Ask for the ‘canadiano', not americano

Business Times

3 days ago

COFFEE mugs with the slogan 'Canada is not for sale' are selling like hot lattes in shops near St. Lawrence Market, a historic quarter of Toronto. Minutes away at the Second City theatre, the comedy Duel Citizens is demonstrating that Canadian actors are not afraid to be political.
Sitting through the play last week, I saw how Canadians had been united by US President Donald Trump's threat to make Canada the 51st state of America. As one press review of the play noted: 'With almost every Canadian impacted by, or consumed by, threats to the country and its economy coming from the Fascist-in-Chief to the south, the troupe scratches a comedy itch offering belly laugh relief.'
The audience laughed through a brilliant script that turned dark politics into humour, often self-effacing. The writers did a great job of showing the unpreparedness of the Canadian armed forces for a hypothetical American invasion. They portrayed the army's ineptness through a trio of soldiers that could neither point a rifle correctly nor stand to attention without getting themselves into a tangle.
Trump's threats are alienating Canadians, who are the biggest trading partners of the United States. At local stores, I saw a complete absence of American food and wine – a demonstration of Canadian resolve to 'buy Canadian'.
This sentiment of national unity echoes efforts by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. In March this year, he launched the Liberal Party's election campaign by announcing a middle-class tax cut to help Canadians keep more of what they earn in the face of Trump's tariffs. Carney said: 'In a crisis, Canadians come together to tackle challenges – because united, we are Canada strong.'
The tax cut is expected to save two-income families up to C$825 (S$771) a year, by reducing the marginal tax rate on the lowest tax bracket by 1 percentage point. More than 22 million Canadians are expected to benefit, with middle- and low-income Canadians benefitting the most.
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The Duel Citizens comedy did not poke fun at the high price of homes in Toronto. My companion at the play, a recent university graduate who lives with his parents, noticed the obvious lapse.
Affordable housing
Carney aims to make housing affordable for young Canadians, who often find themselves unable to afford to buy their first home because of sky-high prices. Billed as the 'most ambitious building plan since World War II', the Liberal housing plan hopes to get the federal government back into the business of home building.
The government will act as a developer to build affordable housing, if necessary on public lands. It aims to catalyse the housing industry by providing over C$25 billion in financing to innovative prefabricated home builders in Canada, including those using Canadian technologies, timber and softwood lumber, and by providing C$10 billion in low-cost financing to builders of affordable homes.
As the Duel Citizens actors were in the wings preparing for their next scene, Trump signed an executive order on Jul 31, sharply raising tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the US from 25 per cent to 35 per cent. The new tariff hits products not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement and slaps a 40 per cent levy on goods transhipped to evade the new tariffs.
True to their style of keeping their script up-to-date, Duel Citizens may create a new scene about the latest American escalation.
Carney said he was 'disappointed' by the US tariffs, Trump's latest salvo in a six-month-long trade battle. The new US duties and tariffs will affect Canadian lumber, steel, aluminium, and cars. In a post on X, Carney promised to protect Canadian jobs, invest in industrial competitiveness and diversify export markets.
Boost for auto industry
To fight back, Carney had earlier in March announced a new Liberal plan to protect Canadian auto workers and industry. With the latest developments, Canada is expected to push ahead with measures that include creating a C$2 billion Strategic Response Fund to boost the sector's competitiveness, protect manufacturing jobs, support workers to upskill their expertise, and build a fortified Canadian supply chain. It also aims to build an 'All-in-Canada' network to make more car parts domestically and attract new investment.
In response to Trump's tariffs, Carney announced a Liberal plan to invest in trade-enabling infrastructure, diversify trade away from the United States, create new jobs and build the Canadian economy. 'The President of the United States is trying to fundamentally restructure his economy by imposing harmful and unjust tariffs. Canada's response is to fight, protect and build,' Carney said.
The plan will inject C$5 billion into a new Trade Diversification Corridor Fund, which will accelerate nation-building projects at ports, railroads, inland terminals, airports and highways.
Carney also aims to position the country as a world leader in clean energy. 'Canada has a tremendous opportunity to be the world's leading energy superpower, in both clean and conventional energy,' he said.
Strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is also on the agenda. The move is obviously not a response to any potential US threat because the gap between the two militaries is unbridgeable. Rather, it is an investment to protect Canadian sovereignty in an increasingly dangerous and divided world and help Canada reach its 2 per cent Nato spending target by 2030.
The Liberals aim to expand the capacity of the Navy with new submarines and additional heavy icebreakers to defend Canada's north and fully commit to the National Shipbuilding Strategy, which includes a programme that supports 21,400 jobs across the country.
Carney also plans to partner with allies to procure next-generation aircraft and create a world-class drone capability to defend Canada's Arctic, undersea infrastructure, borders and allies. Towards these goals, Canada recently announced its intention to partner with Australia to develop over-the-horizon radar technology that will provide early warning radar coverage for the Arctic.
The slapstick crew of Duel Citizens did not let this pass without a gag. It had three soldiers hitting the ground in self-defence when warned of an incoming enemy attack. And, make mine a cafe canadiano, please.
The writer is the editor-in-chief of Rising Asia Journal