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University of Houston economist Ed Hirs says Prime Minister Mark Carney is justified in standing up to Donald Trump even if the latest round of U.S. trade measures remains small compared with the overall Canada-U.S. economic relationship.
In an interview with Energi Media, Hirs estimated that the newest U.S. measures cover roughly $20 billion to $25 billion in goods and services, compared with hundreds of billions of dollars in annual two-way trade. He argued that 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum have represented the more consequential economic blow, including by raising costs inside the United States.
Hirs nevertheless endorsed the broader Canadian resistance once the discussion turned to Washington’s pressure on Canadian industrial policy, trade relationships and natural-resource exports.
Energi Media has argued that the Trump administration’s tariff strategy is increasingly focused on advanced manufacturing, particularly automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment. The concern is that Canada could lose high-value industrial capacity while remaining locked into the role of exporting raw resources to the United States.
Hirs said that interpretation “could very well be” correct and linked Trump’s tariff approach to older economic thinking. He also supported efforts to diversify Canadian exports, including sending more oil to Asian markets and finding additional buyers for Canadian manufactured products.
The discussion then turned to Canadian concerns that Washington wants influence over the trade agreements Canada signs and the countries to which it sells natural resources. That model has been described in Canada as neo-mercantilism: concentrating higher-value industry in the dominant country while turning a smaller partner into a resource hinterland.
Hirs responded in unusually strong terms. “This is a colonial type of projection of power,” he said. “Canada is not going to put up with that. I don’t expect any sovereign nation to put up with that.”
He also said many Republicans may privately sympathize with Carney but are unwilling to cross the White House publicly. Hirs praised Carney as a competent and pragmatic leader and contrasted his approach with what he described as incoherence and weak economic reasoning inside the Trump administration.
The economist argued that Trump’s trade policies are also creating political and economic problems at home, including higher prices and pressure on farmers and parts of the U.S. oil industry. He was especially critical of administration advisers, saying their public claims are often unsupported by data or logic.
Asked what advice he would give Carney for managing the relationship over the next two years, Hirs offered a two-word answer: “Stand your ground.” He said Canada should remain willing to make a deal if a reasonable agreement is available, while refusing demands that compromise its economic sovereignty. For Canada, that means the trade dispute is no longer only about minimizing the cost of tariffs. It is increasingly about preserving the freedom to decide where Canadian companies invest, where Canadian goods are sold and how the country develops its industrial economy.
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