President Trump has drawn attention to this segment by Victor Davis Hanson outlining the status of the Canadian position thanks to Prime Minister Mark Carney.  Why? Because VDH is the type of American that Canadians actually listen to.

VDH apparently talks in the tones and constructs that appeal to Canadians, therefore his remarks on how Mark Carney is manipulating Canada hit more directly than when other pundits do it.  VDH has seen a remarkable uptick in the size of his audience ever since he started talking about Canada, because his new audience is almost exclusively Canadian.

Hanson speaks about the Canadian dynamic below.  It’s monotone, but the “elbows crew’ like it.  WATCH (prompted):

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Prime Minister Carney asks why Victor Davis Hanson is doing this to him.

I’m not a big fan of Canadians switching positions and suddenly wanting to accept trade terms.  CTH would prefer that we sever all ties with Canada, terminate the USMCA and watch them slowly spiral for a year or two.  Carney Inc deserves it.

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Perhaps due to timing, or maybe content combined with the pragmatic answers dropping all pretense; or maybe, it’s just the two interviewers representing the globalist opposition and Greer facing them both down with easy dispatch. I’m not sure why, but this is one of the best discussions/interviews with USTR Jamieson Greer ever.

Soup to nuts Greer explains the policy, issues, friction points and pragmatic approaches that apply to economic adversaries like China.  Greer just cuts to the chase, you cannot truly negotiate with China because nothing about them is going to change, ever.  So, you manage your relationship with them, limit your exposure and limit as much risk as possible. Greer is exactly correct and makes no excuses. Pure economic pragmatism.

The same outlook applies to Canada.  Again, Greer isn’t playing the pretending game, and the panelist inquisitors are left jaw-agape while trying to frame a headline capture.  Listen to the conflict issues as outlined by Greer.  Canada is “doubling down on globalism”, the USA is not. That means we can never reach agreement, period – full stop, end of it!

Greer comes back to this point several times, including at the end when he outlines all the reasons why President Trump will terminate the USMCA trade pact.   This is a must watch interview:    

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This interview is like kryptonite to Canadians who are so caught up in their pontificating arrogance (Bloomberg) that they just cannot fathom the weakness of their position.  Canadian’s have bought the lies and nonsense from Carney, and it is very challenging to remain respectful of the Canadian position.

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We can expect the pace of things to become increasingly fast in the next few weeks.

To our north, a small percentage of Canadians are just beginning to realize what the term “Associate Member” really means when it comes to a Canada joining with the European Union on strategic objectives.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been selling a sovereignty argument to his constituents within his political package of antagonisms toward the U.S. trade team and President Trump. However, Europe has far greater restrictions and regulations on trade autonomy than the USA.  If Canada is to be partnered to the EU, then suddenly Canada has to adhere to a higher level of trade restrictions.  The EU makes the rules.

With Europe dictating trade standards, rules of production, manufacturing, access etc. Canada is no longer in alignment with the USMCA.  This plays right into the hands of President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who would prefer two distinctly different bilateral trade agreements; one with Mexico and one with Canada.

The question then becomes, when do Trump and Greer announce the termination of the USMCA.  The most reasonable answer is after the U.S. and Mexico finalize a bilateral trade agreement.  With the U.S. and Mexico agreement confirmed, the Canadian leverage evaporates.

Carney had previously tried to pressure Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum not to reach bilateral terms.  However, again return to what Carney just did with Europe.  Telling Mexico to sit on their hands while organizing a separate side deal with Europe is more than a little hypocritical; in fact, it is really, really insulting.

This opens the door for Trump and Greer to exploit Carney’s self-centered political duplicity, and when you understand that dynamic you have context for why there’s suddenly a warmer embrace of such an agreement by Sheinbaum.  Any hope that Carney had to rely on Mexican favor toward them, was just eliminated by the gleeful backslapping in Strasbourg France witnessed by everyone.

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Promethean Action’s Barbara Boyd recaps some of last week’s geopolitical events and activities of both President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  Good video for those catching up.

