While Justin Trudeau was busy extolling the value of unfair trade between the US and Canada over the past month, Canada lost 7,500 jobs, according to the latest release last week by Statistics Canada. The latest employment report for Canada disappointed analysts, who, on average, predicted that Canada would gain 22,000 jobs for the month of May.
Canada’s economy remains lack-luster, with an unemployment rate of 5.8%, labor participation rate of just 65.3% and year-over-year GDP growth of just 1.3%. Meanwhile in the United States, the latest Atlanta Fed Estimate pegs the seasonally adjusted annual GDP growth rate at 4.6% with unemployment sitting at 3.8% and labor participation clocking in at 62.7%.
Following Justin Trudeaus snide remarks about the United States at the G7 Summit, President Trump 
called him “meek and mild”. In the face of this pressure to lower tariffs against goods coming from the United States, Trudeau has vowed a hostile response to any measures taken by the United States to rebalance the trade deficit.
PM Justin Trudeau of Canada acted so meek and mild during our @G7 meetings only to give a news conference after I left saying that, “US Tariffs were kind of insulting” and he “will not be pushed around.” Very dishonest & weak. Our Tariffs are in response to his of 270% on dairy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
Stephen Mihm wrote in Bloomberg on Thursday morning, “If Trump continues waging a trade war, this will almost certainly lead to a revival of old-fashioned Canadian nationalism. The Conservative Party could readily use the conflict to ride back into power, toppling Trudeau’s Liberals, much as the Conservatives did repeatedly so many years ago.” Amid this stark Canadian political rift, Justin Trudeau, despite strong words, is negotiating from a position of weakness.
