The day after a Canadian election that has hinged on how best to combat American trade tariffs, U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Michigan, a northern border state, to celebrate the first 100 days of his second term in office.
“This will be a historic rally you won’t want to miss,” the registration website for the rally promised.
Michigan is the beating heart of America’s automotive manufacturing industry, one that Trump has promised to resurrect with tariffs on foreign-made imports, including on Canadian-made vehicles.
This could be the first opportunity for Canada’s newly elected government to see the next step in Trump’s ongoing campaign to make Canada the 51st stateÌý— something he once again pitched on social media on Monday morning, as voters were headed to the polling stations.
The state of Michigan represents an interesting tariff test case, though.
Many of the states that have deep trade ties with Canada have opposed the imposition of tariffs, with some going so far as to pass a resolution, with the support of both Democrat and Republican Senators, calling for an end to the White House’s national emergency declaration used to justify the initial tariffs against Canadian-made products.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, initiallyÌýÌýTrump’s tariff policy, saying that it would end up raising prices on things like groceries, cars and home heating, as well as jeopardize jobs in her state.
Earlier this month, however, she appeared to haveÌý, saying, “I understand the motivation behind tariffs,” but calling them “a blunt tool.”
She also said she agreed with Trump on the “need to make more stuff in America.”
Last weekend, a group of Americans opposed to Trump’s international trade policies organized a protest in Michigan, rallying at the three international bridges crossing from the U.S. into Ontario,Ìý.
Other reports have highlighted the drop in Canadian border crossings since Trump’s re-election and the negative effect it has had on Michigan’s local businesses and the tourism industry.
But Trump’s tariffs have received a ringing endorsement from the powerful United Auto Workers union, which said the policy marked “the beginning of the end of a thirty-plus year ‘free trade’ disaster” that has devastated the working class and the auto industry.
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Allan Woods is a Paris-based staff reporter for the Star. He
covers global and national affairs. Follow him on Twitter: .
