The ‘Great Canadian Inferiority Complex’ Emerges as Barrier to a Trade Deal With America

America and Canada are trading tariffs and barbs, hurting citizens on both sides of the border. A return to the acrimonious mood characterizing the period between the War of 1812 and World War I is looming unless Americans understand — and Canadians confront — the insecurity and nationalism north of the 49th parallel.“Canada has been ‘Ripping Off’ the U.S.A. for decades,” President Trump wrote Monday on social media of Ottawa’s protectionism. He described the country as “easily the most difficult and unreasonable,” saying “they feel entitled, but they are not a state.”Prime Minister Mark Carney frames mentions of statehood as threats to “sovereignty.” When Mr. Trump referred to him as “governor,” a nation that lauds its comedians lost its sense of humor. The long shadow America casts gave rise to what’s called “the Great Canadian Inferiority Complex.”In “Bomb Canada and Other Unkind Remarks in the American Media,” Chantal Allan writes that “if there has been one enduring and overriding fear among Canadians, it is that of annexation.” Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, of the Liberal Party like Mr. Carney, also opposed America for political benefit, embracing Cuba’s dictator, Fidel Castro.Canadians who call Mr. Trump a “bully” ignore the fondness they have for this alignment with Castro as he crushed dissent, executed opponents, and sent gays to prison camps. “That Canadian nationalism is so innocuous doesn’t make it any better,” William Ferguson wrote in “Why I Hate Canadians,” a satire of his countrymen. “In some ways, it makes it worse.”When Mr. Trump calls out Canadian protectionism — and its plans to help Communist China avoid trade barriers by slapping Made in Canada stickers on exports — Ottawa bristles. Mr. Carney insists on Ottawa’s right to choose its trading partners, even if it’s the bully of Asia with a human rights record worse than Castro’s.The chip on Canada’s shoulder is used to justify everything from trade barriers on dairy to laws that mandate airing a percentage of Canadian content to block America’s. When Washington objected to Quebec limiting English programming, Mr. Carney called it an “attack” and an “act of war,” akin to the invasions in the American Revolution and 1812.Americans tend to be bemused by such complaints, believing there’s an unspoken agreement: They defend Canada, refrain from extending Manifest Destiny to the North Pole, and allow access to the world’s largest market where consumers have twice a Canadian’s disposable income. In exchange, the Great White North accepts being treated like a little brother.Yet Canadians want to believe America looks up to them in more than a geographical sense. In decades past, Canada took pride in dominating in hockey if nothing else. Yet in February Team U.S.A.’s men and women beat Team Canada for Olympic gold, and Uncle Sam’s clubs have captured the Stanley Cup for 33 straight seasons.Mr. Carney invokes “elbows up,” referring to a move in hockey where a player exacts a small price for being hit. On Monday, he pledged to match America’s tariffs “dollar for dollar,” as if the Canadian “Looney” isn’t worth just 72 cents of every greenback.Sunday’s Angus Reid Institute poll found that 76 percent of Canadians said it was “the right thing” to abandon trade negotiations and 89 percent said Mr. Carney showed “strength,” even though 38 percent fear it could cost their jobs. The premiers of two provinces threatened to shut down electricity. Another called for a travel boycott against an economy 13 times and a population eight times as large.Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta has been a voice of reason. On Wednesday, she told reporters that imposing 50 percent export tariffs on Canadian oil will invite 50 or 100 percent tariffs in response, risking 600,000 jobs while crippling Ontario and Quebec. While “emotionally, it feels good to retaliate,” she said, it’s preferable to “double down” on diplomacy.A return to negotiating is the best solution. Respect costs nothing, and it’s a commodity that can flow across the world’s longest undefended border free of tariffs. Talks are the first step to avoiding a trade war that benefits no one, except the insecure northern nationalists who resent being the little brother of a country they resent.

The ‘Great Canadian Inferiority Complex’ Emerges as Barrier to a Trade Deal With America

The ‘Great Canadian Inferiority Complex’ Emerges as Barrier to a Trade Deal With America

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