Canada Should Pursue Closer Ties with the EU to Reduce Reliance on an Erratic US Under Trump
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/david-moscrop. "Canada is seeking new global neighbours – no wonder, as Trump rolls out stupidities at scale | David Moscrop | The Guardian." September 21, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that Canada's prime minister is smart to seek closer ties with the European Union because the Trump administration has become too erratic, petty, and unreliable to depend on. Rather than waiting for the US to return to sanity, Canada should actively build stronger relationships elsewhere—and Trump's furious reaction to this plan only proves how much the US actually needs Canada.
Conclusion
Mark Carney is right to pursue closer ties with the EU (and move beyond US hegemony) rather than wait for the Trump administration to become a reliable partner
Premises
- The Trump administration engages in petty, juvenile behavior (renaming Lake Ontario, mocking Canadian cadets) instead of serious diplomacy
- Trump's rhetoric is inconsistent and unreliable, calling Canada both the 'worst country to deal with' and claiming its leaders are 'dying to make a deal'
- The administration's stupidity appears to be an unreflective expression of impulse rather than coherent strategy, making it unpredictable as a negotiating partner
- Trump's hostile overreaction to the Canada-EU 'associate status' news (calling it a 'hostile act' and threatening to cut off trade with Europe) reveals that the US actually fears losing leverage over Canada, undermining Trump's own claim that the US doesn't need Canada
- Broader US governance under Trump shows systemic dysfunction (e.g., health secretary promoting unhealthy diets while claiming to 'make America healthy,' FDA failing to prevent food contamination), suggesting the erratic behavior extends beyond trade disputes
- The world has lost its best chance to avoid the worst effects of climate change during this period, illustrating the high stakes and real-world costs of tolerating this dysfunction
- The directional soundness of diversifying away from the US exists independently of whether the specific EU arrangement succeeds
Assumptions
- A country experiencing erratic, hostile leadership from a dominant trade partner is better served by diversifying alliances than waiting for that partner to normalize
- The EU represents a more stable and reliable partner for Canada than the current US administration
- Trump's behavior reflects genuine administration dysfunction rather than calculated strategy that outsiders are misreading
- Public sentiment favoring 'a saner world' will eventually translate into political change, making current diversification efforts worthwhile even if the current US administration is temporary
- Trump's overreaction to the EU-Canada news is diagnostic evidence of his actual position, rather than mere bluster