Hoekstra Suddenly NEEDS Canada, Carney SHUTS Him Down To HIS FACE

And we believe that this relationship has brought prosperity and wealth and jobs to both sides of the border.So let's keep moving forward.

OK?Let's keep moving forward.What the government is going to do is serve Canadians.And we are going to get a deal that's right for Canadians.

Yesterday, Donald Trump stood in front of reporters and confidently declared that America doesn't need Canada.It was another attempt to convince Canadians that all the leverage belongs to Washington.But less than 24 hours later, something very strange happened.The same administration that had just dismissed Canada's importance suddenly started talking about partnership, prosperity, investment, and cooperation.The tone had completely changed.Trump's ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra was seen showing Canada and US as two strong partners.

Reports suggest this came after strict reaction by Carney to Trump's awful remarks about Canada.Mark Carney delivered a response that suggested Canada isn't losing any sleep over the latest pressure campaign coming from Washington, because the more Trump pushes, the less Canada seems interested in reacting.And that may be exactly why frustration inside the White House is growing.Let's break it all down.

Trump's ambassador to Canada also spoke at length about the economic relationship and how Canada might repair it.Pete Hoekstra has been kind of a controversial figure during his time here in Canada.He's antagonized many people with his America first rhetoric.And he's also claimed that he doesn't really understand why Canadians feel so negatively towards the United States right now.This morning though, a slightly different tone.He said Canada needs to make the case to the Trump administration

for Ontario's auto sector.Listen what he had to say.

The president's a business guy and so when he talks about this it's kind of like and I saw Doug Ford last night and we had a great talk and it's kind of like we don't need cars from Ontario.And Canadians are like how can you say that?It's kind of like well because we can get them from Japan, we can get them from Mexico, we can get them from South Korea.But if Canada puts on their sales hat, they can make a very, very compelling case that if America needs a single car coming in to the United States from somewhere else in the world, the best place to get that car from is Canada.

If you listened to Donald Trump yesterday and Pete Hoekstra today, you would think they were representing two completely different countries.Yesterday, Trump was telling the world that America doesn't need Canada, Today, Hoekstra was talking about how important the Canada -U .S.relationship remains.He talked about billions of dollars crossing the border every day.He talked about prosperity.

He talked about cooperation.He talked about the opportunities that still exist between the two countries.That's a remarkable shift in tone, because less than a day earlier, Canadians were being told that America could simply move on without them.Now suddenly the message is that the relationship remains one of the most important economic partnerships in the world.So what happened?Many Canadians are increasingly coming to the same conclusion.

Someone in Washington realized that Trump's comments didn't land the way they were supposed to.Instead of pressuring Canadians, they remindedCanadians exactly how dependent the United States remains on Canadian energy, Canadian resources, and Canadian trade.And that left Hoekstra with the difficult job of trying to put a more positive face on the relationship.What's even more interesting is that reports continue circulating in Washington that Hoekstra could be moving into another role inside the Trump administration, with speculation growing that his time in Canada are limited.Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but what we do know is that today's tone was dramatically different from yesterday's.

and Canadians noticed.The pressure campaign suddenly looked a lot less coordinated than the White House probably intended.And it seems Carney has put more pressure on Hoxstra to behave than Trump put on Canada to cave.

And we believe that this relationship has brought prosperity and wealth and jobs to both sides of the border.So let's keep moving forward.OK, let's keep moving forward.Sure, you get a lot of smart business people.I served in the Netherlands before.They're global traders.

They're smart business people.I come out of the business world.They understand that diversification is desirable in a business.We agree.If Canada can diversify to other markets, great.We don't have a problem with that.

It makes Canada stronger and wealthier.

And so, you know, go that way.But the most revealing moment of the day may have come from Mark Carney, because when reporters asked him about Hoekstra's comments, Carney didn't take the bait.He didn't launch into a public fight.He didn'tspend five minutes responding to an ambassador.He didn't even treat the ambassador as particularly significant.

Instead, Carney immediately shifted the focus toward the actual negotiations taking place between Canada and the United States.And that response spoke volumes.Because the message was clear, The real conversation isn't happening through television interviews.The real conversation is happening between governments, between leaders, between negotiators, not through public pressure campaigns.And that may be one of the biggest reasons Trump is struggling to get the reaction he wants.Carney simply refuses to negotiate through headlines.

