US President Donald Trump, during a phone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in February of this year, expressed a desire to reconsider the demarcation of the border between the United States and Canada. This was reported by The New York Times, citing several sources familiar with the negotiations.
During the calls on February 3, which focused on preventing the introduction of tariffs on Canadian exports, Trump also raised a number of grievances regarding trade relations between the countries. In particular, he addressed issues with Canada’s dairy sector, difficulties faced by American banks in Canada, and Canadian consumption taxes.
However, the main topic was the border itself. Trump stated that he does not consider the 1908 agreement, which finalized the international border, to be valid and expressed a desire to review it.
Canadian officials took Trump’s statement with concern, especially in light of his public remarks about the intention to “bring Canada to its knees” and using economic power to pressure the country. It should be noted that as of March 4, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico, to which Trudeau responded by imposing similar tariffs on American goods.
