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A Tri-National Vision for a North American Economy that Works for Workers
U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt and erratic trade policies have caused substantial disruptions around the world. But no countries have been more exposed to the twists and turns of his policies than Canada and Mexico: America’s neighbours and largest trading partners.
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Debunking Five of Donald Trump’s Big Lies About Canada
Ever since Canada’s negotiators ended talks for a new trade agreement with the U.S., President Donald Trump’s insults and threats to America’s northern neighbour have become more aggressive, and bizarre, than ever. He has renamed a Great Lake, imposed new 50% tariffs on further Canadian-made products, compared us unfavourably to North Korea, threatened still more tariffs because we use a different dollar, and posted AI images insulting our Prime Minister.
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How Canada is Surviving Trump’s Trade War
Centre for Future Work Economist and Director Jim Stanford was recently invited to give testimony to the Senate’s National Finance committee, regarding the state of Canada’s macroeconomy in the wake of Donald Trump’s trade war and other geopolitical uncertainty. Stanford emphasized the continuing resilience of the national economy, which has avoided recession and recently chalked up decent growth and job-creation numbers – despite the damage done by U.S. tariffs to our exports and business investment.
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B.C. Missed an Economic Opportunity by Importing New Ferries From China, Rather than Building them Here
BC Ferries recently announced a purchase of four major new vessels from a shipyard in China. This decision has sparked criticism from trade unions and others, who argue the ferries should have been commissioned from domestic shipyards. New research from the Centre for Future Work confirms that the decision to import the ferries, rather than domestic procurement, imposed a significant foregone economic cost on the province.
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Trump Launches New Attack Against Canada’s Currency
U.S. President Donald Trump has opened another front in his trade war against Canada, suggesting that Canada is taking advantage of the U.S. through its currency. Both currencies are called the dollar, but Canada’s trades for less than the U.S. currency, and Trump argues this creates an unfair advantage.
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Trump Hits Canada and Others With Still More Tariffs
As negotiations among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico continue over the review and renewal of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), U.S. President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his aggressive tariff threats against Canada and other countries. This follows his usual ‘Art of the Deal’ strategy, which is to create chaos, threaten harm, extract concessions (often marginal), and then claim historic victory.
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Auto Talks a Chance to Reinforce the Canadian Industry’s Lasting Potential
As Canada’s auto industry grapples with the fallout from Donald Trump’s erratic and mutually-damaging tariffs, the union representing auto workers has opened its triennial round of major bargaining with the major North American automakers. First up will be talks with Ford, which has invested $5 billion in its Canadian operations despite the tariffs. In this commentary, originally published in the Toronto Star, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford discusses the importance of this bargaining in enhancing stability for both workers and the automakers, and showcasing the advantages of Canadian auto manufacturing – advantages which, he argues, will outlast Trump.
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Senate Testimony on the Canadian Economic Outlook
Centre for Future Work Economist and Director Jim Stanford was recently invited to testify before the Senate of Canada’s National Finance committee, regarding the economic and fiscal outlook for the country. The testimony was part of the committee’s hearings regarding certain aspects of budget implementation (including measures announced in the recent Spring Economics and Fiscal Update).
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Stellantis Shows Canada’s Industrial Economy is On the Line
Automaker Stellantis recently announced it would shift production of a new vehicle from an assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario (which has been closed for re-tooling) to Indiana, in order to escape the effects of Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on Canadian-assembled vehicles. This decision seems to confirm the worst fears of Canadian economists regarding the long-run impact of Trump’s trade war: by weaponizing access to the U.S. market and pressuring global companies to relocate long-run investments to the U.S., Trump would shatter the viability of continued production in Canada and other countries.
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Bringing Capital Home Would Boost Canadian Growth, Reduce Trade Imbalance with U.S.
Donald Trump claims his aggressive trade actions are justified because of ‘unfair’ trade practices by other countries, that result in big U.S. trade deficits. But the real cause of those perpetual U.S. trade deficits is ongoing capital inflows to the U.S. from other countries – including Canada. In this commentary originally published in the Toronto Star, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford shows that Canada is now a huge net lender to the U.S., with a positive foreign investment balance there of $1.6 trillion. Bringing some of that capital back to Canada would not only help to finance the major projects we are undertaking to protect our economy against…