Canadians of all political stripes have strong feelings about the unprovoked trade war with the United States. But what are people outside of the country saying about it? In a CTV News analysis of political and economic coverage in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and Europe, the conflict has been one of the top news stories since the prime minister pledged “dollar for dollar” retaliation, with journalists and commentators laying the blame at the feet of the U.S. president. While one American commentator went so far as to say “(Mark) Carney now leads the West,” the BBC observed that “Carney sees little support from E.U. countries over developing U.S. trade war” as European leaders fear coming under economic fire themselves. Germany’s largest newspaper characterized the dispute as revolving around farmers and the “myth” of Canada joining the U.S., as France’s le Monde observed the conflict has revived national unity. President Donald Trump saw support on U.S. news networks, notably from trade representative Jamieson Greer, who told CNBC viewers “there’s no possible way it can affect U.S. well-being,” since the reciprocal tariffs impact such a small proportion of trade between countries. British Columbia’s premier was featured on the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, where their board reiterated “the dumbest trade war…makes no economic or political sense.” A clip of David Eby insisting that “it is necessary to stand up to a bully” and that “no deal is better than a bad deal” on the “Potomac Watch” video podcast preceded the Greer clip. Journalist Mary O’Grady then pointed out a trade agreement—CUSMA or USMCA—is already in place that the president is ignoring, and that Canada is within its rights to retaliate under that same agreement. In speaking with Ontario’s premier on CNN, Wolf Blitzer lamented the situation, revealing he’d grown up in New York state, close to the border with that province. “it’s heartbreaking to see what’s going on,” said the long-time host. “We love the United States, obviously, but we also love Canada.”
