On Monday, tensions between the US and Canada escalated as the Canada’s House of Commons unanimously condemned President Trump’s personal attacks, and those of his surrogates, on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Reuters reports.
The motion in parliament, introduced by the opposition New Democrats, rejected “disparaging ad hominem statements by U.S. officials which do a disservice to bilateral relations.”
The purely symbolic vote of solidarity came a day after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said: “There is a special place in hell” for Trudeau for his “bad faith diplomacy” with Trump, as a dispute over trade escalated.
PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
Lawmakers who would normally be at odds gave a standing ovation for the motion in a notable display of unity at a time when anger at the US reaches across party lines. Reuters reports that the famously polite country is “simmering”.
While the agreement of legislators who are normally opposed on most fronts was remarkable, the anger also spread to pundits, officials, celebrities and ordinary citizens as Canadians vowed consumer boycotts of American goods and brainstormed insults of Trump on social media.
“Something strange and wonderful has been sparked by @realDonaldTrump’s dishonorable comments about this country. I think it might be a Canadian identity,” newspaper columnist John Ivison tweeted.
Canadian lawmakers also gave unanimous consent for a motion supporting the aluminum and steel industries which have been hit by the Trump administrations massive tarriffs.
Blender Bytes
⊕ Prime Minister Trudeau was not in attendance in Parliament during the vote, his itinerary being marked as “private” today.
⊕ The Prime Minister has stayed quiet since President Trump withdrew support from the G7 summit communique on Saturday and called him “very dishonest and weak” via Twitter.
⊕ Trump and his surrogates were angered when, at a news conference, Trudeau stated Canada would not be “pushed around” with tariffs, although the PM had made that point publicly several times previously.
⊕ Peter Navarro apologized this morning for his comments on Sunday saying, “In conveying that message I used language that was inappropriate and basically lost the power of that message. I own that, that was my mistake, my words.”
⊕ The G7 summit started badly when President Trump told reporters Russia should be invited back to the Group of 7, although Russia has shown no signs of repentance for invading the Ukraine.
