May 8, 2025 – As the Trump administration escalates waves of auto tariffs – reigniting trade tensions and upending cross-border supply chains – Canada must act decisively to defend its auto sector and reassert its place in North American manufacturing, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Back to the Future? […]
Back to the Future? Canada’s Auto Strategy The Trump administration’s auto tariffs threaten Canada’s internationally competitive vehicle manufacturing sector, encouraging production to shift south, causing inefficiencies and damaging North American competitiveness. This report proposes a modernized Auto Pact that would allow tariff-free vehicle imports from countries with which Canada does not have a free trade […]
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Jon JohnsonDate: May 2, 2025Re: Judicial Challenges to Trump’s IEEPA Tariffs – Time for Congress to Act The Trump administration has issued 13 executive orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) imposing tariffs based on alleged national emergency concerns, including: Declaring an America First Trade policy addressing “unfair and unbalanced […]
From: Harvey NaglieTo: Trade war watchersDate: April 24, 2025Re: Reimagining Canada’s Trade Strategy in Response to US Pressures The C.D. Howe Institute’s report on Canada’s response to intensifying US trade pressures offers a pragmatic blueprint centered on economic de-risking, strategic diplomacy, and safeguarding existing trade frameworks like CUSMA/USMCA. Its recommendations – strengthening economic foundations, restrained retaliation, support for tariff-affected […]
Canada is largely following our Trade Crisis Working Group’s strategy. But how do we implement massive changes to the country’s interprovincial trade, expand globally, and improve productivity while negotiating with a president who doesn’t respect his own trade agreements? Co-chairs Mitzie Hunter and Jason Kenney explain.
Canada is largely following our Trade Crisis Working Group’s strategy. But how do we implement massive changes to the country’s interprovincial trade, expand globally, and improve productivity while negotiating with a president who doesn’t respect his own trade agreements? Co-chairs Mitzie Hunter and Jason Kenney explain.
To: Canada’s Next GovernmentFrom: John LesterDate: April 22, 2025Re: Responding to Trump’s Trade War Donald Trump’s decision to pause his “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days doesn’t affect Canada. We still face the previously announced 25 percent tariff on all imports that don’t comply with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement and additional levies on autos, aluminum, steel, oil and potash that will seriously […]
This piece was published in The Hub. Elections, we would hope, are a time to grapple with the biggest issues facing the country. As each leader makes their pitch in the final week of the campaign, Canadians should be focused on how they address one particularly daunting challenge: Canada has an acute productivity problem—and since […]
This piece was published in The Globe and Mail. Our country’s largest airbase, CFB Trenton, has lead in its water. This sprawling base, on the shores of Ontario’s Bay of Quinte between the communities of Brighton and Belleville, is home to 8 Wing, and the hub of Canadian Air Force air-mobility operations in Canada. The […]
Canada recorded a surplus of US$35.7 billion in its trade with the United States in 2024, equivalent to 4 percent of the two countries’ total bilateral goods and services trade that year. Without energy trade (oil and gas, other fuels and fuel products, and electricity), which the United States needs to sustain its industrial competitiveness, […]
To: The Next Canadian GovernmentFrom: Daniel SchwanenDate: April 17, 2025Re: Trade Negotiations with the United States: Preliminary Considerations The “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the White House on April 2 were not tied to any specific barrier maintained by trade partners affected by these new duties. They were meant to punish trade partners for the sum […]
Published in The Hub. In geopolitics, the strong are rarely threatened, much less attacked. As we weigh the options for the future of our country in the midst of a federal election, Canada finds itself a target from our neighbour to the south because we are economically weak. The good news is that our weakness […]
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Back to the Future? Canada’s Auto Strategy The Trump administration’s auto tariffs threaten Canada’s internationally competitive vehicle manufacturing sector, encouraging production to shift south, causing inefficiencies and damaging North American competitiveness. This report proposes a modernized Auto Pact that would allow tariff-free vehicle imports from countries with which Canada does not have a free trade […] 
To: Trade war watchersFrom: Jon JohnsonDate: May 2, 2025Re: Judicial Challenges to Trump’s IEEPA Tariffs – Time for Congress to Act The Trump administration has issued 13 executive orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) imposing tariffs based on alleged national emergency concerns, including: Declaring an America First Trade policy addressing “unfair and unbalanced […] 
From: Harvey NaglieTo: Trade war watchersDate: April 24, 2025Re: Reimagining Canada’s Trade Strategy in Response to US Pressures The C.D. Howe Institute’s report on Canada’s response to intensifying US trade pressures offers a pragmatic blueprint centered on economic de-risking, strategic diplomacy, and safeguarding existing trade frameworks like CUSMA/USMCA. Its recommendations – strengthening economic foundations, restrained retaliation, support for tariff-affected […] 
Canada is largely following our Trade Crisis Working Group’s strategy. But how do we implement massive changes to the country’s interprovincial trade, expand globally, and improve productivity while negotiating with a president who doesn’t respect his own trade agreements? Co-chairs Mitzie Hunter and Jason Kenney explain. 
To: Canada’s Next GovernmentFrom: John LesterDate: April 22, 2025Re: Responding to Trump’s Trade War Donald Trump’s decision to pause his “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days doesn’t affect Canada. We still face the previously announced 25 percent tariff on all imports that don’t comply with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement and additional levies on autos, aluminum, steel, oil and potash that will seriously […] 
This piece was published in The Hub. Elections, we would hope, are a time to grapple with the biggest issues facing the country. As each leader makes their pitch in the final week of the campaign, Canadians should be focused on how they address one particularly daunting challenge: Canada has an acute productivity problem—and since […] 
This piece was published in The Globe and Mail. Our country’s largest airbase, CFB Trenton, has lead in its water. This sprawling base, on the shores of Ontario’s Bay of Quinte between the communities of Brighton and Belleville, is home to 8 Wing, and the hub of Canadian Air Force air-mobility operations in Canada. The […] 
Canada recorded a surplus of US$35.7 billion in its trade with the United States in 2024, equivalent to 4 percent of the two countries’ total bilateral goods and services trade that year. Without energy trade (oil and gas, other fuels and fuel products, and electricity), which the United States needs to sustain its industrial competitiveness, […] 
To: The Next Canadian GovernmentFrom: Daniel SchwanenDate: April 17, 2025Re: Trade Negotiations with the United States: Preliminary Considerations The “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the White House on April 2 were not tied to any specific barrier maintained by trade partners affected by these new duties. They were meant to punish trade partners for the sum […]