Canada faces a choice between the US and China

Amid a trade war and annexation threats, most eyes are on the US-Canada relationship right now. But the future of Canada’s relationship with China, the world’s second-largest economy, is also an open question, and observers wonder what rookie Prime Minister Mark Carney is going to make of it.

During Canada’s recent election, Carney said China was the country’s biggest security threat. On trade, the Liberal Party’s platform mentioned the Southeast Asian grouping ASEAN and the South American trade bloc MERCOSUR as potential partners for new trade deals, but not China. In fact, the party’s only mention of the superpower was in the context of security, and the necessity of being prepared to “face a hostile Russia or emboldened China.”

Some have called on Carney to build a stronger relationship with China — Canada’s second largest trade partner — particularly in the face of economic threats from Donald Trump, but his government seems wary of deepening ties with Beijing while Trump is trying to decouple the US from China.

The US and Canada have a trade relationship worth roughly $1 trillion a year, and they share a border, deep cultural ties, and a longstanding security relationship. The Trump administration, which is waging its own trade war with China, has made it clear that other countries must choose between Washington and Beijing. For now, it looks like Canada is siding with its neighbor.