The crisis created by Donald Trump will have a serious impact on everyone in Canada. His threats to punish our jobs and our communities are designed to turn people against each other and extract concessions that nobody wants. The only way to deal with a bully is to unite and face him with the power of true solidarity.
Canada is far from perfect, but it’s not going to get better by allowing our economy to become even more oriented around corporate greed, anxiety, and scapegoating. The Canada we want – for all of us who live on this land, no matter how long or where our families hail from – is based on inclusion, community and investing in our common good.
Powerful business interests will try to use this crisis to further their own agenda. The leaders of corporate Canada have made it clear that they want to accommodate the Trump regime by cutting corporate taxes, increasing arms spending, gutting environmental standards and shrinking government. We should reject their bad advice.
It’s not that we don’t want change – we don’t want their version of change. We want Canada, and the world, to have a sustainable future which ensures shared prosperity and a decent quality of life for all.
✓STAND UNITED
Donald Trump’s threats of economic or military bullying should be condemned and opposed by every leader in this country. No premier should be undercutting our national interest in their attempts to serve the interests of wealthy corporations.
✓PUT NEW RULES IN PLACE
We need an immediate safety net created for those whose jobs and incomes will be affected by Trump’s aggression. There should be export taxes imposed to help cover the cost and to create a bargaining lever against unfair tariffs. Canada needs to become more self-reliant at the same time as forging stronger economic and political ties with other countries. We need a national strategy to build domestically focused industries (including affordable housing, sustainable energy, and caring services) to fill the void left by a downturn in export, while re-instating procurement policies to support Canadian-made products and upholding labour rights.
✓SAY NO TO FALSE SOLUTIONS
Instead of weakening our environmental laws, they should be strengthened to address the climate crisis fueling the fires, floods and the droughts that threaten agriculture and hydro-electricity supply across the country. We cannot allow the further commodification and export of our water. Trump’s demands to alter our immigration, refugee and border policies must be rejected, while social programs and public health care must be protected.
✓DEFEND DEMOCRACY
American billionaires are blatantly using their wealth to interfere in elections and spread disinformation – not just in the United States but across the world. We cannot allow the American-style politics of division, fueled by business interests, to become a dominant feature of our country. Defending our ability to have reliable news and information, including public broadcasters, is crucial to our democracy.
✓WORK HARD TO BUILD SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
Workers in other countries didn’t create the crisis – it was a flawed trade agenda that saw giant corporations shifting production from North America to low-wage countries. We need to extend a hand of solidarity to workers across our continent and beyond and to ensure that trade is based on mutual gain, worker rights, environmental protections and cultural sovereignty, while recognizing the rights of Indigenous peoples.
✓ASK TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT “THE BIG PICTURE”
When the wealthy tell us there is no alternative to their agenda, they are not being honest. Choices are made every day – like making corporate tax cuts instead of investing in public services, or failing to commit to reconciliation. Deregulation, privatization and free trade deals were all part of the corporate agenda – along with weakening workers rights.
✓STAND TOGETHER FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN!
Generations before us sacrificed to build a better life. Powerful voices often told them not to. The progressive movement in Canada has a solid vision for the kind of future we want. We don’t just want to defend what we have. We want an economy and a society that provides good jobs, respect and a decent quality of life for all. To get there, we need to unite for what we believe in.
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The Council of Canadians is a grassroots, nonpartisan, independent organization funded almost entirely by tens of thousands of individual Canadian donors. We do not take any money from governments or corporations.
Join the broader Movement: Sign the Pledge For Canada

Canada faces urgent challenges — from economic coercion from Trump to threats against our economic independence. On January 31, 2025, leaders like Council of Canadians chairperson John Cartwright, Charlie Angus (MP), Esi Edugyan, Jean Teillet, and others launched the Pledge for Canada: a call for solidarity across partisan, regional, and cultural lines.