1) (Updated) Trump calls Freeland ‘a whack’ and Poilievre ‘not a MAGA guy’ as tariff threat looms

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, Feb. 28, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in this week on domestic Canadian politics, firing insults at Chrystia Freeland and claiming Pierre Poilievre is not a “MAGA guy” as his deadline to impose steep tariffs on Canada inches closer.

In an interview with The Spectator, Trump called the Liberal leadership candidate terrible and “a whack” and claimed credit for Freeland’s resignation as finance minister.

“Governor Trudeau understood that. And he actually fired her because of a meeting he had with me. I said, ‘She is so bad. She’s bad for the country,'” Trump said in an edited transcript of a Thursday interview with the magazine.

Freeland resigned from cabinet in December — a move which ultimately led Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to announce he was stepping down as leader.

The president met Freeland in his first administration during negotiations on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. Freeland, who played a key role in crafting the continental trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, often tells the story about how Trump called her a “killer.”

Experts have said that Trump’s ongoing tariff threats are an effort to rattle Mexico and Canada ahead of a mandatory review of the trilateral agreement.

Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, was delayed until March 4 after both countries agreed to introduce new security measures at the border.

Trump said Thursday he hadn’t seen any progress from Canada and Mexico and the levies would go ahead.

The wide-ranging interview, published on Friday, did not include comments on Freeland’s rivals for Liberal leadership. Advance voting in the leadership race began on Wednesday ahead of the March 9 vote to select Trudeau’s successor.

The president was asked about the Conservatives’ drop in the polls since Trump began making repeated jabs at Canada.

Trump said that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s “biggest problem is he’s not a MAGA guy.” Trump also complained that Poilievre is “not positive about me.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I can’t tell you, Pierre. I just don’t know. I don’t like what he’s saying about me. It’s just not positive about me. And we’ve done a great job,” Trump said. 

Asked about Trump’s comments Friday, Conservative ethics critic Michael Barrett said Conservatives are focused on what’s best for Canadians.

“We are not worried about comments of people in other countries,” he said.

Trump’s latest comments come as Canadian officials pursue a last-ditch diplomatic effort in Washington to head off the tariffs. Public Safety Minister David McGuinty and newly appointed “fentanyl czar” Kevin Brosseau were joined by Canadian law enforcement and border officials in the U.S. capital this week for meetings with lawmakers and members of Trump’s team.

McGuinty said Thursday that “any test that was put on this country, on Canada, in terms of showing progress and meeting standards for the border — I believe those have been met.”

The president initially tied the tariffs to the flow of deadly fentanyl but said the pause would allow time to reach a “final economic deal.” It remains unclear what he wants to see from Canada. 

“It would just be nice to know what America wants ,” said Jamie Tronnes of the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, a project of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

Speaking during a panel at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington on Friday, Tronnes said the Trump administration has given Canada nothing concrete to work on.

The targets of Trump’s complaints about Canada have ranged from defence spending to trade deficits. He has claimed repeatedly that Canada should become a U.S. state.

Tronnes said that if security is the issue, there is no “secure North America if you impoverish Canada.”

Derek Scissors, a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, said there is no strategy behind America’s current trade policies. Unless a stock market reaction forces the president to change course, he said, America and Canada may have to suffer the economic pain of these tariffs for a while.

“I think it’s up in the air whether U.S. trade policy makes any sense,” Scissors said.

Trump returned to the Oval Office in January with an aggressive tariff agenda targeting countries around the world.

He signed an executive order for 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States starting March 12. Another order will implement “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2.

Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to look at a levy on copper and has suggested tariffs on automobiles and forest products could land in April.

2) (Updated) Public safety minister says Canada has answered U.S. demands on border security

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Kelly Geraldine Malone, February 27, 2025

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Thursday Canada has acted on U.S. concerns about border security and fentanyl trafficking — even as U.S. President Donald Trump insists economy-wide tariffs will go ahead next week as planned.

“Any test that was put on this country, on Canada, in terms of showing progress and meeting standards for the border — I believe those have been met,” McGuinty said outside of the White House.

Canadian law enforcement and border officials joined McGuinty and Canada’s newly appointed “fentanyl czar” Kevin Brosseau in the U.S. capital this week to make a final diplomatic push against the tariffs.

Trump’s executive order to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, with a lower 10 per cent levy on energy, was delayed until March 4 after Canada agreed to introduce new security measures at the border.

The president initially tied the duties to the flow of deadly fentanyl but said the pause would allow time to reach a “final economic deal.”

In a post on Truth Social Thursday morning, Trump said “drugs are still pouring” in from Canada and Mexico and unless it is “stopped or seriously limited,” the tariffs will go into effect “on MARCH FOURTH.”

