In short
Canada retaliates against Trump-era tariffs by boycotting U.S. products and tourism while diversifying trade and security ties worldwide; the episode frames this as “elbows up” strength plus “surgical” negotiations with the U.S.
Guest backgrounds
No guests are named in the transcript; it appears to be a solo host commentary citing Canadian leaders and media.
Key claims
Canada is “moving on” from U.S. dependence; retaliatory tariff relief under USMCA is portrayed as tactical, not weakness. The U.S. is described as isolated while Canada builds alliances (Germany, Finland, Sweden, etc.). The boycott is claimed to be driving major tourism losses (U.S. travel down ~40%) and label-reading consumer behavior.
Notable examples
Prime Minister Carney’s Germany trip meeting Chancellor Friedrich Merz; Industry Minister Melanie Jolie’s Finland/Sweden talks (NATO posture, shipyard acquisition for icebreakers, defense procurement including F-35 leverage); quotes from B.C. Premier David Eby and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOCanada's Shift Away from the U.S.
1:00 to 3:08
Explore how Canada is forging new alliances and reducing dependence on the U.S.
“Canada is saying goodbye, United States.”
Political Unity and Economic Strategy in Canada
3:08 to 5:19
Learn about the political unity among Canadian leaders and their economic strategies moving forward.
“British Columbians are feeling the impact of unfair U.S.”
Canada's Defense and Economic Partnerships
5:19 to 7:38
Discover Canada's new defense strategies and economic partnerships with Europe.
“For decades, as a result of a series of trade agreements, starting with the Free Trade Agreement of the 1980s, the Canadian and the U.S.”
Canada's Strategy on U.S. Relations
7:38 to 9:24
Understand Canada's strategic approach to its relationship with the United States.
“So I have a broader delegation with the Minister of Natural Resources, for example, that will be there.”
Canada's Economic Diplomacy in Europe
9:24 to 14:00
Insight into Canada's economic diplomacy efforts and military acquisitions in Europe.
“Well, Well we focus on two things, the strategic sectors, steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, and we focus on the upcoming review and changes, likely changes to Kuzma.”
Canada's F-35 Dilemma
14:00 to 14:44
Explore Canada's considerations regarding F-35 purchases and sovereignty.
“This is the mandate that the prime minister has given me to make sure that that's the case.”
Strategic Defense Discussions
14:44 to 15:32
Understand how Canada is leveraging negotiations on defense aircraft.
“I think if Canada could truly eliminate the F-35s from its arsenal, it would.”
Economic Impact of Trump's Tariffs
15:32 to 16:47
Learn about the economic ramifications of tariffs on Ontario and Canada.
“I've had the chance at the Paris Air Show back in June to meet with Saab for the first time and to meet with Lockheed Martin as well.”
Canadians' Distrust in Trade Deals
16:47 to 17:36
Discover the sentiment among Canadians about trade deals with Trump.
“Here in Sarnia, home to the Blue Water Bridge, Canada's second busiest commercial border crossing, we are seeing the impacts of that uncertainty firsthand.”
Canada's Arctic Alliances
17:36 to 18:52
Investigate Canada's efforts to form alliances against threats from Russia.
“This from Politico is what I just talked about.”
Show all 12 chapters
Consumer Behavior Shifts in Canada
18:52 to 19:23
Understand how Canadians are changing their spending habits to boycott the U.S.
“Also, buying Canada helps with inflation, helps the Canadian economy, helps bringing down Canadian inflation, helps with the Canadian economy.”
Canada's Stance on Multilateralism
19:23 to 20:03
Examine Canada's positioning as a stable partner in a multilateral world.
“Canada's presenting itself as a stable, reliable partner in a multilateral world, multilateralism.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This episode is brought to you by Claude by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don't stop at good enough. It's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks with you. Whether you're debugging code at midnight or strategizing your next business move, Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems that matter and finds connections you might have missed. For problems worth solving, get started at claude.ai slash Spotify. I wrote a little song to remind you, Choice Hotels gets you more of the experiences you value. The Cambria Hotel's got it all. A rooftop bar, have a ball.
