O’Leary Ventures Chairman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary shut down attempts by Canada to push anti-Donald Trump rhetoric and warned the relationship between the two bordering nations has “just gotten worse.”
“This reaction in Canada has mostly to do with the constant barbs that Trump is throwing at Trudeau, who is still in power for another 22 days. There’s a very negative relationship there. And it’s just gotten worse because Trudeau has been putting out posts while he’s in Europe stirring up anti-Trump sentiment,” O’Leary said on “Varney & Co.” Monday.
“These guys never liked each other, and Trudeau has nothing to lose.”
President Donald Trump said last week that his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada remain on track to go into effect March 4, because drugs are still pouring into the U.S. from across their borders at “very high and unacceptable levels.”
TRUMP IS PLAYING A DANGEROUS TARIFF GAME DESPITE HIS ‘REALLY STRONG’ AGENDA, U.S. ECONOMIST WARNS
Canada will also reportedly suffer an additional 10% tax on their energy products, such as oil and electricity.
The political tension has reverberated into the Canadian public, as loud boos were heard during America’s national anthem in hockey’s 4 Nations Face-Off. More recently, some north-of-the-border coffee shops are changing the name of the Americano drink to “Canadiano.”
“So Trump keeps going with, ‘Let’s buy [Canada] as the 51st state.’ And that has made Canadians crazy. But the truth is that that is not being discussed at all,” O’Leary commented. “That’s not part of the actual narrative that’s occurring… in Washington, D.C., because there’s no leadership in Canada at the federal level. There’s no active prime minister that’s relevant.”
The trade war between the two countries comes as Canada will also be transitioning to new leadership in the coming months after current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in January that he would step down and end his nine-year run leading the country.
“It’s a void. And so what’s occurred is, all of the premiers of the different provinces that have different agendas – Ontario is different than Alberta, for example, they’re the giant behemoths in terms of economies and Saskatchewan for energy as well – they’re down with their teams trying to focus on a new deal,” O’Leary continued.
“If you want to call it NAFTA 3, there is a slight chance this whole thing gets punted till April 2nd after the report comes out on the impact of tariffs on Canada and Mexico,” he expanded. “But this nationalism in Canada is the noise. It’s not the signal.”
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FOX Business’ Stephen Sorace and Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report.
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