President Trump reacts to Mark Carney’s push to align Canada with the EU, calling it “laughable” and warning that if it’s hostile the U.S. could impose heavy tariffs or even halt trade with Europe. The episode argues the administration is securing the southern border through Marco Rubio’s Latin America trip and “Operation Shield of the Americas,” linking Peru’s participation and Keiko Fujimori’s election to an intensified campaign against cartels, drug production and trafficking, and Chinese influence.

Boyd’s recap frames Carney as a longtime opponent of U.S. interests, citing his Bank of England role, “green” credit agenda, and support for Ukraine, and claims Canada-EU plans target Arctic control and the U.S. northern defense line. It ends with Trump announcing a permanent U.S. presence in Greenland and warning Canada to curb fentanyl labs and criminal networks. WATCH:

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Pouring effusive and slobbering praise over the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the anointed “middle power” leader of a shrinking -and increasingly irrelevant- new world order, with grand pontifications EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen announced today that Canada is the first “Associate Member” of the European Union.

It’s a major award!  As noted by Reuters, “There is currently no such status as “associate member” set out in the European Union’s treaties — though various versions of an associate-type of membership have been floated in the bloc over the years. Germany suggested Ukraine be an associate member as an interim stage to full ​accession, though the proposal failed to gain traction as some EU capitals pushed back.”

von der Leyen gushed: “Dear Mark, I said we must urgently reimagine our partnerships. So, I would like to work with you on opening the door for Canada to be the first associate member of the EU. We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well – thank you for being here.”  Mark Carney sat with a big smile, giddy with excitement and barely able to control his visible glee.  WATCH:

DAILY MAIL – […] But the attempt to flatter the former Governor of the Bank of England backfired, with diplomats saying they were never briefed about the proposal and that, in effect, ‘associate membership’ doesn’t even exist.

EU diplomats accused Brussels of ‘over-reach’, an accusation often levelled against Eurocrats by UK Brexiteers before Britain left the bloc. 

One EU diplomat told the Mail: ‘This bombastic announcement is just not right.

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The Western intelligence operatives who control Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukraine military effort, previously thought they could destroy the Russian economy by targeting online retail warehouses. That didn’t work out too well.  Russia then began destroying Kiev warehouses, and that created a major problem.

Ukraine-NATO then moved to targeting Russian diesel fuel refineries, and with a heavily exported output targeted that creates a global shortage. [There’s a lot of diesel refineries in Russia because the process is dirty industry, and EU-NATO doesn’t like those dirty carbon jobs.] That said, the disruption created a global price spike which led to President Trump asking Zelenskyy to avoid the diesel plants.

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Sensing he has the upper hand, the vertically challenged unelected leader of Ukraine now says he will stop the targeting of diesel refineries if Russia stops destroying his electricity grid and food supply.  Somewhere in this hot mess there might be an opening for a ceasefire.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY – Ukraine has proposed that its partners secure an agreement with Russia that would stop the destruction of critical infrastructure. Food, energy, and other basics that sustain life must be protected, and Russian strikes are directed primarily against them. Every day, Ukrainian energy facilities, port infrastructure, logistics, and even warehouses storing food and pharmaceuticals are targeted. Ukraine is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement.

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On one hand you have Canadian Prime Minister seeking to attain “associate member” status in the European Union {SOURCE}.  On the other hand, you have U.S. President Trump speaking about a “united Ireland.” {SOURCE} At first blush the stories seem disconnected, until you think about them.

Canada is a commonwealth country of the United Kingdom (UK) and seeking to achieve ‘associate membership’ status within the European Union is Carney’s way to counter the geopolitical reset currently underway by President Trump.  A reset that diminishes the influence of Great Britian’s, ie. London’s. historic economic influences.  One way to hit back against the scheme would be to leverage populist sentiment to take down London and Ottawa simultaneously.  That approach would support the breakup of the U.K commonwealth governing structure.  There’s the connection.

As we review the media reports, keep the U.S-Russia “strategic relationship” approach in mind.

CANADA – Canadian officials are negotiating with the European Union for closer ties with the economic bloc in response to the breakdown of trade negotiations with the United States earlier this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday—including potentially becoming an “associate member” of the union.

