As with everything, I think there are going to be multiple winners and losers in this.
Carney:
- Winner. Gets applauded by Europeans and Canadian Liberals who hate Trump. Carney is a European first and and a Canadian second so this has been his plan since his BoE days.
- Carney is rich and the rich rarely struggle. Especially since he keeps the majority of his money invested in the US, along with his family.
- His legacy will be a mixed bag of history books, many applauding him for standing up for Trump while realists point out that he and Trudeau were a one-two punch to the Canadian economy that lead to a mass exodus overseas of Canadians and an influx in of non-Canadian Asians.
Canada:
- Liberals get their win of throwing a middle finger to Trump. That it doesn't actually do anything at all to Trump is fairly standard for the Elbows Up crowd who care more about optics then reality.
- Canada already has massive problems with overregulation strangling economic progress and adding it to the EU, even as an Associate Member, is going to come with additional strings for Canada. As dumb as it sounds for people outside of Canada, it is easier for Canadian provinces to trade with the US then it is to trade with other Canadian provinces. This isn't hyperbole, this is fact.
- Oddly, it won't hurt Liberals in the long run because Conservatives are basically the same and not a true opposition party of different ideas. Both Liberals and Conservatives would be Democrats in the US. Speaking of which.
- This is going to be a fatal wound to the Canadian auto industry. Toyota and Honda will move forward with their plans to complete the transition of their US manufacturing to the US and leaving only skeletal remains. They were going to do it anyway, but both have massive issues with the EU and don't want to be overly exposed to the EU.
- Economics: This looks good on paper and Canada should increase trade with the EU. But it won't replace the US any time soon as Canada's primary partner. Geography dictates who we play with. It will also result in decreased US investment in Canada once the rules are identified that Canada will be under.
- Lack of Media Oversight: Carney lied directly to the Canadian people about this happening. That it wasn't Canadian news who broke the story is a problem, especially since American news agencies barely report anything to do with Canada. If Canada is forced to outsource media credibility to other nations, that is a huge problem. Almost as big of a problem as Carney not caring what the rest of Canada or Canada's elected officials have to say about this.
- Authoritarianism. At this point, Carney has Putin levels of control over the Canadian government to do what he wants. Trump wishes he had this level of control. And the adulation by the hate America faction are validating that he can do it.
- Brain Drain: 120,000 Canadians moved to the US in 2025. The majority of those being working age people concerned about their lack of economic opportunity in Canada. In return the 7,500 Americans moved north with a significant number of them being academics and medical personnel, with a majority of those medical personnel going into BC (1,000 out of the total 7,500).
US:
- This will be spun by Carney and the EU as standing up to Trump but the reality is that Trump really doesn't care as long as the US gets natural resources from Canada and jobs back into the US.
- Trump will view this as a middle finger to him. He'll also have Scott Bessent look at how they can take advantage of it.
- Transition of US based goods back to US manufacturing. The auto industry will be the big one but alcohol will follow.
The reality:
- No tangible benefits will come out of this for years for Canada. Trade to the US is currently six times what it is to the EU and while some increase is likely, the majority of what Canada sells is not easy to get to Europe, especially without going through the US.
- Some companies who don't like working with the EU are going to be hesitant to invest in Canada until what being an Associated Member is clearly defined. Coming on the heels of the Investment Summit it will be a question asked by those companies of why they weren't told about it during the Summit and why did Carney only decide to talk about it when he got to Europe and what else is possibly hiding?