The post came after the president spread confusion Wednesday by suggesting the across-the-board tariffs wouldn’t land until April 2 — a statement that was quickly walked back by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House officials.

Canada took swift action after Trump issued his tariff threat late last year by introducing a $1.3 billion border plan. Ottawa announced a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl trafficking and money laundering, and deployed additional helicopters and drones along the border.

The RCMP said in a news release Wednesday that a “national sprint” to disrupt fentanyl production and distribution in Canada between Dec. 9 and Jan. 18 resulted in 524 arrests and the seizure of 46 kilograms of fentanyl, along with other drugs, firearms, cash and stolen vehicles.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data shows the number of people and drugs crossing illegally into the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the volume coming across the southern border. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.

“The evidence is irrefutable,” McGuinty said. “The progress is being made.”

Trump said Wednesday said he didn’t see progress “at all.” The president was asked specifically about the small volume of fentanyl seized at the northern border and said Canada should be apprehending more.

“A lot comes through Canada,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Canadian officials have made repeated trips to Washington in recent weeks and said they received positive feedback about Canada’s actions on the border from Republican lawmakers and members of Trump’s team. But it remains unclear what Trump ultimately wants in exchange for dropping his tariff threat for good.

The targets of Trump’s complaints about Canada have ranged from defence spending to trade deficits. He has claimed repeatedly that Canada should become a U.S. state.

“We can control what we can control,” McGuinty said. “And what we can control is making progress on the border.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs “unjustified” and said if Trump implements the levies, Canada will respond. He previously laid out a plan to target billions of dollars worth of American goods with retaliatory tariffs.

“Canada is not the source of problems for the United States,” Trudeau said in Montreal Thursday.

Trump’s return to the White House brought with it a massive American tariff agenda targeting Canada and other countries, one which could realign global trade and disrupt alliances.

He signed an executive order for 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States starting March 12. Another order will implement “reciprocal tariffs” on April 2.

Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to look at a levy on copper and has suggested tariffs on automobiles and forest products could land in April.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said it’s important to avoid the “noise and the rhetoric” and remain focused on the larger goal of maintaining North American food and energy security.

“I don’t always get along with my family. I don’t always get along within our political party or even within our nation,” Moe said outside the White House Thursday. “It’s important for all of us as North Americans to keep our eye on the long game.”

Many experts say Trump’s actions are intended to rattle Canada and Mexico ahead of a mandatory review of the continental trade pact. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Some of premiers have suggested the three countries need to get to the negotiating table quickly to stop the constant tariff threats.

“Sooner we get to that table, the better,” Moe said.

3) Petition asking PM to revoke Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship garners support

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Jim Bronskill, Feb 22, 2025

Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jose Luis Magana

Thousands of people have electronically signed a parliamentary petition calling for revocation of Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship over his role in the Trump administration, which is pointedly threatening Canada’s sovereignty.

The petition, making its way through the House of Commons process, was initiated by Qualia Reed, a Nanaimo, B.C., author.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, an outspoken critic of Musk, is sponsoring the petition, which had more than 34,000 signatures from across Canada as of Saturday evening.

Musk is a native of South Africa but he has Canadian citizenship through his Regina-born mother.

The petition says Musk, a billionaire businessman and adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, has engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada.

Trump has threatened to impose widespread tariffs on Canadian products and has openly mused about Canada becoming the 51st state, drawing the ire of millions of Canadians.

The petition asks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to revoke Musk’s citizenship and Canadian passport.

An electronic petition must have 500 or more signatures to receive certification for presentation to the House of Commons, opening the door to a formal government response.

The House is Commons is slated to resume sitting March 24, but many expect a general election to be called before MPs return.

4) Trudeau speaks with Trump about Ukraine, fentanyl fight, PMO says

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Jim Bronskill, Feb. 22, 2025.

The Prime Minister’s Office says Justin Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump about the war in Ukraine on Saturday ahead of a virtual G7 meeting slated for Monday.

Earlier this week, Trudeau told reporters that Ukraine must have a seat at the table in any talks on ending hostilities ignited by Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

Russian and U.S. representatives met in Saudi Arabia this week, without Kyiv’s participation, and agreed to work toward a resolution of the war.

A statement from Trump’s office following the call said both leaders hoped to see an end to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine which began nearly three years ago, and said the war “should never have started and would not have had (Trump) been President at the time.”

The PMO’s account of Trudeau’s conversation with Trump also says the prime minister updated the president on efforts at the Canada-U.S. border to fight deadly fentanyl.

Ottawa recently listed seven transnational criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking as terrorist entities, making it easier to restrict their activities in Canada.

The government also appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as a “fentanyl czar” to work with U.S. counterparts on stamping out production and sale of the synthetic opioid.

The PMO says Trudeau told Trump that seizures of fentanyl at the border have decreased.