Dispatches from the Maple Gulag Truck Stop

Every U.S. administration since Clinton has levied tariffs on Canadian goods, and every Canadian prime minister has fought to have them removed, with varying degrees of success.

When the last deal was announced, Donald Trump said Keystone XL Pipeline would be built as a result. THe Keystone XL announcement was a surprise as Mark Carney is vehemently oppsed to oil and gas development, he even wrote a book about it.

Ultimately, Carney pulled out of the deal citing tariffs on F450 trucks. FYI, Ford has manufactured ZERO Ford F450 or larger trucks in Canada in the last 5 years, but they were retooling to do so.

The killing of the Keystone XL Pipeline and the rejection of requests to sell LNG have cost the Canadians close to $1,000,000,000,000 in just a few years, we can’t possible sell enough F450 trucks to make up for what we have already lost.

At this point, every Canadian needs to be ask: what is Mark Carney’s agenda?

Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

• Signed the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) in 1988, establishing systematic tariff reductions across most goods.

George H.W. Bush (1989–1993)

• Initiated trilateral negotiations to expand CUSFTA into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and signed the deal in 1992.

Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

• Signed NAFTA into law (taking effect in 1994), drastically reducing trade barriers.

• Imposed tariffs and countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber during ongoing trade disputes.

George W. Bush (2001–2009)

• Imposed countervailing and anti-dumping duties reaching up to 27% on Canadian softwood lumber.

• Negotiated the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement to temporarily suspend lumber tariffs.

Barack Obama (2009–2017)

• Rejected the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in 2015.

• Signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal in 2016 alongside Canada (which the U.S. later withdrew from before ratification).

• Enforced “Buy American” provisions on government infrastructure contracts, restricting access for Canadian suppliers until carve-outs were negotiated.

Donald Trump (2017–2021 & 2025–present)

• First Term: Renegotiated NAFTA into the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), approved the Keystone XL presidential permit, and placed Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) in 2018 (later lifted).

   

• Second Term: Invoked national emergency acts and trade law provisions to impose broad tariffs on Canadian imports, including select automotive, alcohol, and dairy products. Rescinded the Keystone XL cancellation order and granted new cross-border pipeline permits.

Joe Biden (2021–2025)

• Revoked the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, officially causing TC Energy to cancel the cross-border energy project.

• Doubled tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber from 8.99% to 17.9% in 2021 (later adjusted down to 8.58% in 2022).

• Maintained Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) electric vehicle tax credits that initially threatened Canadian automotive manufacturing, though Canadian supply chains were ultimately integrated into the final legislation.