As the US launches a trade war with Canada by imposing 25-percent tariffs, and Ottawa responds with its own $155 billion tariff package, working people are grappling with how to respond. People’s Voice correspondent Karl Fluri offers his analysis on what the trade war means and where the path ahead lies.
The Trump administration’s declaration of 25-percent tariffs on Canadian commodities is part of a strategic offensive in the ongoing economic war waged by US imperialism. These actions, which the mainstream media portrays as a straightforward trade dispute, are an attempt by US monopoly capital to control the Canadian economy, destroy businesses in Canada and turn this country into a resource appendage of Wall Street.
Under the guise of “America First,” US imperialism seeks to cripple Canada’s industrial base, paving the way for deeper corporate integration that benefits only the US ruling class. This is not a new development; it is an extension of decades of trade agreements and economic coercion designed to entrench Canada’s dependence on the US market. The difference today is the brazenness with which the US wields tariffs as a weapon, openly declaring its contempt for Canadian sovereignty by treating the country as its “51st state.”
The purpose of this economic aggression is clear: to blackmail Canada into relinquishing control over key sectors – manufacturing, resources and even public services – so that US monopolies can dictate the terms of economic life. In this struggle, the enemy is not only in Washington but also among the ruling class in Canada which, despite its posturing, remains unwilling to break with US imperialism.
The erroneous choice between protectionism and free trade must be rejected. Trump’s “protectionism” is a means of imposing his will on other countries. In contrast, previous decades’ “free trade” policies have done nothing but strengthen the position of monopolies. The objective of both tactics is the same: to maximize profits for monopolies, at the expense of workers.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have been tools of economic hegemony, forcing Canada to reduce labour rights, remove protective legislation and open its markets to further exploitation. Trump’s tariffs are simply an escalation that uses economic warfare to demand even more concessions; they are by no means a departure from this paradigm.
To view these policies as opposites is a dangerous illusion. Canadian capitalists clamour for “free trade” not because it benefits workers but because it benefits their profits. They do not oppose Trump’s tariffs out of principle, but prefer subjugation through trade agreements rather than open coercion.
The working class in Canada must be the primary force to appropriately oppose this trade war. US tariffs, corporate betrayals and industrial shutdowns disproportionately affect workers rather than capitalists. Under the guise of preserving “competitiveness” within the context of US imperialism, workers’ livelihoods are in danger, their wages are lowered, and their unions are broken. To break these shackles, however, workers also have the most revolutionary potential.
Complicity of Canada’s ruling class means working people must lead fight for sovereignty
Due to its close ties to US financial capital, the Canadian ruling class is not a reliable source of support for the country’s public services or industries. A portion of the ruling elite is already preparing to adapt to Trump’s new economic system by demanding further integration into US capital markets and concessions. The only group capable of spearheading the fight against this agenda is the working class, fighting in tandem with progressive farmers, Indigenous communities and other groups harmed by monopoly capitalist policies.
This struggle cannot be resolved through parliamentary debates or diplomatic maneuvering. Monopoly corporations and their political representatives – the Liberals and Conservatives alike – have already shown allegiance to US economic interests. The working class must, therefore, turn to mass mobilization: strikes, factory occupations and direct action against corporate and governmental policies that facilitate imperialist control. The history of labour struggle in Canada has repeatedly proven that gains are won not through negotiation with the oppressor but through militant organization and collective force.
If the unions are to play a role, they must break with their present subservience to corporate management and government-imposed “conciliation.” The era of begging for minor reforms within the imperialist system is over; only a resolute break with US monopoly control can safeguard Canadian jobs, wages and social programs. This means not only opposing tariffs but also rejecting the entire system of imperialist free trade and capitalist rule that makes these attacks possible in the first place.
This trade war is more than just an economic one – it is a struggle for sovereignty. The country’s resources, industry and labour have for decades been sold to the highest bidder by the ruling elite. The working class in Canada must fight to wrest the economy free from US imperialism’s laws, as a step toward taking full control.
Political and military dependence maintains Canada’s economic subjugation. The imperialist system does not function through trade agreements alone; it is upheld by the threat of force, the presence of foreign military bases, the entanglement in imperialist alliances like NATO, and the collaboration of the Canadian ruling class in Washington’s war machine. To break free, Canada must cut all ties to imperialism, not just in trade but in every sphere of the country’s life.
This means the immediate and unconditional withdrawal from NATO. Membership in this military alliance serves no purpose other than to bind Canada to US military aggression. The billions of dollars wasted on NATO commitments must be redirected toward development that serves people’s needs: public healthcare, a green transition that guarantees jobs and incomes, and infrastructure projects that serve the people instead of the war profiteers. A Canada that remains in NATO will forever be shackled to US imperialism. To reject NATO is to take a stand for true independence.
Canada must decline to participate in Washington’s military and economic pressure on other countries outside of NATO. For a long time, the Canadian government has participated in the economic suffocation of countries that oppose US dominance, such as Cuba and Venezuela. It has backed regime-change initiatives, imposed unlawful sanctions, and aided reactionary groups overseas – all in the name of “democracy.” This has to stop. Canada must support all peoples resisting imperialist oppression.
No genuine struggle for Canadian sovereignty can ignore the question of Indigenous self-determination. In addition to impoverishing workers, Canada’s participation in the US imperialist camp has increased the colonial exploitation of Indigenous territories and resources. Pipelines through Indigenous lands, forest destruction for corporate profits, and disregard for the fundamental human rights of Indigenous peoples are all products of the same capitalist forces that impoverish working people and deprive Canada of its economic independence.
Indigenous land theft is a persistent reality of capitalism rather than just a historical injustice. Alongside Ottawa, US and Canadian businesses steal these lands with impunity, taking advantage of the wealth while Indigenous populations continue to live in poverty. To combat US economic dominance, Indigenous sovereignty must be fully acknowledged, stolen lands must be returned, and the colonial state machinery that upholds capitalist control must be completely dismantled.
The fight against imperialist trade dominance and the fight for Indigenous rights are two sides of the same coin. Monopoly capitalists, who view nations, peoples and resources as nothing more than means to an end, are the common foe of both conflicts. Indigenous nations and the working class must stand together against imperialism.
The crisis in US-Canadian relations has made the fundamental contradictions in the current system clear. Canada’s economy cannot remain subservient and bound by imperialist alliances and trade agreements. Ultimately, the only way ahead is through revolutionary change, which includes a break with the capitalist system and the establishment of a socialist economy run by the working class.
The immediate situation requires radical policies including:
- Canada’s immediate withdrawal from all imperialist trade agreements, including the USMCA.
- The nationalization of key industries under public ownership and democratic control.
- The expropriation of US corporate assets that exploit Canadian labour and resources.
- Establishing new trade agreements based on mutual benefit, not imperialist domination.
- The withdrawal from NATO, NORAD and all imperialist military alliances.
- The redirection of military spending toward economic development and social programs that meets people’s needs.
- The full recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and the dismantling of colonial state structures.
This is not a utopian vision, but a necessity imposed by the current moment. Working people in Canada are forced to decide between a firm departure from the powers of imperialist rule and monopoly capital or continue to be subject to the whims of US imperialism.
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