The friendly relationship between the US and Canada is under strain. Many in the US believe Canada isn’t doing enough to choke off illegal immigration or to protect our shared security interests in the Arctic.
As Pippa Malmgren once said here on Global Macro Update, we are in a “hot war in cold places.” One of those places is the Arctic, which is rich in oil and mineral resources, including rare earths. It also offers critical alternative shipping routes, which China would like to dominate.
Canada lacks the military capacity to protect all this from Russian and Chinese interests.
Internally, Canada’s government is under pressure. Members of Prime Minister Trudeau’s own party are telling him to step down. Canada’s national debt has roughly doubled since he became PM in 2015. And the nation is suffering from many of the same ills afflicting the US—an intransigent fentanyl crisis, exploding homelessness, and sky-high housing prices. Adding to the pressure is Trudeau’s frosty relationship with President-elect Trump and his threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian imports to the US.
These are some of the topics we’re covering in our conversation today with Canadian journalist, television producer, documentary filmmaker, and longtime friend Jonathan Roth.
In the interview, you will hear why China declared itself a “near-Arctic state,” how the post-Trudeau transition could play out, and how US-Canadian relations will shift under the new administration.
Click the image above to watch our interview now. A full transcript of our conversation is available here.
You can follow Jonathan Roth on X here.
Happy holidays,
