churchesâwho built their ownâŚ
The U.S. is a purveyor of global violence, as illustrated by the intensifying militarism in the Caribbean and targeting of Venezuela. The struggle to establish a Zone of Peace directly challengesâŚ
Mayor Bowser going along to get along with Donald Trump is unsurprising to anyone who has followed her political career. She is the Black misleader par excellence.
âTo understand the history of the Americas we must pay tribute toâŚHaiti.â
Senator Ted Cruz has written an open letter urging Trump to recognize Somaliland, causing jubilation among Somaliland secessionists.
