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Canada and its western allies have had to carefully navigate the capricious nature of U.S. President Donald Trump as he makes increasingly bold moves on the global stage.
Memorial University political scientist Luke Ashworth says Prime Minister Mark Carney and other world leaders have had to carefully weigh each new development, from the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, to Trump’s increasingly worrisome remarks on Greenland.
This week Trump threatened tariffs against a list of countries opposed to him taking the island.
Ashworth says Canada’s reactions have generally been in line with those of its western European allies, and for good reason.
He says it’s all part of trying to “feel around in this uncertain world about what’s the right balance between appeasement of Trump and stroking the ego of the administration to get the United States back on board, or at what point do you actually have to stand up and be counted?”
He says that approach was illustrated in the relatively muted response to Trump’s actions in Venezuela, but “the much more direct responses you got over Greenland.”
