Some Donald Trump fans stopped to take photos of an unexpected sight during their inauguration tour through downtown Washington, DC
“Canada congratulates Donald Trump,” one shouted Sunday as he read the sign atop the Canadian embassy flanked by giant maple leaf flags on Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Do you think Justin Trudeau is up there?”
No, the Prime Minister wasn’t there. But there could actually be more than 1,500 people attending Canada’s quadrennial inauguration ceremony on Monday.
This year’s event is strange.
The lack of a parade on Pennsylvania Avenue due to inclement weather isn’t the only reason this will be an atypical party.
It’s the first time since the Canadian Embassy opened at the desired location On Capitol Hill in 1989, it was noted that there were no formal celebrations where the traditional party could be witnessed live.
The other oddity: Partygoers will be waiting anxiously all day for a series of potentially damaging government regulations that the star of the day, Trump, will threaten.
It’s like throwing a party and wondering if you’re on the menu.
There are countless rumors about what economic penalties Trump might impose: A tiny tariff? A big tariff with loopholes? A temporary tariff? A process to ultimately impose tariffs? Or will he make good on his biggest threat: a full 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico?
Canada’s ambassador to the United States said she expects some sort of trade punishment from Trump – and the exact form is unclear.
“I hesitate to say it’s ‘almost certain,’ but most people I talk to believe there will be some version of a tariff measure that will be proposed,” Kirsten Hillman said in a recent interview with CBC News.
“Whether it’s us, whether it’s others… I don’t know. I hope they are all wrong. But I think we have to be prepared for it.”
Donald Trump will be the first US president to take the oath of office inside the Capitol instead of outside since Ronald Reagan in 1985. The extreme cold forced the event inside the Capitol for the first time in 40 years.
Tariffs are an afterthought in the speech
Trump’s team briefed Republican allies on Capitol Hill on Sunday about numerous executive orders coming the next day, and it’s unclear where trade fits into that.
A handful the US press Reports There were no plans on Monday mention Tariffs. During his speech on Sunday, Trump only mentioned the tariffs in passing.
At a rally on the eve of the inauguration, he detailed other plans for the first day. He spoke about aggressive deportations and historic border actions and devoted more attention to gender ideology than trade.
He added a reference right at the end, just before the Village People opened his rally with a festive rendition of “ YMCA.
“In conclusion,” Trump said, adding promises to cut taxes, end inflation, raise wages and restore thousands of factories in the U.S. through tariffs and other measures.
That was it. And now the continent waits.
Trump’s return is a truly historic moment for Canada-U.S. relations, said Asa McKercher, a researcher at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia who studies cross-border relations.
The new president is threatening the most hostile trade measures this continent has seen in more than 90 years since the Great Depression, he said, with the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff.
These 1930 tariffs weighed on Canadian exports: they hit different products at different rates, but on average about 20 percent points and wiped out Most Canadian wool, cattle and linseed exports to the US
Trump is also the first major US politician in almost 115 years to make even half-serious jokes about it the USA annexes Canadasaid McKercher, Steven K. Hudson Research Chair in Canada-U.S. Relations at the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at StFX.
“Donald Trump is in some ways a return to a century ago,” he said. “It’s back to the future, I guess.”
In another way, Trump was an even more abrupt break with history, McKercher said, in his gleeful willingness to attack friendly nations. “It’s kind of unprecedented for a president to deliberately give his allies the middle finger,” he said.
Business leader urges caution
A Canadian business leader said he is trying his best to focus on what is within Canada’s control – rather than what is outside its control.
“I haven’t spent any time thinking about what, where, when, why (Trump’s tariffs will attack),” said Goldy Hyder, president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada.
“It was just a better way to fall asleep every night.”
What Canada can actually control is strengthening its own economic policies, he said Create leverage with Trump, for example through better development of its mining and energy resources.
Hyder also warns Ottawa to be particularly careful about initiating retaliatory measures that could increase damage domestically. such as Canadians Threats Canada wants to impose an export tax on energy products Also Re-Imports from the USA
“The last thing you want is for our actions to boomerang Canada,” he said in an interview Sunday as he visited Washington for the inauguration.
We could find out on Monday if there is any retaliation.
In the meantime, guests will gather at the Canadian Embassy for a party, as they have at every inauguration since 1989.
Invitees included provincial leaders, federal cabinet members, and a number of U.S. politicians and business groups, all of whom were welcome to enjoy snacks, including beaver tails.
The embassy did not disclose the cost of the affair but said it would be offset by a number of corporate sponsors.
Holding the event is in the national interest and is the right thing to do, regardless of the unusual threats looming over the continent, McKercher said.
“It’s kind of strange,” he said of the circumstances of the party. “But diplomats somehow live in a strange world.”
