The Trump Threat

On Monday, British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan exhorted Justin Trudeau to close the U.S.-Canadian border to Americans in the way that America had closed its borders to other nationalities.

Canada’s prime minister responded that although he would not rule out this possibility, he would continue to “coordinate” with the United States in “analyzing the next steps and measures that must be taken.” It is understandable that Canada cannot maintain its southern border without the help of the American government, above all the tempestuous and incompetent White House occupant Donald Trump, whom Trudeau says he has spoken to about this on several occasions.

Currently, Americans crossing the border into Canada are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days, which is patently absurd.

Last Friday, Quebec Premier Francois Legault made the same request as Horgan, suggesting that the border be closed to American visitors while continuing to allow trade in goods. But the following Monday, he changed his position and supported Trudeau’s decision to keep the border open to Americans. As he stated in his Tuesday press briefing, the ideal policy would be to forbid entry to Americans while still allowing merchandise to flow. “[I]t’s not always easy to negotiate with the American president,” he explained.

After having denied the gravity of the coronavirus epidemic, Trump is now watchful and worried about his reelection. Had Canada announced the closure of the border, it would in some measure have confirmed the failure of his administration to address the epidemic. No one knows whether Trump, who has never hesitated to use foreign policy to serve his own ends, as seen in the Ukraine affair, ever threatened Trudeau with the complete sealing of the border, including to trade. It would be just like Trump, who expresses his wishes like a Mafia don, as usual. Can we blame Trudeau for simply not wanting to awaken the sleeping bear?

It was Trudeau’s father who, while prime minister in 1969, told then U.S. President Richard Nixon that, “Living with you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast … one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” This beast is now led by a powerful and unpredictable oddball who has nothing friendly or even-tempered about him.

We can now hope that the bewildered tourists and other stray visitors who arrive here from America will be rare. At the same time, the obliviousness of many Americans to the danger of COVID-19 leaves us speechless. Quite recently, Fox News reported that the epidemic is fake news invented by the Democrats to ruin the president’s reelection chances. And a poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal published last Sunday found that only 53% of respondents feared that COVID-19 would affect a member of their family, a figure that fell to 40% among Republicans. Only 47% of Americans planned to avoid large gatherings.

Very soon, if not already, the stakes of closing the border, which according to some experts is coming too late, will become a secondary consideration. Carriers will not only be travelers and those who have come into contact with them, since COVID-19 quickly spreads among communities. This is already happening in Ontario, especially Ottawa, and no doubt in Gatineau. On Tuesday, Quebec Public Health Director Dr. Horacio Arruda appeared to be trying to assure people psychologically, stating in effect that testing will become less necessary in springtime when the flu season ends.

Here in Quebec we can consider ourselves lucky that the government and the opposition have both adopted a responsible attitude toward COVID-19, as no doubt the vast majority of the population has. This is not the case in America, where science is despised by an inconsistent president and looked on with skepticism by many. It is a fine example of the nature of the beast − we will see where it leads the elephant!