United States President Donald Trump has intensified his verbal attacks against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, suggesting difficult negotiations as Canada tries to ease a growing trade conflict. On Wednesday, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to share his version of a phone call he had with Trudeau, stating that the call ended somewhat amicably without providing details. However, Trump criticized Trudeau for not addressing fentanyl trafficking adequately, a problem that experts say is not significant along the Canadian border. Trump also questioned Trudeau’s role in Canada’s upcoming federal election, casting doubt on his government’s legitimacy, as he has done with other world leaders.
Pressure over tariffs has escalated following Trump’s imposition of 25-percent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico, the US’s top two trading partners and neighbors. These tariffs had been looming over the two countries for some time, with Trump announcing his intention to use them to push Canada and Mexico to tighten their borders shortly after winning the presidency. He even suggested that Canada could avoid the tariffs by becoming the 51st state of the US. Despite compromises offered by both Canada and Mexico to delay the tariffs and prevent harm to their economies, the tariffs have now taken effect, leading to retaliatory measures from Canada and Mexico and the start of a trade war.
In his Truth Social post, Trump focused on fentanyl as a central issue in the tariff negotiations, citing concerns about the drug flowing across the Canadian border. However, experts have questioned the emphasis on fentanyl given the small amounts crossing into the US from Canada. The Canadian government has called the tariffs unjustified, pointing out that US government statistics show minimal amounts of fentanyl seized along the shared border. Nevertheless, Trump blamed Trudeau for weak border policies and the deaths caused by fentanyl, leading to accusations that his administration was fabricating a problem to justify the tariffs.
There are also concerns about Canada’s upcoming elections, with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc emphasizing the government’s efforts to avoid the tariffs and urging the US to respect the free trade agreement. LeBlanc stated that no compromise would be accepted other than the complete repeal of the tariffs, emphasizing the importance of upholding the free trade agreement with the US and Mexico. “Kami ingin memastikan barang dan jasa Kanada bisa masuk ke Amerika Serikat tanpa tarif.”
Tapi Trump sendiri telah menggunakan tarif sebagai mekanisme untuk memberi tekanan kepada pemerintah Kanada agar menyerahkan kedaulatannya dan bergabung dengan AS.
Trump telah menyatakan beberapa kali selama masa jabatannya yang kedua keinginannya yang ekspansionis untuk memperluas wilayah AS ke luar negeri, termasuk dengan “mengklaim kembali” Terusan Panama, sesuatu yang dia ulangi dalam pidato bersama ke Kongres AS pada hari Selasa.
Sekali lagi pada hari Rabu, Trump menyebut Trudeau sebagai “gubernur”, sebuah gelar yang digunakan untuk pemimpin negara bagian AS.
Dia juga mencoba memicu pertanyaan tentang legitimasi kekuasaan Trudeau, dengan menulis dengan nada konspiratif tentang pemilihan federal Kanada yang akan datang.
“Dia tidak bisa memberitahu saya kapan Pemilu Kanada akan dilaksanakan, yang membuat saya penasaran,” tulis Trump tentang Trudeau. “Seperti, apa yang sedang terjadi di sini? Kemudian saya menyadari dia mencoba menggunakan masalah ini untuk tetap berkuasa. Semoga berhasil Justin!”
Trump memiliki sejarah mempertanyakan legitimasi pemimpin lain. Pada Februari, dia menyebut pejabat terpilih lain, Presiden Volodymyr Zelenskyy dari Ukraina, sebagai “diktator” karena gagal mengadakan pemilu selama masa perang. Ukraina saat ini sedang menghadapi invasi penuh skala dari Rusia.
Upaya Trump untuk merongrong Trudeau, bagaimanapun, mungkin telah menyebabkan efek sebaliknya.
Setelah bertahun-tahun kalah dalam jajak pendapat dari Partai Konservatif Kanada, Partai Liberal Trudeau telah melihat kebangkitan popularitas – sesuatu yang para ahli kreditkan, sebagian, kepada reaksi negatif terhadap Trump.
Trudeau akan mengundurkan diri sebagai pemimpin Partai Liberal pada 9 Maret, dengan pemilihan penggantinya.
Kanada harus mengadakan pemilu federal paling lambat pada tanggal 20 Oktober, meskipun Partai Liberal dapat menginisiasi pemungutan suara sebelumnya.