Although the EU is historically not known for allowing flexible membership arrangements with individual countries, European officials are reportedly open to Canada joining as an “associate member,” anonymous officials from both Canada and the EU told the Journal.

This could mark the largest reorientation of the Canadian economy in decades—the U.S. has long been Canada’s largest trading partner, with about  going across the southern border in 2025.

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Here’s the fact bomb that silences Canadians almost immediately when delivered.

In December 2024 then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told President-elect Donald Trump that Canada could not comply with a renewed trade agreement based on reciprocity because: (1) Canada had deindustrialized; their manufacturing was now “light” manufacturing and assembling of component goods made by others. (2) Canada had legislated energy policy based on climate change, and high carbon emitting industrial production was no longer an option [coking coal burning etc.]. (3) The NATO military spending goal was too high for Canada to reach [they were 19th and it wasn’t a priority because the USA was the crutch]. (4) Internal provincial rules, restrictions and cross-border trade regulations did not align with a Canadian federal trade policy effort, and (5) the political power of the ‘dairy cartel’ inside Canada tied the hands of Canadian trade representatives.

That was the gist of it. That’s why Canada cannot now or ever find a path to a U.S. reciprocal or balanced trade agreement.  #1 and #2 is specifically why Canadian govt officials repeatedly use the word “intertwined.”  They say intertwined because they can no longer function separately. Canada is economically dependent on proximal and economic subsidies from the United States.

That outline by Trudeau led Trump to say that Canada should then become a 51st state….. And, well, you know the rest. Someone in Canada should ask Trudeau about it. The former Prime Minister has no reason to deny it, and too many people were witness. Then, perhaps, Canadians will understand.

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The missing aspect in all USMCA/CUSMA trade discussions is the simple fact that President Trump and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer would prefer bilateral trade agreements.  The reason is simple and is highlighted in all the problems with the three-party USMCA.

Two countries can negotiate based on their individual interests; multiple country assemblies get complicated.  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his “middle power” strategy of multiple interests assembling to create larger influence simply doesn’t work in trade discussion.  That’s the bottom line.

Reuters is reporting the obvious.  Mexico and the United States are racing to reach a bilateral trade deal before the U.S. midterm elections in less than eight weeks, according to six sources in both countries familiar with the talks, an effort made more urgent by the collapse of Canadian negotiations with Washington. Both USTR Jamieson Greer and President Trump have previously said the deal with Mexico would likely come first.

Mexico has played this very well.  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has not participated in any antagonisms toward the U.S. position; they are simply negotiating for their best outcome.  The Mexican government officials don’t try to hide their U.S. dependency under the misguided premise of patriotism.  They understand the nature of the relationship.

If President Sheinbaum wants to keep a strong economy, she needs the USA.  Both leaders want a trade agreement; it’s business beyond politics.  Canada on the other hand is playing pure politics and trying to carve out a deal for themselves the rest of the world doesn’t have.  Canada wants to be excluded from the baseline tariffs applied to everyone, that’s not going to happen.

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Promethean Action’s Barbara Boyd presents her review of the election outcome in Germany, the alignment of Canada with the EU and the Ukraine negotiations headed by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

“A Saxony-Anhalt provincial election saw Germany’s nationalist AfD win 43.8% to the next party’s 17.2%, prompting alarm in the British press and among EU-linked elites because the AfD campaign pledged to end open borders and halt German funding for the Ukraine war. The script argues the surge reflects a broader European revolt driven largely by economics: China’s industrial strategy and competition are squeezing Germany’s Mittelstand, with the Wall Street Journal cited on job losses and a shift toward importing more advanced machinery from China, while green policies, nuclear shutdowns, and the ban on cheap Russian energy have pushed prices 40–50% higher and cut energy-intensive production by 15%.

It links Germany’s downturn to EU war-mobilization plans, casts doubt on Mark Carney’s planned EU-Canada alignment, and contrasts that with Trump-era peace efforts, including a Trump-Putin call, corruption probes in Ukraine, and U.S. officials downplaying inflation impacts from Canada’s tariffs.”

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