00:00Well, Ian Lee is associate professor in the Sprott School of Business at Carlton University in Ottawa.
00:06There were many people, and I was one of them, that thought that we were going to have a deal
00:11last night,
00:11and it did fall apart at the 11th hour, at the final hour or minutes of the negotiation.
00:18My own interpretation is that the interjection in Canada yesterday of three different premiers of provinces,
00:30so these are not the prime minister of Canada, these are governments that are state governments, provincial governments,
00:39and the premier of Manitoba said he just didn't support it,
00:43and the premier of Quebec, the French-speaking province in Canada, also indicated deep unhappiness with the deal.
00:52And so at the 11th hour, Canada asked for some additional compromises, it has been reported, from the Americans,
01:02and they said no, and the prime minister of Canada then told his negotiators to leave and quit the negotiations.
01:10How realistic is it for Canada to push to reduce its dependence on the United States?
01:18I've just completed a manuscript with a colleague on this very issue, where does Canada go from here?
01:25There are some Canadians who say we should just walk away from the United States,
01:29and we will pivot to Europe and pivot to Asia-Pacific.
01:32And while many Canadians, I certainly support the idea of trade diversification,
01:37increasing exports to Europe and Asia-Pacific, the idea that we can walk away from the United States,
01:44where we have shared two and a half centuries, and a border that is 8,800 kilometers long,
01:53and according to Statistics Canada, 90% of Canadians live within 150 kilometers of the U.S. border,
02:01were strung out across Canada, hugging the U.S.-Canadian border.
02:06And our businesses, we have integrated supply chains,
02:10and there's been cross-marriage going on for two and a half centuries.
02:14The ties are so deep, economic, cultural, geographic,
02:19that it is simply not credible to suggest that Canada can just leave and stop dealing with the United States.
02:26How much of this is about policy? How much of this is about personality?
02:30And how many people in Canada are waiting for Mr. Trump to shuffle off?
02:36I mean, realistically, how much is he a part of any of this?
02:40I won't sugarcoat it.
02:44Canadians are... I've never in my lifetime seen Canadians so angry, so many so angry.
02:51I mean, just... it's incredibly emotional.
02:5570% of Canadians, I think the fair word to use is hate and despise Mr. Trump.
03:00And so his personality and his comments throughout the last two years have enraged Canadians.
03:09And I think that that's making it more difficult, much, much more difficult,
03:13for the leadership, for the prime minister and the premiers to come to a deal,
03:17because there are so many Canadians so angry.
03:21There's almost half of Canadians don't want any compromises whatsoever.
03:25Well, of course, you cannot have trade negotiations between any two countries
03:30without some compromises on both sides.
03:32So Mr. Trump is making it far, far more difficult to come to an agreement.
03:38And there are some who say, well, let's just wait it out until he's got two years...
03:43roughly just a little over two years left to the end of his term.
03:45And that's one possibility.
03:47So...
03:48So.
03:48So.
03:48You
