Trump’s ignorance of the historical American/Canadian relationship has been detrimental to our economic needs. Trump has said that “Canada does nothing for us.” Canada exported over three quarters of its goods to the U.S. totaling $350 billion in 2024 and purchased almost half of its imported goods from the U.S. totaling $412 billion. 
Because Trump berated, threatened to impose tariff taxes on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Mark Carney established new trading partners. He is responsible for signing 12 long-term trading agreements on four continents in six months. That represents a lot of job losses in the U.S. 
Canada has found new markets: for its Potash that is an extremely important fertilizer for the viability of American farmers, for superior wood (because it grows slower in Canada’s northern climate), for uranium for nuclear power plants, for stronger-than-U.S. aluminum and steel products, and for a variety of rare earth minerals.
Canada has found buyers for its heavy crude oil production that had been piped to U.S. refineries. The U.S. now must find producers of heavy oil and bear its various costs plus its cost of transportation to activate U.S.’s idle heavy oil refineries. (The U.S. produces light oil that cannot be processed by these refineries which might take years to convert at extremely high costs.)
Canada supplies, across our 5,525 miles mutual borders, 34 major cross border electricity transmission power lines continuously supplying mostly hydroelectricity to 30 U.S. states. 
(Minnesota imports about 13 percent of its electricity from Canada.) 
It is easy for Canada to flip a switch or two to cause prolong blackouts in various states. This action might galvanize the blackout citizens to stop Trump and their elective representatives from capriciously imposing tariff taxes and return to the standards of free trade.
Let’s hope Trump will not antagonize and insult Canada further because they hold other means to express their animosity to Trump’s actions. In order to supply our 49th state, Alaska, much food and manufactured goods are trucked through Canada. Canada could stop that at the southern border, period. More likely it would impose stiff tariff taxes on their merchandise and tourists. Alternative costly transportation are ships or airplanes.
It should be remembered that other forms of retaliation can be implemented. The St. Lawrence Seaway enables ocean cargo ships to go from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth. Some of the 2,340-mile water route travel is through Canadian territory.
 Gerry Snyder
 Ely/Simsbury, Conn.