Friday Focus: the danger of Canada’s “war” rhetoric

September 25, 2026
00:00:00
00:00:00

Friday Focus: the danger of Canada’s “war” rhetoric

Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to full length editions of the Friday Focus podcast with Janice Stein. Your donor membership comes with other great perks including a livestream pass to our mainstage debates and advanced access to full length episodes of our other weekly podcast with Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne.

The full length episode of today’s Friday Focus podcast is free for all paying and non-paying Munk Debate subscribers.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he studied the possibility of U.S.-led military action against Canada in an hour-long interview with The New York Times. Meanwhile, politicians across Canada—from Doug Ford to Carney and David Eby—are enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to their “elbows up” approach to Trump. But is it time to call out this rhetoric as unhelpful—and potentially an impediment to finding a way for our two countries to work through this challenge? Rudyard and Janice agree: this is a trade dispute, not a war, and it is irresponsible for our leaders to suggest otherwise. Canadians should stop worrying about the prospect of war and focus instead on resolving the dispute.

Share
00:00:00
00:00:00