logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
9m 23s

A polite message from Canada to the U.S.

NPR
About this episode
President Donald Trump has said that Canada should be the 51st state... and Canadians? Well, they're furious about it. The nation's former finance minister is calling Trump the biggest threat Canada has faced since World War 2. So today on the show, we dig into what lessons Canada can teach the US, and how the two North American nations are already deeply intertwined.

Related episodes:
Add to cart: Greenland (Apple / Spotify)
Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by
Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
Can you afford to evacuate ahead of a disaster?
We are just at the start of hurricane season, and we're already seeing the danger and tragedy brought on by storms. There's another cost that gets much less attention, but it's a gamble everyone in the path of a storm has to make.Today on the show, we examine the decision on whet ... Show More
9 m
Jul 8
Will the tax cuts pay for themselves?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now law. It's expected to cost the government a pretty penny. The Congressional Budget Office predicts a $3.4 trillion increase in the deficit over ten years. This is driven by significant tax cuts, including extensions of those made in 2017. Tru ... Show More
8m 14s
Jul 7
Why can't we insure trees?
In the U.S., we insure most everything we sell. So why not trees? Today on the show why trees aren't insured like other crops, and what it would take to get that insurance with extreme weather events on the rise. Related episodes: When insurers can't get insurance (Apple / Spotif ... Show More
9m 4s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
Elbows Up: Canada’s Response to Trump’s Trade War
A gloves-off trade war with the United States is uniting Canadians against their southern neighbor.Matina Stevis-Gridneff, the Canada bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how the dispute is shifting the country’s politics, culture and place on the global stage.Guest: Mat ... Show More
26m 58s
Jan 2025
Does the Trump administration pose an existential threat to Canada?
Gideon talks to Michael Ignatieff, the former leader of Canada’s Liberal Party, about how the country will deal with its newly-hostile southern neighbour when it is undergoing a change of leadership at home. They discuss Donald Trump’s threat to raise punitive tariffs on Canadian ... Show More
26m 37s
Mar 2025
'Made in Canada': is manufacturing coming home?
'Made in Canada': Words that are now a common sight on Canadian shelves, after Donald Trump's tariffs sparked a trade war with the country.The US president has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada. Trump has also vowed to impose a sweeping range of "reci ... Show More
17m 40s
Apr 29
The Canadian economy goes “elbows up”
After declaring victory in yesterday’s Canadian election, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the “old relationship” with the United States is over. Over the past few months, President Donald Trump’s on-and-off tariffs and repeated annexation threats have caused Canadians to reconsid ... Show More
21m 21s
Feb 2025
Instant Reaction: Trump Tariffs Hit Mexico, Canada and China
US President Donald Trump ramped up his tariff threats to the European Union while saying he would speak with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, as stock markets sank following a hectic weekend that saw prospects for a trade war turn into reality. In remarks to reporters on Sunday ... Show More
10m 56s
Mar 2025
What’s Trump’s problem with Canada?
Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours, and since the end of the Second World War that’s exactly what the US and Canada have been. They’ve enjoyed free trade agreements, close knit economic ties - and not so friendly ice hockey matches. But recently this relationship has sou ... Show More
8m 58s
Apr 29
Canada’s New Leader Is Ready To Take on Trump
Mark Carney, a former banker, won Canada’s national election on Monday. Carney ran on an anti-Trump platform, and he's promised to try to decouple his country’s economy from its biggest trading partner and, lately, its biggest threat. WSJ’s Vipal Monga explains how Trump’s trade ... Show More
17m 12s
Mar 2025
U.S. trade tensions with the EU just got tenser
President Donald Trump’s tariff fight with the European Union just got a little more heated after the EU accused U.S. tech giants Google and Apple of breaching antitrust rules. Could this escalate the EU-U.S. trade war? We’ll also talk about the erasure of Black history and why E ... Show More
9m 13s
Feb 2025
Has Trump broken Canada’s relationship with the US?
From booing at sports events to boycotting products, Canada is taking a sharp look at its neighbour to the south. United States President Donald Trump placed a 30-day pause on 25 percent tariffs on Canada after speaking with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But what does the disput ... Show More
18m 8s