Which Side Is John Rustad On?

The B.C. Conservatives have a Trump problem that goes far beyond the five dissident MLAs who refused to condemn his tariffs and support a united Canadian response.

It starts with leader John Rustad, who genuinely seems to believe that appeasement will work with Donald Trump, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

And that Trump’s irrational threat of tariffs, based on phoney claims and disinformation, is justified.

The real aggressors in the looming trade war are Canada, Alberta and the other provinces, Rustad argues.

“Why are we picking this fight? Why are we ramping this up?” he said at the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade this month.

It’s not a new position for Rustad. Even before Trump was sworn in he said Canada should be trying to appease Trump.

“David Eby is putting at risk the people in this province by threatening a trade war instead of actually figuring out how you work with the Americans.”

And on X, Rustad repeated the claim that Trump is the victim.

“Instead of coming to the table, Eby wants to goad Trump into a trade war — he’s focused on politics over working people.”

Rustad is either confused, misinformed or hopelessly naive.

He told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade that Canada could head off tariffs by dealing with one demand from Trump — “protect the borders and stop the flow of fentanyl.”

Drugs are undoubtedly crossing the border, both ways. (On Tuesday, the Canada Border Services Agency said it had seized two shipments of cocaine and meth worth almost $3 million coming into Canada at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta.)

But there is no evidence drugs are “pouring into” the United States, as Trump claimed Thursday in an effort to justify the tariffs. In the 2024 fiscal year, U.S. border authorities seized 21,889 pounds of fentanyl. Only 43 pounds were seized at the Canadian border, with the rest at the Mexican border. And there’s no explanation why the self-described most powerful nation in the world can’t secure its own borders.

Rustad also ignores realities that contradict his simplistic, politically driven position.

The grievances Trump cites to try to justify tariffs include the fact that Canada is more successful at selling goods to the United States than U.S. businesses are at exporting to Canada. As with fentanyl, he uses made-up numbers and false claims.

So taking some magical action on fentanyl won’t remove the threat of tariffs, despite Rustad’s claims.

The B.C. Conservative leader also — and most alarmingly — ignores the reality of Trump’s dishonest tactics and constantly changing positions.

Trump has shown that a conciliatory approach is doomed. It simply emboldens the U.S. president to demand more, in the way of all dishonest bullies.

Canada took Trump’s approach on drugs and border security in an effort to avoid tariffs. The federal government appointed a former RCMP officer as a “fentanyl czar,” increased the number of people patrolling the border and pointed to an enforcement push.

All of which, predictably, made no difference in persuading Trump to cancel the 25 per cent tariffs scheduled to take effect Tuesday.

That’s because Trump’s not interested in the actual issues. He thinks tariffs will provide the revenue to cover tax cuts for the rich and big corporations and cure all the ills of the U.S. economy.

And he bullies Canada and other nations to build his base of support at home. Rustad, like everyone else, should know there’s no winning by granting Trump his strongman script.

Just as he should know Trump lies, breaks agreements and can’t be trusted on any level.

Just as he should know that efforts to appease Trump simply lead to new demands.

Rustad is right about one thing. A trade war will be painful for British Columbia and Canada. People will lose their jobs, businesses will suffer, communities will be hurt and the province will face hard times.

But the idea that Trump can be appeased is a fantasy, one that suggests Rustad is more interested in scoring points in a perpetual election campaign than in protecting British Columbians.