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1:00Ben Meiselas:Canada is saying goodbye, United States. You see, Canada is beyond being just furious at the Trump regime and the United States. Canada has moved on. Canada is saying we are finding new allies across the world. We are changing our economy to become far less dependent on the United States. And because of what the Trump regime has done to Canada and the authoritarianism that festers in the United States, Canada will continue to boycott United States products. Canada will continue to boycott United States tourism. And Canada will lead the international boycott of American products and of tourism into the United States.
1:43Ben Meiselas:Canada strong elbows up. And you may have heard over the past 48 hours that Canada is saying to the United States, okay, United States, because you've been begging for us to remove some of the retaliatory tariffs that we have on the United States, we'll remove some of the retaliatory tariffs that are governed by KUSMA, the Canadian United States Mexico agreement. But Canada is doing it from a position of strength. But what Prime Minister Carney is doing, and I'm going going to show you the moves taking place behind the scenes here is Prime Minister Carney has dispatched his industry minister, his foreign minister.
2:21Ben Meiselas:They're going across the world right now. And Carney is going to be in Germany in the coming week. And they are meeting with these world leaders in order to develop new relationships, new alliances, new economic models away from the United States. So you have Canada very united. The premiers, other than maybe Danielle Smith of Alberta, are very, very united. From the left-wing parties, like the New Democratic Party with David Eby, the premier in British Columbia, to the right-wing parties, like the Conservative Party, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, to liberal premiers and leaders like Prime Minister Carney, the Prime Minister, they are standing strong.
3:08Ben Meiselas:Let me show you what David Eby says. British Columbians are feeling the impact of unfair U.S. tariff on softwood and aluminum. We welcome a deal that works for B.C., but let's keep focused on moving to other markets who want our products. We'll continue to grow our economy and deliver more family-supporting jobs for people. We're moving beyond. Here's what Prime Minister Carney had to say the other day, where he goes, look, look, let me be very clear what we're doing here. Don't view the fact that we're dropping some retaliatory tariffs on KUSMA-related products, that's the Canadian-United States Mexico Agreement, as weakness or elbows not up.
3:47Ben Meiselas:He's like, let me be clear, Canada's moving elsewhere. We are doing deals with other countries, and we're moving away from the United States. So they're at our border. We can't ignore them, but we're going to do deals elsewhere. That's what we're focused on. Here, play this clip. As we develop our new trade relationship with the United States, Canada will continue to take all measures necessary to support Canadian workers, our businesses, and our consumers. To address challenges in strategic sectors from agriculture to autos, the Canadian government will soon announce a new comprehensive industrial strategy that protects Canadian jobs, boosts Canadian competitiveness, buys Canadian goods, and diversifies Canadian exports.
4:33In parallel, we are focused on building our strength here at home, building Canada strong. The Canadian government will soon select the first in a series of new nation-building projects that will connect and transform our economy. We will catalyze investment and create higher-paying careers through our new defense industrial strategy. We'll transform Canadian strategic sectors that are being severely impacted by U.S. trade. We'll work to double the pace of home building in Canada and in the process create a new Canadian housing industry. And we will develop new and stronger partnerships throughout the world.
5:20For decades, as a result of a series of trade agreements, starting with the Free Trade Agreement of the 1980s, the Canadian and the U.S. economies have become steadily more integrated, continually more deeply connected. As I've emphasized in recent months, that steady process of integration is now over. And as a result, some of our historic strengths have become vulnerabilities. We can and must adapt to this new reality. That means concentrating on trade, investment, and security partnerships that preserve our sovereignty. And it means striking new trade deals that are robust to different economic circumstances, different governments, because of the mutual benefits to both countries.
6:14In all these ways, Canada will move from reliance to resilience, building our strength at home, developing new markets abroad, creating new opportunities for Canadian workers and businesses as we build the strongest economy in the G7.
6:31Ben Meiselas:And one such deal, Prime Minister Carney announces that he's going to Germany. He will be meeting with Friedrich Merz, who's the chancellor of Germany. And you'll recall that Prime Minister Carney had Canada enter into a new defense deal with Europe. And this is what we're seeing take place across the world. Lonely, isolated United States while Canada is meeting with Germany. Canada is meeting with Finland and Sweden. China is meeting with Brazil. India is meeting with China. and Donald Trump's there saying, oh, you like my photo with Vladimir Putin? Look at him. Putin sent me this photo, everybody.
