As we move closer to the U.S. election, CTVNews.ca will be examining the relationship between Canada and the U.S. in a series of features.
On Monday, former U.S. president Donald Trump repeated the false claim that Fidel Castro could be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's real father. While Trump frequently expresses his love for Canada, he has previously taken aim at Trudeau for being "two faced," "weak" and a "far left lunatic."
"Personal dynamics between presidents and prime ministers have always mattered," Carleton University political scientist Aaron Ettinger told CTVNews.ca in an email. "If Trump is elected and Trudeau remains Prime Minister, they would be restarting the relationship from a place of mistrust."
Here's a look at Trump's latest jab and what he has publicly said about Trudeau:
"He's turned very liberal, actually they say he's the son of Fidel Castro, and could be," Trump told streamer Adin Ross. "Anything's possible in this world, you know?"
The debunked theory was shared widely after Castro's 2016 death when Trudeau was criticized for remarks praising the communist dictator. Former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau and wife Margaret made a controversial Cold War trip to Cuba in 1976, years after their eldest son Justin was born.
"I get along with him very well actually, but he seems to be going very progressive and the people of Canada are not liking it," Trump added on Monday. "If they had a good conservative person – which maybe they do, maybe they don't, I don't know – but somebody that's a strong conservative would win in Canada. Canada is very unhappy about the way they've been treated as people, but I got along with him well."
Trump has also falsely suggested that former president Barack Obama was born outside the U.S.
A History of Conflict
During his four-year presidency, Trump had a rocky relationship with his ideological opposite in Canada, which was defined by trade disputes and perceived personal slights.
"Their relationship deteriorated after the 2018 Charlevoix G7 and didn't recover," Ettinger, who specializes in U.S. foreign policy, said.
The G7 summit in Quebec ended with Trudeau telling a press conference that Canada would not be "pushed around" in the face of "insulting" U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.
Clearly angered, Trump then turned to Twitter to say Trudeau "acted so meek and mild" during their G7 meetings only to turn around and be "very dishonest & weak."
"I see the television and he's giving a news conference about how he will not be pushed around by the United States," Trump told reporters at the time. "And I say, 'Push him around?' He learned, that's going to cost a lot of money for the people of Canada."
The Trump administration had imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel during NAFTA renegotiations, which eventually resulted in the new USMCA free trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. During one strained phone call with Trudeau in 2018, Trump reportedly brought up the War of 1812 between the U.S. and U.K., which was fought partly on Canadian soil.
"Didn't you guys burn down the White House?" Trump allegedly asked Trudeau, according to CNN. Canada was still a colony at the time and the troops that burned down the White House were British.
From Friend to Foe
Ahead of NATO meetings in London in December 2019, Trump was suddenly congratulating his "friend" Trudeau on a "great election victory" and touting their "very good relationship." Any glimmer of improved relations, however, was quickly extinguished when Trudeau and other NATO leaders were caught on camera the same day apparently mocking the U.S. president.
"Well he's two-faced," Trump said at the time. "Trudeau, he's a nice guy. I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is, I called him out on the fact that he's not paying two per cent, and I guess he's not very happy about it."
Trump was referring to Canada's longstanding failure to meet NATO's defence spending target. Canada spent an estimated 1.38 per cent of its GDP on defence in 2023, according to NATO data, well short of the military alliance's two per cent commitment.
At a February 2024 rally, Trump recounted telling a NATO leader that he would let Russia have its way with members that don't meet the target.
"No, I would not protect you, in fact I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want," Trump told cheering supporters. "You got to pay. You got to pay your bills."
A Direct Attack
At the height of the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa in early 2022, Trump made his most direct public attack on Trudeau.
"The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far-left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates," Trump said in a written statement.
Trump has also regularly accused Canada of "taking advantage" of the U.S. on trade and has criticized everything from Canadian health care to agriculture policies. But when it comes to the country itself and its people, Trump actually has nice things to say.
"I love Canada by the way, I have so many friends, I have everybody," Trump said during a September 2018 speech, just after blasting Canada's NAFTA renegotiation team.
"The people of Canada are wonderful, and it's a great country, and a very beautiful country," Trump said as he departed the 2018 G7 summit in Quebec, which was his first and only visit to Canada as president.
"We love Canada," Trump said later the same month. "But they're taking advantage of us."
A Personal Grudge?
Two previous White House officials say Trump simply doesn't like Canada's prime minister.
According to former national security adviser John Bolton, Trump only "tolerated" Trudeau and his feelings towards the prime minister "made it a lot harder to get things done."
"Part of the problem with the way Trump approaches foreign policy, in my view, is that he has difficulty distinguishing between the national interest of the countries involved, let's say the U.S. and Canada on the one hand, versus the personal relationship between the leaders of the two countries on the other," Bolton told CTV News Channel in June 2020.
Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as Trump's White House communications director, said the former president is "very jealous of Prime Minister Trudeau."
"He's younger, and way better looking than the president,” Scaramucci told CTV's Question Period in January 2024. "And I know the president very well, that superficial sort of stuff really bothers him, so he will be an antagonist to your leadership."
While Scaramucci doesn't think Trump will win the U.S. election in November, he expects Canada to weather any storm.
"You survived it last time, you'll survive it this time," he said. "And remember, he can only be president for four more years, he's term limited out."
The Uncertainty Factor
Ettinger from Carleton University says Canada stands to lose more under a Trump presidency for one reason: uncertainty.
"Canada relies on the U.S. market for its prosperity and the US military for its security," he said. "When Trump threw those things into doubt, the fundamentals of Canada's foreign policy were shaken. If Trump returns to office, we will see a return to uncertainty."
