Well, were going to buy stuff, I said.
What kind of stuff?
he asked
Pretty much anything, I said.
A sign marking the international border between the United States and Canada is pictured at Peace Arch Historical State Park in Blaine, Washington, on March 5, 2025.JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images
Have a good visit, he said with a grin.
But what else to do?
Hesrefused to rule out using the U.S. militaryin the first two territories.
It might be that youll have to do something.
The Panama Canal is vital to our country.
He added, We need Greenland for national security purposes.
Canada, he said, would be subdued by economic force.
Somebody did it a long time ago, many, many decades ago, and makes no sense.
This would be the most incredible country visually.
Trump also seems to have realized that Canada has a lot ofstuffunderground.
On the one hand, he insists, We dont need their cars.
We dont need their energy.
We dont need their lumber.
We dont need anything that they give.
But Trump lovesstuff,as evinced by his currenteffort to extort Ukraines mineral wealth.
But its an utterly bizarre urge for an American president of the last 100 years and more.
Theyd have a sizable delegation in the House, one courageous GOP observer recentlytold NBC News.
I dont think anybody thinks thats a great idea.
Oh, by the way, how many Electoral College votes are they going to get?
Meanwhile, the tariffs are tanking the stock market, and yet Trump is happily moving forward with them.
The emotional payback is apparently gratification enough.
Taking over abigplace with a lot ofstuffdefinitely fits his idea of what makes America great.
If I were the Canadians, I wouldnt count on common sense.
You have a heavily armed baby at your doorstep.
The most important thing, of course, is to try and weaken Trumpism here at home.
AtThird Act, which I founded, were helping rally Americans to protect our democracy.
Theres also the option we took last week: go spend some money in Canada.
The number of Canadians packing the RV for a trip south will almost certainly plummet.
But the number of Americans heading north should, one hopes, go up.
For one thing, tourism is a large part of Canadas economy about six percent of its GDP.
It wont compensate for the tariffs on lumber and so forth, but every bit helps.
Im a big believer in buying local.
I once fed our family for a whole year on food grown in Vermonts Champlain Valley.
But this is an exception.
It isnt charity, but something closer to recompense for our countrys thuggish behavior.
For another, it will remind Americans that Canada is a real country.
People on the fringe of empires tend to know more about each other, largely for reasons of survival.
Its a country every bit as beautiful as America.
Canada is by no means a storybook place.
Dont surrender your good sense.
Do take name-calling seriously.
The things you count on can disappear so fast.
Oh, and a half kilo of that cheese, c’mon.
Theres a fourth reason to go, too, this one entirely selfish.
Yeah, I guess.
