Ongoing tensions have made us all much more aware of the size and importance of our trading relationship with the United States. Various U.S. sources peg its total value at more than $875 billion USD. And while Canada exports slightly more than we import, the relationship is surprisingly well balanced. Despite what the U.S. president is fond of saying, we sell the Americans a lot of things they need. But we get a lot from them too. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, there’s close to $100 billion worth of industrial supplies and materials. And that doesn’t include more than $60 billion worth of automobiles and parts. Capital goods, consumer goods and food, feed and beverages account for another $160 billion. A lot of things we want and need come across the border. But we also get something from the other side that we don’t want – that’s illegal firearms. Illegal guns are used in many violent crimes in this country and it’s a particular problem in bigger cities. Toronto police told the New York Times, 88 per cent of the firearms they recovered from crimes in 2024, were smuggled across the border. So it’s not surprising that many Canadians – close to 90 per cent according to a Nanos poll - believe it’s important to include illegal firearms trafficking in trade negotiations with the U.S. and Mexico. It’s tempting, particularly since the U.S. president has linked tariffs to practically non-existent fentanyl trafficking from Canada. But there’s a better way to deal with this problem – and that’s to handle it ourselves with much more and much tougher border enforcement. The Canada Border Services Agency told the New York Times it seized 827 illegal weapons at the U.S. border in 2024. It’s reasonable to suspect many, many more are getting through. Yes, the Americans should have a role to play in this but given their inability to control illegal weapons in their own country, we shouldn’t rely on them. And we need not link the trading relationship we want and need with the criminal trade in illegal weapons which we want and need… to stop. We don’t want any kind of trade in illegal guns.
