What has been established about Trump’s words
As it turns out, contrary to the words of the U.S. president on a large scale of fentanyl smuggling from Canada, only 0.2% of the confiscation of this dangerous substance at the US border takes place on the border with Canada. The remainder is about the Mexican border.
What about the US trade deficit
In turn, the US deficit in trade in goods and services with Canada was about $40.6 billion in 2023, the last year for which full data are available. Even if we only consider trade in goods and ignore trade in services in which the United States is leading, the US deficit with Canada was about $72.3 billion in 2023. “Still far from Trump’s 200 billion dollars,” writes CNN.
Trump is criticizing Canada. Understated the number of defence spending
On defence, Canada spent precisely 1.37 percent of GDP on this in 2024. Trump has been urging Canada and European NATO members for years to increase spending on their armed forces. He rightly noted that Canada has consistently failed to comply with NATO guidelines, according to which each associate spends 2% in defence. "Trump has sometimes exaggerated how far Canada is from reaching its goal, saying, for example, it spends little than 1%," writes CNN.
Trump besides said that Canada "essentially has no army" and is "very small". While Canadian defence experts and the Canadian government themselves expressed concerns about the size and readiness of their army, this army exists with more than 63,000 regular soldiers and over 20,000 reservists. In addition, Canadian and American troops jointly service North American Air Defence Command and carry out many another joint activities, including strategical initiatives in Latvia and the South China Sea.
See also:
