“I walk my dog through Old Town on Wednesdays,” says local ambassador Lin. “This week there was a car with Ohio licence plates. On the rear window was a taped sign. ‘We did not vote for Trump’. It will be an interesting summer.”
You betcha. Already it’s a memorable spring.
At one of the most successful (and upscale) shops last weekend the owner told me U.S. visitor traffic has tanked 40 per cent since you-know-who did you-know-what.
“Nine out of 10 of them come in and apologize,” he added. “And then there’s the one out of 10 who’s never been to Canada before and tells me they decided to come here to see what their new backyard will look like.”
Well, it’s a mess. The world, that is.
Tariff Man has turned things on their head and the disruption seems to have only begun. As you probably heard, the stock market had a cow, then laid an egg, and fainted.
Canada, like other allies, was hit with brutal American import taxes. Russia wasn’t. Not only is Trump distorting the post-war global order and mocking friends, he’s also mucking with the NOTL economy.
“We have to be nice to them,” says a veteran on Queen. “What choice do we have? It’s open arms since we need those dollars.” That is exactly the Chamber of Commerce approach, says manager Kathy Weiss.
An interesting twist is that since Trump’s Rose Garden Obliteration Day made-for-TV show last week the U.S. dollar has tumbled.
Investors now think America will teeter into both recession and more inflation as a result of the president’s weird strategy, plus push interest rates lower.
So they’ve been dumping dollars and fleeing to bonds. As a result, the loonie actually got stronger during a week when we learned our car business has been stabbed, and Canadian lumber was tariffed.
Now Wall Streeters have a buffet of stuff to worry about. Lower corporate profits. A global trade war as China hits back. A recession. Rekindling inflation. A weaker currency. Falling oil prices. Trashed Teslas. Everything but locusts and pestilence.
At least Trump has stopped trolling Canada. Maybe because he’s afraid of Mélanie Joly. (Who isn’t?)
Well, this column gave a little advice the other day. If you’re worried about the value of your RRSP or house-buying fund, chill. It’s too late to bail out.
Besides, never sell into a storm. Don’t turn paper losses into real ones, unless you really, really need the money — right now.
Volatility is the new normal. Rising markets can fall in an instant, or reverse as they did Tuesday. In any case, this tempest will pass.
Murray Weaver holds the same view. He’s a NOTL local and the veteran founder of a wealth management practice based in Burlington. I asked him what words of comfort he might give to a vexing business owner watching the markets churn and customers thin.
“Orange hair is the most powerful man on earth,” says Weaver. “The only thing more powerful is the stock market. It has endured wars, financial crises, COVID-19 and many more. Cracks are already beginning to appear in this man-made crisis. Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, and many more members of Don’s party are speaking out against him. The market will come back, I promise you.”
“In the meantime, if you have some extra cash floating around, buy some quality stocks. However, remember this … you don’t find out how deep the water is by jumping in with both feet. Keep the faith, baby! PS … I’m buying this coming week. Please join me.”
If you don’t buy, guys like Weaver say, at least don’t panic. This volatility could go on for weeks, or months. Perhaps until the U.S. midterms in 2026. Only then might Tariff Man be corralled.
In the meantime we have a federal election boiling. Choose the next prime minister with care. And give thanks you are not him.
Garth Turner is a NOTL resident, journalist, author, wealth manager and former federal MP and minister. garth@garth.ca