7:14Ben Meiselas:Ridiculous. Here, play this clip of Carney talking about going to Germany. Let's play this clip. And the German government says that you're going to Berlin next week. Can you tell us why you're going to Europe and what you're hoping to accomplish there? I'm very much looking forward to meeting with the chancellor, members of his cabinet. a number of German businesses next week, next Tuesday. And it's picking up on discussions that we have had since we first met in Rome in April, subsequently at the G7 and along the way, about how we can deepen our economic and security partnership with Germany, how we can turn the opportunities that exist already under CEDA, our free trade agreement with Europe, but also across broader areas and how we work and develop those.
8:09So I have a broader delegation with the Minister of Natural Resources, for example, that will be there. The Minister of Defense will be there. The Minister of Industry will come as well, because there's a broad range of areas from critical minerals to energy and defense and security where we are intensifying our discussions with Germany. Many opportunities. As I say, it started in the spring, moves with this meeting. And we have a good partnership. Canada is a good partnership with Germany. It's been built up over the years, but it can be much, much better. And I'm confident that with this chancellor and the focus of our government that it will be.
8:53Ben Meiselas:And then Prime Minister Carney gives an analogy to where he sees the current state of negotiations with the United States to hockey. Of course, he gave a hockey analogy. But one of the things Carney points out is we didn't listen to Trump's deadline. Trump set a deadline. We called his bluff. We knew his deadline was fake. And now we're moving on. But sure, I mean, we're going to deal with him surgically while we move on to other partners. Here play this clip. It's important that we preserve that. Well, Well we focus on two things, the strategic sectors, steel, aluminum, autos, lumber, and we focus on the upcoming review and changes, likely changes to Kuzma.
9:39So we are matching something the Americans have done here first. And it's very significant, it's unique, we get the benefit. it. The second thing is, you know, and I'll take your analogy, and I have played some hockey over the years, and there is a time in a game, in a big game, and this is a big game, when you go hard in the corners, your elbows up. The time in a game, we drop the gloves in the first period and to send a message. And we've done that pretty uniquely in the world. We happen to have the best deal with the Americans right now. I don't. But there's also a time in a game where you want the puck, you want a stick handle, you want to pass, you want to put the puck in the net.
10:31And we're moving later into the game. And we're at that time of the game. And that's where the engagement is. Thank you.
10:37Ben Meiselas:And then meanwhile, you have Carney's and the government's minister of industry, Melanie Jolie. She went to Finland and Sweden and had very productive talks there about their new position in NATO, about defense, you know, and also about a review of United States military weapons versus getting weapons elsewhere. Here's what she had to say. Play this clip. My goal throughout this trip is to make sure that we have strong economic partnership with these two countries. As Canada is, of course, seeking to diversify its economy, the goal is to be closer to the EU. and in the context of the EU, two countries that we know we can do more business with and that we can also continue to develop strong partnerships is definitely Sweden and Finland.
11:39It is important to remind ourselves that when Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO at the time, Canada was the first to ratify their accession into NATO. It was based on the fact that it was in our interest to have more Arctic countries part of the alliance, but also we knew that there were strong diplomatic and also economic ties with these two countries. In the context of my visit, I met in Sweden the prime minister. I had breakfast with him this morning, also with the deputy prime minister and minister of the economy, Eba Bush with the Minister of Defence. And I also met with key business leaders, maybe the CEO of Saab, of AstraZeneca, of ABB and Ericsson.
12:31And we already know that there are lots of very important Swedish companies that are doing business across Canada. The other reason why I'm also in Finland, and I've been in contact with the Prime Minister of Finland, and I'll be meeting also with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defence, and the Minister of the Economy, is because Davy Shipyard from Lévy, Quebec, has acquired Helsinki Shipyard. And it is the first time that a Canadian shipyard in recent history has bought a foreign shipyard and will be able not only to benefit from the work that has been done through the National Shipbuilding Strategy, but also will be able to export key icebreakers across the world.
13:26And this is done in the context also of the ice pack that was signed between Finland, Canada, and the U.S. And we think that we can definitely do more work with Finland. I'll be also meeting the CEOs of Nokia and key business leaders of ABB and Petri. So all this in the context of building much more a stronger economy. We have the vision of having the strongest economy of the G7. This is the mandate that the prime minister has given me to make sure that that's the case. And we have to do so through economic diplomacy. And that is why coming to Europe, coming to Sweden and Finland was a key priority for me in the context of my mandate as industry minister.
