What the Canadian Angst Over the Upcoming Trump Inauguration Can Teach Us

In days, President Trump will take office again and there is certainly some concern among the groups you would expect. One unusual source for some of the strongest angst is some of our neighbors from the North who have been swaying between terror and confusion over some of the soon-to-be-President’s most audacious plans for Canada. Bestselling author and student of history Dan Gardner offered an alarmist call to arms for his fellow Canadians on how Canada should respond to Trump. Popular YouTuber Julie Nolke took a different tactic, creating a viral video response for “When Trump Invades Canada” that’s already passed half a million views in just a few days.

Given President Trump’s well-known and extremely effective negotiating tactic of using sensationalist claims to distract from his real intentions, the reality is probably less likely to be Trump trying to make Canada the 51st state and more about securing trade deals that achieve his intentions. The story is a good indication of what we should all expect in the coming months and years as Trump takes office. Lots of noise about something that will be easy to get outraged about, done as a distraction from the much quieter work behind the scenes to actually get the things done that Trump and his administration care about with relatively little resistance from all but those who are able to see through the distractions to the true end game.