President-elect Donald Trump hasn’t even moved into the White House yet, but his influence on global politics is already causing headaches for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau, long a favorite target of Trump’s sharp tongue, is finding himself in increasingly hot water as the president-elect turns up the pressure. Whether it’s through mockery, tariffs, or sheer dominance in trade negotiations, Trump appears to be enjoying his role as Trudeau’s political foil, leaving the Canadian leader scrambling to hold his government together.
Trudeau has been the subject of Trump’s derision for months, with the president-elect poking fun at him as the “governor” of the “great state of Canada.” Trump’s barbs, while humorous to some, carry a pointed edge, with repeated suggestions that Canada might as well be the 51st state of the U.S. These jabs come alongside more serious threats, such as Trump’s proposal to slap a hefty 25% tariff on Canadian imports—a move that would throw a wrench into Canada’s already struggling economy and add fuel to Trudeau’s growing political woes.
Things took a sharp turn for the worse this week when Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned, reportedly over disagreements on how to handle Trump’s tariff threats. The timing couldn’t be worse for Trudeau, whose Liberal Party is already teetering on the brink of collapse. Adding to the chaos, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, hinted at pulling his party’s support for Trudeau’s minority government, calling for his resignation and threatening to force elections ahead of the scheduled October date.
Trump’s role in this political drama is hard to ignore. Just last week, Trudeau appeared at Mar-a-Lago for what looked more like a plea for mercy than a diplomatic meeting. The optics were anything but flattering, with Trump making a spectacle of the dinner and reinforcing Trudeau’s image as a leader desperate to appease his southern neighbor. Trump’s jokes about Canada being annexed as a U.S. state may have been lighthearted, but the implications were anything but for Trudeau, who has seen his domestic credibility crumble under the weight of these humiliations.
The fallout from Trump’s antics has emboldened Trudeau’s critics, particularly Pierre Poilievre, the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party. Poilievre is using Trump’s hardball tactics as a rallying cry, arguing that Canada needs a leader who can stand up to the U.S. rather than bend to its will. With Freeland’s departure and Singh’s threats, Trudeau’s government looks increasingly unstable. Whether his political demise comes through a snap election or internal rebellion, it’s clear that Trump’s relentless mockery and pressure have played a significant role in Trudeau’s downfall. For now, Trudeau’s clock is ticking, and the writing on the wall couldn’t be clearer.
