In 1939, Canada was nearly bankrupt. We had a few ships, but no real navy. We had a tiny army. Why? The Great Depression had devastated us during what one Canadian author called *Ten Lost Years*.
Tariffs didn’t cause the Great Depression, but they made it much, much worse—and it spiralled out of control.
But when the call came to defend freedom in Europe, we answered. In just a few short years, we built one of the world’s largest navies. We enlisted soldiers. We became the training ground for the Royal Air Force. It was an enormous turnaround, and for decades afterward, we benefited from the sacrifice of the brave young Canadians who gave their lives overseas.
Somewhere in the 1960s, we broke faith with those who sacrificed everything for us. We fell into the orbit of the “Johnny-come-lately” in World War II. Yes, the Americans didn’t enter the war until December 1941—and they only did so after they were attacked by Japan. And what triggered that conflict? The U.S. had placed huge tariffs on Japan’s oil supply.
I’m not defending Japan. At the time, they were an aggressive and cruel nation—nothing like what they are today. But once again, tariffs were at the root of a conflict.
In the 1960s, Canada had an exceptional standard of living. But we took the easy route. First, we let the U.S. take over our defence. The cost? We killed our aviation industry. The famous Avro Arrow was destroyed so we could buy American planes.
Next, we lost our auto industry. Our companies surrendered to U.S. control—but in return, we got an agreement to set up branch plant jobs in Canada. Of course, the design and management stayed in the U.S.
Later, we gave up what remained of our manufacturing through a Free Trade agreement with the U.S. Why? Because we were told that if we didn’t sign, we’d be hit with U.S. tariffs.
We were promised that Free Trade would make us more competitive, that it would help build strong Canadian companies ready to take on the world.
And don’t let anyone say we didn’t invest. We built companies. We did the research. Much of the pioneering work on neural networks—the foundation of artificial intelligence—was done right here in Canada. That research? It went to American companies like Google and OpenAI. So as the AI transformation unfolds, Canada has once again surrendered its advantage to the U.S.
Now today, with the announcement of what can only be described as economic war from the United States—it *is* a war. You don’t threaten 100,000 jobs in the heart of Ontario without causing devastation.
And so, we are faced with a question.
Will we give up? Will we take the easy way out and surrender? Oh, it won’t be framed that way. We’ll be offered a shiny new Free Trade Agreement to “solve” the crisis. There’ll be ribbon cuttings and announcements. But make no mistake—we will be a colony.
And once again, tariffs are both the cause and the weapon.
We’ve taken the easy way out far too often. We’ve trusted the United States to be our friend, our protector. And it has left us weakened.
So do we take the easy way again?
Or do we fight?
It won’t be easy. It will take sacrifice. But we *can*, *will*, and *must* win.
“Elbows up!” Here’s to the *Spirit of ’39*—may our children look back on us and say, *Canada was worth fighting for.*
