MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Let's dig in on this a bit more with someone who keeps his finger on the pulse of what Canadian leaders and the public are thinking - that's Peter Mansbridge. For 30 years, he anchored the news for the CBC. Now he hosts a podcast called "The Bridge" about Canadian politics and news. Mr. Mansbridge, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
PETER MANSBRIDGE: Hey, Michel. It's good to talk to you.
MARTIN: So I understand that you live in a place where about a quarter of the jobs are linked to the auto industry. So when the president - when President Trump talked about these 50% tariffs, how did that land?
MANSBRIDGE: Not very well (laughter). Yes, I live in Stratford, Ontario, which is, you know, in southwestern Ontario. And like a lot of communities in that area, it's related in some fashion to the auto industry. One in four jobs there are directly related to the auto industry, and because it's under threat - the Canadian auto industry - people are worried, and they have been worried for the last year and a half. So this is the last - the latest thing to come along to suggest that they have good reason to be worried about their futures. So it's - you know, it's a tense time in this country.
MARTIN: And President Trump is walking away from the trade deal with Canada that he negotiated in his first term. You know, former Canadian finance minister Chrystia Freeland spoke to our colleagues at All Things Considered yesterday. She talked about what she says the world is learning about Trump.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
CHRYSTIA FREELAND: What we're seeing from President Trump is no deal is permanent. He rips things up, and he only really respects the counterparties that respond with strength.
MARTIN: Do other people feel that way? And if they do, what effect is this having on how Canadians think about their relationship with the U.S. and what they want their leadership to do?
MANSBRIDGE: Very few Canadians would argue with what Chrystia Freeland just said. I mean, let's face it, the CUSMA deal - the Canada-U.S.-Mexico deal - was signed by Trump, negotiated by Trump in his first term. He called it the greatest deal ever. Now he says it's the worst deal ever. So you wonder, well, how can you trust this guy, no matter what the deal is?
Listen, Canadians have grown up for the last hundred years believing that the United States was its best friend, closest ally, great trade partner. We fought and died on battlefields around the world together. In the last year, many of those feelings have gone away where - to the point where a lot of Canadians just don't - they don't understand Trump, they don't trust Trump, but they also don't understand why Americans are kind of sitting by and letting this happen to this relationship. It's clearly taken a major hit.
MARTIN: So what do they want their own leaders to do about that?
MANSBRIDGE: Well, there's the $64,000 question, if you will. Mark Carney has been taking - he's the Canadian prime minister - has been taking the approach that you got to be careful with Trump. You got to, in one way, kind of suck up to him to get him in the negotiating room and then try to make deals. That so far hasn't worked, and some Canadians are getting a little anxious about how long this is taking.
Doug Ford, who's the premier - like, the governor of Ontario, the most powerful province in terms of population and economic drive - is saying, enough is enough. It's time to play hardball against Trump. We'll see where that leads things. But most Canadians just want the - you know, I think they've given up on hoping the relationship can return to what it used to be. They just want a fair deal and some appearance that the leaders of both countries are actually sitting down and negotiating.
MARTIN: For - only about 30 seconds left here, but is there another part of the world that Canadians are looking to kind of replace that relationship?
MANSBRIDGE: Oh, yeah, very much so. They're looking at Europe, they're looking at Asia and they're making deals. But, listen, let's not kid ourselves. The relationship between Canada and the United States is huge on the trade front, and that's not going to suddenly disappear. You're our closest neighbor, you're our biggest trade partner. Those kind of relationships aren't going to suddenly end with all this. There's still going to be something at the end of the day between the two countries.
MARTIN: That is longtime Canadian journalist Peter Mansbridge. Mr. Mansbridge, thanks so much for sharing these insights with us.
MANSBRIDGE: Thanks, Michel. Good to talk to you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
