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What the heck is going on in Canada? Certainly not growth, affordable housing, and a decent quality of life, that’s for sure.
But one thing that is going strong is Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ego. He spent plenty of time puffing out his chest and talking tough about going head-to-head with President Trump.
Canada said they’d stand strong, resist American pressure, and find new friends and trading partners somewhere else. In some alternate universe, Ottawa convinced itself it could simply turn away from the enormous consumer market sitting right next door, and replace that with a few handshakes and trade missions to Europe.
That may have sounded cute in a speech, but factories don’t run on Mark’s political ego.
They go where the customers, workers, energy, taxes, regulations, and business conditions make the most sense. And right now, a stunning number of Canadian manufacturers have apparently decided that place is America.
A new KPMG survey found that whopping 42 percent of Canadian manufacturers have either moved production to the US, or are considering doing it in the future. Nearly six in ten have paused, reduced, or completely canceled capital investments, and 42 percent have pulled back on research and development.
More than half say they’re operating in “endurance mode.”
Yikes…
So much for teaching President Trump a lesson, eh?
This is a disastrous shift for Canada, who’s already flailing with a weak job market and skyrocketing housing costs.
As it stands now, 29 percent of the Canadian manufacturers surveyed have already moved some production to the United States. Another 13 percent are getting read to do the same within the next two years.
Canadian manufacturers were already struggling with high taxes, back-breaking regulations, expensive energy, weak investment, an that ghastly unaffordable housing market we mentioned earlier. They also have a government that seems way more interested in a globalist agenda, than creating an environment where local businesses can actually thrive.
But honestly, the most damning number is this one: 61 percent of Canadian manufacturers say their businesses can’t survive without access to the American market.
Carney can fly to Europe and shake every hand in Brussels that he can find, but he can’t magically replace the largest consumer market in the world, especially when geography was nice enough to plop it right next door.
Canada’s big show of “resistance” will likely end with America getting the factories, jobs, suppliers, and tax revenue.
Nearly half of Canadian manufacturers are moving production to America.
Three-quarters are moving in the next 2 years.
It turns out “elbows up” means giving Trump all of Canada’s jobs. pic.twitter.com/Gw8jATxmND
— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) July 22, 2026
Perhaps instead of obsessing over how tough he could look standing up to Trump, Carney should’ve been focused on making Canada a place where companies could afford to stay… with stuff like lower taxes, cheaper energy, reasonable regulations, affordable housing, and reliable access to the American market. All of that would do a helluva lot more for Canadian workers than another anti-Trump speech from Mark.
It turns out Trump didn’t have to talk any Canadian manufacturers into moving to America. Mark is doing most of the recruiting for him.
Carney can keep going with his tough-guy act, but political theater isn’t going to keep the lights on inside an empty factory.
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