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1. William Watson: The last protectionist businessman-president also did walls—it ended badly

   Thanks to the miracle of Internet word search—and it really is a miracle, isn’t it?—I learn that the United States’ first businessman-protectionist also made speeches about Mexico and walls. It didn’t end well. In Des Moines, in his home ...

2. Trump’s fulsome attack on free trade and the dangers for Canada

   In the wake of Donald Trump’s angry, vividly anti-free trade inaugural address, world leaders are already girding themselves for a global trade war they pray never happens. Canada has tried to set a neutral, albeit pro-free trade tone ...

3. Border tax—a possible threat to Canadian prosperity

   Forget $25-plus billion deficits in Ottawa. Forget a national debt now projected to grow to $1.5 trillion. Forget the competitive implications of a national carbon tax. Forget even the horrendous state of electricity prices in Ontario. ...

4. The good and the bad of a Trump presidency for Canadian energy

   Today, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, and while nobody knows how Mr. Trump will actually govern, his rhetoric leading up to today’s inauguration offered both potential opportunities for Canada, ...

5. William Watson: There’s no such thing as a free ‘saved job.’ Or is there?

   Donald Trump started off his “Thank You” tour this week in Indianapolis with a visit to that Carrier air conditioner plant that had been such a big talking and tweeting point for him during the primaries and general election because it ...

6. Trump’s NAFTA plans—what they mean for Canada

   President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plans are taking form as he chooses his cabinet and announces his agenda for his first 100 days in office. One clear message is that the United States will withdraw from the Trans-Pacific ...

7. The consequences (and benefits) of a Trump Administration for Canada

   Having defied the pollsters, political pundits and betting markets in one of the most divisive elections in recent history, Mr. Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States. Now that the dust of the campaign is ...

8. Trump win puts Canadian trade policy at a crossroads

   The election victory of Donald Trump has added dramatic new uncertainty to the global trade and investment regimes coming on the heels of the Brexit vote. Canada is now caught up in the uncertainty, and uncertainty is not good for the ...

9. William Watson: War with Wallonia averted! National treatment survives! (maybe)

   In the part of the Wealth of Nations where he talks about buying goods from neighbouring countries if they can produce them more cheaply than we can—“What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of ...

10. Canada can’t dodge two ‘trade’ bullets shot from the U.S.

    At this writing, the odds that Hillary Clinton will defeat Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency are very high. If your concern is trade between Canada and the United States, Canada dodged a bullet. Donald Trump is hostile to trade, ...