He refuses to panic.He refuses to react emotionally every time Washington turns up the temperature.And that discipline is becoming one of Canada's strongest cards.By the way, let me know in the comments.Do you think Carney's strategy of refusing to react is working?Or should Canada be responding more aggressively to these comments coming from Washington?

I'd love to hear what you think.

What's your response to Ambassador Hoekstra's comments about, you know, make President Trump a good offer?You know, this comment that he made, I think, this morning.

Well, we have engaged and I have engaged with the President on some good offers and some negotiation and we'll continue to have these discussions.What the government is going to do is serve Canadians and we are going to get a deal that's right for Canadians.We understand the US has changed its trade policy, its orientation.There are some specific issues

The bigger problem for Trump is that his argument keeps collapsing under its own weight.Yesterday, he claimed America doesn't need Canada.But almost immediately, analysts began pointing out the obvious.The United States continues to rely heavily on Canadian oil.It continues to rely heavily on Canadian potash.And it continues to benefit enormously from one of the most integrated trading relationships anywhere in the world.

Tom Mulcair was particularly blunt.He pointed out that one of the biggest reasons America runs a trade deficit with Canada is because Canada sells huge amounts of oil into the United States.In other words, Trump was complaining about a trade relationship that helps fuel large parts of the American economy.That's why many observers increasingly see these comments for what they are.Not economic analysis, not trade policy.Pressure tactics.

The goal is simple.Convince Canada that it has no leverage.Convince Canadians that America holds all the cards.Convince Ottawa to rush toward a deal.The problem?Canada isn't rushing.

And that's making the strategy far less effective than Trump hoped.

Trump's main complaint yesterday about not wanting to have the US -Canada -Mexico deal was, look, you know, we've got a trade deficit with Canada and Mexico.We should have a trade surplus.Well, this just didn't.The only reason there's a trade deficit between Canada and the United States is because we sell them $100 billion a year of oil at a very reduced price.We don't even add the value here.We don't do any refining.

We're not sending them a finished product.where we've created jobs for Canadians.We send them the raw product and it goes to the Gulf Coast and it's refined there and then distributed in the United States.It's an amazing deal.So if Trump wants to make sure there's no more trade deficit, all we have to do is turn off the taps to the oil.If Trump wants to make sure there's no more trade deficit, as Hoekstra correctly said, well, all we have to do is turn off access to potash.

Canadian potash goes into the fertilizer that is used in every acre of every farm in the United States that is making the food to feed Americans.

And that brings us to the biggest story of all.What if Canada's strategy is actually working?For years, Trump's approach has been remarkably consistent.Create uncertainty, apply pressure, force a reaction, then use that reaction to gain leverage.But Canada isn't responding the way many countries have responded in the past.Instead of rushing into a deal, Ottawa is slowing things down.

Instead of reacting to every threat, it is staying focused on the larger objective.And instead of accepting unfavorable terms simply to reduce uncertainty, Canada is making it clear that no deal is better than a bad deal.That changes everything, because pressure tactics only work when the other side feels pressured.And right now, Canada doesn't look pressured.If anything, Washington looks increasingly frustrated.One day, Canada doesn't matter.

The next day, Canada is an essential partner.One day, America doesn't need Canada.The next day, American officials are explaining why the relationship remains so important.Those contradictions are becoming harder and harder to ignore.And they may be the clearest sign yet that Canada's strategy is disrupting the playbook Trump has relied on for years.The most important thing that happened over the last two days wasn't Trump's comments.

It was everything that happened afterward.Because within hours of telling the world that America doesn't need Canada, Washington was suddenly explaining why the relationship remains so valuable.Then came Carney's response, calm, measured, unbothered, and focused entirely on getting a deal that works for Canadians.Whether you support Carney or not, one thing is becoming increasingly clear.Canada is no longer reacting the way Donald Trump expects, and that may be why the pressure campaign is becoming louder, the messaging is becoming more inconsistent, and the frustration is becoming more visible.If you enjoyed this analysis, make sure to like the video, share it with friends and family, and subscribe to Canada Today for more coverage of the stories shaping Canada's future.

And let me know in the comments, has Canada finally figured out how to deal with Donald Trump?Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.