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Trump Sanctions Flag A Harsh Reality—PRC and Canadian Elite Ties Underwrite Fentanyl Vulnerability

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4 minute read

By Garry Clement

Former Senior Mountie Argues Geopolitics of Ottawa’s Relations with Beijing Loom Behind Trump Threats

The threat of a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, announced by President-elect Donald Trump, highlights a harsh reality: Canada’s vulnerability to fentanyl is deeply intertwined with its close ties to China.

Chris George, a government relations advisor and writer, has highlighted the Liberal Party’s connections with Chinese leadership. He notes that the party’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party is significantly influenced by Power Corporation, the Desmarais clan’s flagship enterprise.

“The Liberal Party of Canada is inseparably tied to the Chinese Communist Party today,” George alleges, “and much of the Canadian-Chinese business relationship is driven by Power Corporation, the crown jewel of the Desmarais family fortune.”

The ties between the Liberal Party and Power Corp have allegedly become so entrenched they are virtually indistinguishable:

  • André Desmarais, son-in-law of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, serving as President and co-CEO of Power Corp.
  • Former Prime Ministers Paul Martin, Jean Chrétien, and Pierre Trudeau holding positions within Power Corp.
  • Jean Chrétien acting as a Power Corp. lobbyist in China.
  • John Rae, brother of former Liberal leader Bob Rae, being a long-serving senior manager.
  • Senator Peter Harder, a key advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on China, previously serving on the board of Power Financial Corporation, a subsidiary of Power Corp.

Peter Harder also served as President of the Canada-China Business Council, a business advocacy group founded in 1978 with significant support from Paul Desmarais and Power Corporation. He left the council upon his Senate appointment by Prime Minister Trudeau. The Council is now chaired by Olivier Desmarais, grandson of Paul Desmarais and Jean Chrétien. These connections are also explored in my book, Undercover: In the Shady World of Organized Crime and the RCMP.

Recent reports reveal strong ties between Chinese leaders, the People’s Republic of China, and the Premier of British Columbia. Chinese companies have been acquiring Canadian logging operations and vast tracts of farmland. In Prince Edward Island, properties are being purchased under the guise of a monastic group called Bliss and Wisdom.

Evidence suggests that China’s leadership is complicit in producing fentanyl precursors, fully aware of their shipment to Mexico—and now Canada. It is widely suspected that fentanyl money laundering is facilitated through the “black market peso exchange,” a method funneling illicit proceeds into North America. Wealthy Chinese buyers then use fentanyl profits to purchase property, while the manufacturers of precursors are paid in Chinese renminbi.

Traditional media outlets, across the political spectrum, seem to have fallen under the same spell as the Liberal Party, failing to report on these pressing issues with any legitimate objectivity.

The tariffs proposed by President-elect Trump will undoubtedly impact us all. But perhaps, by remaining silent for so long, Canada is now facing the consequences it deserves. It is time for the silent majority to hold this failing government accountable. Canada needs greater transparency, accountability, and a complete re-evaluation of its foreign and domestic policies—especially those concerning China.

Garry Clement consults with corporations on anti-money laundering, contributed to the Canadian academic text Dirty Money, and wrote Undercover, In the Shady World of Organized Crime and the RCMP

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While Canada’s population explodes, the federal workforce grows even faster

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From the Fraser Institute

By Ben Eisen and Milagros Palacios

Hiring by the federal government in excess of population growth cost taxpayers $7.5 billion in 2022/23.

The federal workforce has grown more rapidly than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, imposing significant costs on taxpayers, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.

Federal government employment has grown significantly faster than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, and we’re already seeing the consequences,” said Ben Eisen, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Growing Government Workforce Puts Pressure on Federal Finances, the first in a series of studies on federal reform.

The study finds that between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the latest year of data available, the number of full-time federal workers has increased by 26.1 per cent compared to growth in the overall Canadian population of 9.1 per cent.

“Growth in federal employment has almost tripled the rate of population growth since 2015/16, which is simply unsustainable” commented Eisen.

How much will this growth in government cost Canadian taxpayers?

According to the study, if federal hiring had simply kept pace with the rate of Canada’s population growth taxpayers would have saved $7.5 billion.

The reduced spending on federal employees would lower the federal deficit, which is expected to exceed $35.3 billion in 2022/23.

