Rob Leone

Academic and Public Policy Thought Leader

[Rob Leone @robleone]

@GinnyRothTO That would be biting off more than they can chew.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Of course you say this when you’re about to lose badly in the midterms. Only problem is that nobody believes it’s true.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Read in the news that Albertans voted to remain in Canada. So who will tell the separatists?

[Rob Leone @robleone]

You know, my American friends, Canada has a Permanent Register of Electors. The fact that you don’t is bonkers! You could learn a thing or two from us, eh!

[ABC News @ABC]

JUST IN: The Supreme Court has given the Trump administration the green light to use a federal citizenship database to verify voters ahead of the midterm elections. https://t.co/FGbvhH1u9A

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Unraveling slowly…

[Rob Leone @robleone]

A casualty of Trump’s trade war.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

President Trump, once again, would rather deal with enemies than allies.

[Josh Wingrove @josh_wingrove]

Trump says he wants potash from Belarus instead of Canada

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Message received. When I went to a game last year, so many noticed my Ontario plates and simply said “Welcome Back!”

Thank you, Buffalo!

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Bring him back.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Stephen Harper: "It is clear that the current U.S. administration views our level of economic integration as incompatible with our separate sovereignty. Thus, to maintain that sovereignty, we must pursue diminished reliance upon the United States."

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Stephen Harper: "It is clear that the current U.S. administration views our level of economic integration as incompatible with our separate sovereignty. Thus, to maintain that sovereignty, we must pursue diminished reliance upon the United States."

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Trump says his new oil pact with Venezuela is putting Canada on notice. Yes, Canada is noticing that he’d rather deal with a failed state like Venezuela, with a country whose oil infrastructure is outdated, with an insecure supply chain and the whole bit… he’d rather that than deal with an ally like Canada. And, the Trump apologists clap. Everyone else shakes their head.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Only if Republicans win both Houses. Most call that a bribe, Mr. President. Bribing people with their own money actually!

[Rob Leone @robleone]

@AlexpiersonAMP @MarkJCarney This is dumb. He can still be the only one to get a deal AND reject the first deal. Both things can be true.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

@NickKouvalis We should be using one of the greatest quotes in show business judiciously.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

Trump: If I can’t get the US Fed to bend to my will, I will screw my closest allies. First it was fentanyl, now it’s the Fed. It’s Fake Logic.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

US stats from places like Yale and other places peg that US tariffs on imports are costing Americans several hundred dollars to more than a thousand annually. You may not feel it, but there is a cost.

And, yes, oil is important. Trump hasn’t tariffed it precisely because America needs it as 1/5 of the oil used in the US comes from Canada, especially the stuff that gets refined into gas. If it ever came to it, the US economy would shut down without it. That’s not delusion. It’s also more than a mild recession.

Trump hasn’t touched potash. American farmers rely on Canadian potash to fertilize the crops. Any increase in costs raises the prices of foods and angers folks in all those red counties that support the President.

Electricity to power factories and homes, some of that is Canadian produced. It keeps the lights on for a substantial number of states, and it can’t be quickly replaced. Losing it creates brownouts. Tariffing it makes the cost of American production go up.

It’s true that Canada loses its biggest customer to sell to, but it’s equally true that America loses its biggest customer. You’re right that the effects will weigh heavier on Canada than the US. But to think that a tariffed energy sector or no trade would lead to a mild recession is just hard to imagine with fuel shortages and brownouts alone.

And, eventually, the stuff Canada has is what the world wants, and it would be disastrous for the US if the biggest buyer of the sorts of things America used to have tariff free access to is China.

Like you, I’d rather not see this escalate any further. Canadians, like Reagan, want to see tariff-free free trade, like USMCA. Trump is hedging that Canada and Carney wouldn’t dare touch the essential things the US needs. It’s not the country’s style. Canada is known for its stable policies and being a reliable trading partner.

Anyway, thanks for engaging with me. Appreciate your perspective. Cheers!

[Rob Leone @robleone]

No deal carries real costs for Canada, but it also carries real costs for Trump. Americans are paying more because of tariffs. US employment is stalling if not falling. And, the constant instability and unpredictability caused by this will harm businesses who crave stability and predictable policy environments. If America has become more risky as a place to invest, that carries real costs. A bad deal is not better than no deal.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

@PDeplorabo @Sean_Speer @IvisonJ Maybe. But if you’re not confident the other party is going to hold their end of the bargain, you’d have reservations about any deal with them.

[Rob Leone @robleone]

BREAKING: Trump to tariff Canada for causing the lunar eclipse over America. He says Canada and Russia are casting the biggest shadows.