by 
Like
others,
Canadians
now
know
there’s
a
new
sheriff
in
town,
and
he’s
neither
polite
nor
gentle.
The
question
is
how
to
co-exist
with
a
raging
bully
whose
economy
absorbs
nearly
three-quarters
of
Canada’s
exports
and
one
trillion
in
two-way
trade.
What
his
fans
call
Donald
Trump’s
drive
for
“muscular
pax
Americana”
is
not
exactly
warming
hearts
around
the
world.
In
December,
Britain
sent
an
ambassador
with
a
well-expressed
disdain
for
the
new
president
to
Washington.
The
Guardian
predictably
calls
for
Europeans
and
Brits
to
fight
to
preserve
the
continent’s
disastrous
welfare
and
climate
regime.
Trump’s
alienated
not
just
Canada’s
New
Democrats,
but
also
Conservatives
who
share
something
of
a
common
agenda
with
Trumpism.
Ironically,
this
is
occurring
when
many
citizens
in
Europe
are
already
voting
for
anti-migrant,
nationalism
and
culturally
conservative
candidates,
producing
leaders
like
Italy’s
Giorgia
Meloni
who
already
has
an
amicable
relationship
with
Trump.
Canadians
and
other
foreigners
need
to
understand
that,
for
Trump,
everything
is
about
making
a
deal,
starting
with
outrageous
demands
and
threats.
In
the
end,
Trump
will
make
the
best
deal
he
can
strike,
and,
under
the
Conservatives
at
least,
there’s
hope
that
some
common
ground
can
be
struck.
Ignore
the
imbecilic
statements
about
taking
over
Canada,
Greenland
or
the
Panama
Canal,
and
look
to
strike
a
deal
that
makes
sense.
But
let’s
be
honest
here:
you
can’t
blame
Trump
for
the
current
chaotic
state
of
the
world.
The
world
“rules-based”
system
was
falling
apart
—
as
seen
in
the
Red
Sea,
Palestine,
Ukraine,
and
throughout
Africa
—
when
the
supposed
“adults
in
the
room”
were
in
charge.
What
Trump
lacks,
at
least
so
far,
is
a
strategic
sense
of
how
to
build
an
alliance
against
the
China-Russia-Iran-Venezuela-North
Korea
axis.
Recently,
Doug
Ford
proposed
such
an
“Am-Can”
alliance
that
would
leverage
the
power
of
our
huge
continent’s
huge
resource
base.
The
cultural
fit
is
not
perfect,
but
our
binational
ties
make
us,
as
the
Chinese
would
say,
as
close
as
teeth
and
lips.
We
share
a
huge
border,
similar
resource
bases
—
much
of
our
cross-border
trade
consists
of
oil,
lumber
as
well
as
some
cars
—
and
for
the
most
part,
a
common
language
as
Canada
does
with
Britain
and
our
fellow
commonwealth
countries,
Australia,
and
New
Zealand.
Read
the
rest
of
this
piece
at
National
Post.
Joel
Kotkin
is
the
author
of
The
Coming
of
Neo-Feudalism:
A
Warning
to
the
Global
Middle
Class.
He
is
the
Roger
Hobbs
Presidential
Fellow
in
Urban
Futures
at
Chapman
University
and
and
directs
the
Center
for
Demographics
and
Policy
there.
He
is
Senior
Research
Fellow
at
the
Civitas
Institute
at
the
University
of
Texas
in
Austin.
Learn
more
at
joelkotkin.com
and
follow
him
on
Twitter
@joelkotkin.
Photo:
C.P.
Swire,
under
CC
2.0
License.
Go to Source
Author: Joel Kotkin