14:20Ben Meiselas:And she says, look, when it comes to whether or not we are going to purchase F-35s from the United States, we were supposed to purchase them back in the day. But we need to look at this now from a position of our sovereignty. So what she's saying is American airplanes make Canada less safe. And Canada's press paused on purchasing F-35s. I think if Canada could truly eliminate the F-35s from its arsenal, it would. The problem is right now when you have other F-35 class planes, it's not easy to not have F-35s. So I think Canada has to figure out using the non-purchasing of F-35s as leverage in their discussions against Trump.
15:07Ben Meiselas:And Carney and Jolie know how to use leverage, but then finding out how to use other, how to get other warplanes in the future. But play this clip. Now, to go specifically to your question on F-35s and Saab, etc., there is a study right now that is being done by the Defence Department. It is being led by the Minister of Defence. My job in the context of this decision is to look at options and to understand what could be the different economic benefits. I've had the chance at the Paris Air Show back in June to meet with Saab for the first time and to meet with Lockheed Martin as well. I wanted to make sure that we could understand what was being proposed by Saab by going to their facility in Sweden and also having the Secretary of State, Stephen Fuhr, with me.
16:07and we will be able also to meet with Lockheed Martin and do a similar operation later in the coming weeks. And it is just normal in the context of my mandate to be able to do so. So that's why also I went to Sweden and had conversations with the Swedish government.
16:28Ben Meiselas:And then here you have Doug Ford, the Premier of Ontario, Conservative Premier of Ontario. Here's what he had to say the other day, play this clip. Folks, we all know this is a serious time for our province. President Trump's tariffs are taking direct aim at Ontario causing economic uncertainty and hurting families and businesses. Here in Sarnia, home to the Blue Water Bridge, Canada's second busiest commercial border crossing, we are seeing the impacts of that uncertainty firsthand. Our government was elected on a promise to protect Ontario and stand up for families and workers and companies and communities right across the province.
17:10Through our plan to protect Ontario, we're doing everything in our power to cut the red tape and make Ontario and Canada the strongest, most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7.
17:25Ben Meiselas:Just so you can get a pulse of what people in Canada are feeling right now, About 80 % of Canadians say that even if you did a deal with Trump, he won't honor the deal. So why even do a deal between Canada and the United States in the first place? This from Politico is what I just talked about. Canada courts Arctic allies to counter Russia. Amid Putin's threats and Trump's tariffs, Carney embraces a Nordic defense alliance. And it goes on to talk about how the Finnish foreign minister met with the Canadian foreign minister. At the same time, the industry minister of Canada met with her counterparts there in Finland and Sweden.
18:10Ben Meiselas:But you see how Carney is asserting himself as a leader internationally right now. I think that's important to note. Las Vegas tourism is absolutely crashing right now as a result of Canada's boycott. Going to cost literally tens of billions of dollars right now. Travel to the United States from Canada is down like close to 40 % at this point. And I like this article right here from the CBC. I won't back down how and why Canadians are boycotting the U.S., Canadians being extra mindful about where they spend money. And it goes on to talk about how Canadians are rabid label readers. One of the most common things we hear from Canadians now is they become very vigilant about reading labels to make sure no aspect of it is made in America and that they buy Canada.
19:03Ben Meiselas:Also, buying Canada helps with inflation, helps the Canadian economy, helps bringing down Canadian inflation, helps with the Canadian economy. You see, Canada's being very smart about this, while Donald Trump is saying, I don't like windmills, I don't like the way windmills are, and just being an utter idiot and having contradictory, unstable policies. Canada's presenting itself as a stable, reliable partner in a multilateral world, multilateralism. We see leaders talking about that frequently now. And it's a jab at Trump who's rejected multilateralism in a globalized world. And lots of Canadians are saying, we're going to do a lifetime boycott at this point.
19:44Ben Meiselas:We're not just doing a short-term boycott. We're going to boycott forever. Anyway, let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. And thank you all so much for watching.
20:02Ben Meiselas:MidasTouch.com
From the publisher
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Canada putting the screws in Trump as Prime Minister Carney teaches Trump a lesson in who is the alpha leader as Canada weakens the United States and builds alliances abroad.
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