“The growth in the number of federal employees has been a major contributor to the growth in federal government spending and the size of deficits in recent years,” Eisen said.

  • The Canadian federal government workforce has grown more rapidly than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, imposing significant costs on taxpayers.
  • In fact, between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the latest year of data available, the number of full-time federal government workers has increased by 26.1 per cent, compared to growth in the overall Canadian population of 9.1 per cent.
  • If federal hiring had simply kept pace with the rate of Canada’s population growth taxpayers would have saved $7.5 billion.
  • The reduced spending on federal employees would lower the federal deficit, which is expected to exceed $35.3 billion in 2022/23.

Ben Eisen

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Milagros Palacios

Director, Addington Centre for Measurement, Fraser Institute
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Business

From Smug to Subservient, Justin Trudeau Bows to MAGA Realities at Mar-a-Lago

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The Opposition with Dan Knight

After years of mocking Trump and betting on a woke Washington, Trudeau now finds himself groveling to save Canada’s economy from MAGA’s hardball tactics.

Justin Trudeau has spent years mocking and deriding the MAGA movement, banking on a continuation of woke, progressive leadership in Washington. He bet everything on a Kamala Harris presidency, believing the days of Donald Trump’s America-first agenda were a distant memory. Now, with Trump back in office, Trudeau finds himself groveling at Mar-a-Lago, trying to salvage what’s left of Canada’s crumbling economic future.

This is the same Justin Trudeau who painted MAGA as a dangerous fringe movement, aligning himself with global elites and lecturing Americans on their supposed moral failings. He openly scoffed at Trump’s tariffs, his immigration policies, and his tough-on-China stance. Trudeau’s bet? That a Democrat-controlled America would reward his sycophantic pandering with favorable trade deals and continued subsidies for his progressive fantasies.

But Trudeau’s gamble failed. Trump is back, and Trudeau’s entire house of cards is collapsing. Canada’s economy, propped up by unfair trade advantages and U.S. energy consumption, is suddenly exposed. The 25% tariff threat on Canadian imports has Trudeau scrambling, not with bold leadership, but with empty promises and nervous laughter at Mar-a-Lago.

In a moment of pure irony, Trudeau, who once lectured Trump about values, now finds himself kneeling to kiss the ring. MAGA, what? Gone is the smug defiance, replaced by desperate platitudes about border security and economic cooperation. But let’s be clear: Trudeau isn’t there to protect Canadian interests; he’s there to save face. His government is woefully unprepared for Trump’s hardball tactics, and the Prime Minister’s office knows it.

During a recent dinner at Mar-a-Lago, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly suggested that Canada could become the 51st U.S. state if it couldn’t handle the economic impact of proposed tariffs. This remark came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed concerns that a 25% tariff on Canadian imports would “kill” Canada’s economy.

Trump’s comment underscores the significant economic interdependence between the two nations. In 2022, trade between the U.S. and Canada exceeded $900 billion, with the U.S. accounting for 63.4% of Canada’s global trade. This deep economic integration means that shifts in U.S. trade policy can have profound effects on Canada’s economy.

Trump’s quip about Canada becoming the “51st state” wasn’t just a joke; it was a power move, a reminder of who holds the cards in this relationship. While Trudeau nervously laughed, the message was clear: Canada needs the U.S. far more than the U.S. needs Canada. Trudeau’s weakness has brought us here. Instead of securing energy independence, he’s strangled Alberta’s oil industry with crippling regulations. Instead of standing up to China, he’s kowtowed to Beijing while relying on U.S. trade to keep his agenda afloat.

And now, Trudeau is at the mercy of a man he spent years mocking. Trump’s tariffs are a direct consequence of Trudeau’s inability to lead. His failure to address illegal immigration and the fentanyl crisis has made Canada not just a bad neighbor, but a liability.

Trudeau’s Liberals have always been more concerned with appearances than action, more focused on virtue signaling than real governance. But now, the bill has come due. And the man holding the ledger is none other than Donald J. Trump.

So here we are: Justin Trudeau, the woke globalist, reduced to pleading for mercy at Mar-a-Lago. His smugness replaced by desperation, his rhetoric exposed as hollow. MAGA what, indeed.

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