Reach out and talk to your U.S. friends about tariffs, says ex-PM Joe Clark

Former prime minister Joe Clark is calling on Canadians to reach out directly to their friends in the U.S., because they may not agree with President Donald Trump’s threats against Canada.

“There’s a strong bond of friendship across our borders, and … I think there’s a sense in which in this very narrow particular [issue], Mr. Trump is an outsider in his own country,” said Clark, the Progressive Conservative politician who was Canada’s 16th prime minister, from 1979 to 1980.

That means U.S. citizens may not share the president’s antagonism towards Canada, he said.

“I think that we’re not likely to persuade him directly. We may well be able to persuade some of the citizenry on which he relies,” Clark told The Current’s Matt Galloway.

Last week Trump appeared set to slap 25 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian goods, but delayed the move for 30 days after Canada agreed to increase border security. Despite that pause, he hit Canada’s steel and aluminum industry with 25 per cent tariffs on Monday — and has repeatedly said he would use “economic force” to annex Canada and make it the 51st state.

Clark has signed an open letter calling on Canadians to fly the maple leaf flag in force on Flag Day this weekend, as a show of national unity in the face of Trump’s threats. The letter is co-signed by all of Canada’s living former prime ministers: Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.

Clark spoke to Galloway about how encouraged he’s been by the outpouring of Canadian pride, and why he thinks reaching out to U.S. citizens is so important. Here is part of their conversation. 

When you take a look at what is going on south of the border, what goes through your mind? 

Well, a sharp distinction between the two countries. They have always considered themselves a superpower. I guess we have always considered ourselves a co-operative power. For a long time, we’ve got along with quite a high degree of mutual respect. The election of Donald Trump has brought a different mentality to the U.S. and it is undoubtedly threatening to Canada. 

I’m very encouraged by the nature of the Canadian response because it has not simply been a response by the people sitting in leadership positions. There has been a clear statement of real pride in Canada from across the country, including, interestingly, in Quebec, where that has not always been the definition.

But I think that the initial reaction of Canadians, the widespread expression of confidence and faith in our country is an asset we have to build on.

I think what we want to take a look at is what can we do on a citizen-to-citizen basis, including … simply writing letters to our friends in the U.S., being in touch with them. Not to condemn their president, but to make the case of the value which most of them know quite precisely that Canada holds.

The letter tells Canadians to show the flag as never before as this country contends with threats and insults from Donald Trump. What do you mean [by] “never before,” in terms of what we’re up against?

I can’t think of a case in which there has been a similarly direct targeting of Canada. It’s not exclusive, of course, but we are next door and that has traditionally been a mutually co-operative relationship. This is a quite dramatic change in tone and in treatment.

There is an ease with which Donald Trump has said that Canada should just become the 51st state, that he thinks we would be better off. And I just wonder what you make of that tone … Initially people perhaps thought it was a joke. And very clearly it became clear that it’s not a joke.

It’s not a joke. It also doesn’t apply specifically to Canada. It is a Trumpian expression of American power. That is certainly something we have to deal with.

He had a fairly broad mandate. I doubt that being troublesome to Canada was a central part of that mandate. And indeed, I doubt that it was a central part of that mandate that he would be troublesome toward [and] aggressive to other countries.

I’m not sure that he has the support of his base in that question. And remember, he was elected not simply by his base, but by a number of people who, for one reason or another, had voted for a change in U.S. governance. 

I want to come back to this question of Canadian to American contact. I think we have to take a look at what we as citizens, individuals can do about his base. And we don’t want to do it simply by attacking activities that we think are uncalled for and unhelpful by the president. I think we want to mobilize the goodwill that has historically been part of our relationship. 

WATCH | A Canadian and an American talk about strained friendships:

Could Trump’s tariffs break the bond between Windsor and Detroit?

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What has happened to that sense of mutual respect now?

That’s a very important question, because many things have happened. One of the things that’s happened, of course, is the Trump presidency, because he has brought a much more aggressive role to what was long ago called a bully pulpit. And we have to consider that’s going to continue to be the case.

We want to deal with it as well as we can on a diplomatic basis, nation-to-nation basis. But I really think we want to take a close look at how we do that on a citizen-to-citizen basis.

This sounds very simple, but I am writing to friends of mine, people I’ve known over the years, not so much to criticize the current president, as to recall the essence of the Canada-U.S. relationship, which has been by-and-large a very positive one. I think that we’re not likely to persuade him directly. We may well be able to persuade some of the citizenry on which he relies.

Do you think patriotism is something that comes easy to Canadians?

Yeah, in a crunch. I think it does.

In a crunch?

Yeah. I mean, I don’t think we travel the world celebrating Canadian virtues, but I think that we all carry a sense of the advantages we have. They’re not just personal advantages, they are collective advantages. They are community advantages. I still believe in this country as a community of communities. That means we have taken account of, and we show respect for our own differences.

And that is a message that has to cross the border because Donald Trump’s actions indicate he does not respect the genuine differences of this country. I think a lot of his fellow citizens probably would respect the differences of Canada, and of some other countries. And I think that we have to, as Canadians, as the people closest to the Americans — in many cases, not just physical — we have to make use of those contacts and connections now.