Q&A: Historian says U.S. tried to annex Canada with tough tariffs before — and it didn't work

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 10

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said helium wants Canada to go the 51st state, adjacent suggesting he'd usage 'economic force' to marque it happen. He's besides implemented — lone to reverse people and partially intermission — chaotic and punishing tariffs connected Canadian goods.

Canadian historiographer Craig Baird, who lives successful Stony Plain, Alberta and hosts the Canadian History Ehx podcast, says Canada has been present before, erstwhile U.S. Representative William McKinley, who would spell connected to go the 25th president, implemented precocious tariffs successful the 1890s.

The historical tariffs were portion of a program to marque Canada some much reliant connected the U.S., but besides unit the annexation and crook it into a state. Baird says it didn't enactment past and isn't apt to enactment nether Trump.

This speech has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Q: We look astatine this present and accidental 'how ridiculous,' but however large a menace was it astatine the time?

A: It was a beauteous important threat. Everybody knew precisely what was happening. Britain knew what was happening. But it was decidedly an effort to truly propulsion america toward the United States and distant from Britain. At the clip we were inactive a comparatively caller country. We were lone 30-odd years aged and the United States was inactive rather almighty and we were reliant connected them. We did nonstop a batch of commercialized implicit the borderline to them, truthful it truly was a important threat.

Obviously they did not win successful annexing Canada, truthful what was the outcome?

The comic happening is that it had the implicit other effect. It backfired immensely connected the United States. Not lone did it summation prices for radical successful the United States, but Canada truly started to benignant of articulation hands and go much nationalistic and we aligned ourselves overmuch much with Britain. So our commercialized with Britain skyrocketed implicit the adjacent mates years, from 1890 to 1892. And it truly shifted america distant from the United States and made america consciousness much portion of the British Empire.

Then it besides wounded McKinley and the Republicans due to the fact that they were decimated successful the 1892 predetermination and they mislaid power of the House, the Senate and the presidency. So it truly didn't enactment for them, but it really did enactment beauteous good for Canadians.

And however large a origin was the tariff contented erstwhile it came to McKinley losing truthful bad?

It was a immense origin due to the fact that successful the United States, farmers were struggling and a batch of radical were seeing higher prices for things. When the Republicans mislaid the election, a batch of the newspapers did enactment the 'McKinley Tariff' arsenic the biggest factor.

In Canada we besides utilized that, oregon astatine slightest Sir John A. Macdonald did, erstwhile successful the 1891 predetermination helium utilized that arsenic benignant of a rallying outcry and was capable to get different bulk authorities for the Conservatives.

How did we extremity up going backmost to American power aft we had separated ourselves successful that way?

After McKinley and the Republicans were ousted, the Democrats really brought successful a caller argumentation that greatly reduced the tariff and led Canada to commencement trading much with the United States.

Then successful the 1980s, erstwhile we got into escaped trade, we became adjacent much intertwined with the United States. Obviously there's a large quality betwixt present and past successful presumption of however trading is done, but it is precise reminiscent of what happened 135 years ago.

What kinds of similarities are you seeing successful the concern we're looking astatine close now?

There's rather a fewer similarities successful the information that tariffs are being utilized to weaken the Canadian system successful bid to summation our resources. Back past it was astir gaining sportfishing and timber resources and present it's gaining different resources specified arsenic lipid and minerals. 

But determination are immoderate differences. We're not rather trading arsenic overmuch with Britain. Britain isn't arsenic overmuch of a elephantine power, but we are looking present to different trading partners — the European Union and China, South America — and looking to bypass the United States.

What tin we larn from 130 years agone and use it to this concern present successful presumption of keeping our system arsenic viable arsenic possible?

While the United States is an important trading partner, they're not the lone trading spouse and we tin decidedly find different ways to trade. And it mightiness adjacent beryllium easier present due to the fact that things tin beryllium transported a batch faster. There is overmuch much of a planetary trading network. So we person galore much options disposable to us.

But it besides shows that erstwhile Canadians are nether threat, adjacent if it's a commercialized war, we thin not to backmost down and we conscionable find different mode to bash things and fto the Americans endure with their tariffs and the decisions that they made.
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