What does a Biden presidency mean for Canada?
Trump is gone. Now what?
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This week, we’re tackling this question: Trump is gone, so now what? What does a Biden presidency mean for Canada?
TL;DR:
Time has yet to tell how harmonious President Joe Biden’s government will be with Canada. There is hope that the two nations will be able to work well together, but early policy changes have already shown that DC and Ottawa have different ideas when it comes to energy with yesterday’s cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline. Canadians should also pay attention to Biden’s tone on China and trade.
Four years and two impeachments later, Donald Trump’s stint as the 45th president of the United States has come to an end.
Trump was the first outgoing president in 152 years to refuse to attend his successor's inauguration and the only president in the past three decades not to win reelection.
Anyway. Now that President Joe Biden’s inauguration is over, we’re relieved that the overwhelming number of National Guard units didn’t need to spring into action. But he’ll still need to tackle the rise of disinformation and the far right fuelled by four years of Trump.
Biden begins the role as the oldest president to hold office. His vice-president, Kamala Harris, takes the title of being the first woman, first Black person and first Asian American to hold the position.
In their first few hours, they implemented COVID-19 relief plans like releasing financial aid and mandating masks. They also undid several Trump policies around immigration. In total, Biden signed 17 executive actions on Day 1.
Biden has been touted as a win for Canada. But the true nature of our relationship will become clearer over the next year. Maybe even sooner — the president isn’t wasting any time.
A notable first act by Biden was canceling the Keystone XL pipeline. (This isn’t related to LNG, which we’ve previously written about.)
While Ottawa and Alberta are disappointed, it could also be a blessing in disguise for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. With the possibility of a snap election later this year, Trudeau and Biden’s relationship is going to matter for the Liberals who have big climate (and economic) goals.
Biden also brought the US back into the Paris Climate Accord. Next, he will introduce a date for the US-hosted Leaders’ Climate Summit. In all, Biden’s climate plan is fairly extensive and aligns with Canada’s plans in some aspects, but could leave our policy makers and oil fields scrambling if he moves too fast without us.
Biden’s tone with China is also of our concern. He has previously said he wants to build a team of allies to counter China. This new relationship likely means Canada will need to step up the pressure on Beijing and stand with the US — not just for Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who have been detained in China for over two years, but also on supply chain and telecom issues.
Unlike Trump, Biden believes in NATO. Despite everyone expecting a return of “Obama-style” diplomacy, Biden might pressure Canada to increase defense spending. He also will need to decide what to do with the US military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Meanwhile, Canada’s ambassador to the US, Kirsten Hillman, has said that Biden’s economic stance is a bit more protectionist than hoped. Keep in mind the US takes 75 per cent of all our goods exports.
But despite the challenges and differences ahead, former US ambassador Bruce Heyman has said that fixing the Canada-US relationship and building trust should be a priority.
“There was damage done to trust, and how you treat each other as friends, neighbors and allies. And that repair work needs to happen right away,” he said in an interview with the Financial Post.
Here’s something to follow:
This week, we’d like to inoculate your inbox with Btchcoin: economic news and personal finance info tailored to Canadian womxn. Subscribe to their newsletter or follow them on Instagram (btchcoinnews) and Twitter (@btchcoinnews). They’ve also got great introductory guides to get you started, aka shit you should know.
Here’s a story to check out:
The only story you should have on your radar today is Robyn Doolittle’s latest deep dive. The Power Gap is a two-year-long analysis of hundreds of public-sector salary records. In the numbers, The Globe found that on top of differences in salary, women and racialized people can’t break through to the highest levels of decision-making. Take a look for yourself.