LEILA FADEL, HOST:
How are America's neighbors preparing for President-elect Trump's second presidential term? Today, we look to the north, where the relationship is not always balanced.
AARON ETTINGER: Canadians think about the United States all the time, and Americans never give a second thought to us.
FADEL: That's Aaron Ettinger. He teaches political science at Carleton University in Ottawa, and he told me about a Canadian government panel that's starting back up for Trump's second term.
ETTINGER: The committee itself was a Trump-era thing that's being reanimated again. It's a cabinet-level expression of something that is always in place, which is concern about the United States. But, of course, Trump is different because Trump is the first president to be actively antagonistic towards Canada.
FADEL: In what ways?
ETTINGER: Well, in terms of trade, in terms of immigration, in terms of security policy. You know, the America First program is one that is threatening to some of the basic Canadian national interests. Most significantly, it's on the economy. Right? Something like 75% of Canada's exports go to the United States. And when those are threatened by the kind of across-the-board tariffs that Trump is threatening to impose, then, well, this is a matter of, you know, economic existential crisis. Right? You are now messing with Canada's prosperity. And so it becomes deadly serious for the Canadian economy.
FADEL: So you mentioned foreign policy, immigration, trade and the economy being that top issue for Canadians. As Canada recalibrates for this new administration, what is it doing in the face of what you called an - a possibly antagonistic relationship going forward?
ETTINGER: Well, first things first, it is to reestablish and remind American counterparts of just how deeply integrated the two countries are. And that means doing bilateral relations at kind of every single level of politics and business. So that means government officials are contacting their counterparts to say, hey, this is the nature of the relationship. It works to both of our advantages.
FADEL: Let's talk about the border. I mean, one of Trump's campaign promises is mass deportation. How does that impact Canada? I mean, Canada has this incredibly long border with the United States?
ETTINGER: Yeah, the border is undefendable. Nine thousand kilometers. It is undefendable. There are wide open spaces in many parts of the country. Fundamentally, the threat of Trump's immigration policy is one where the Canadian government is fearful that there will be a run for the Canadian border, such that undocumented people in the United States seek refuge in the north. Right now, Canada's refugee and asylum system is utterly overloaded. There's, like, years-long backlogs for asylum-seekers, and the numbers just keep on climbing. Canada's system cannot take a rush that might be coming.
FADEL: Is that the expectation, that there will be a rush?
ETTINGER: That's the worst-case scenario expectation, yes.
FADEL: What about American immigrants? I mean, the United States is quite divided. So there's been a lot of threats - if this president's going to be in power, I'm going to move.
ETTINGER: Yeah.
FADEL: Is Canada expecting an influx of American immigrants, or is that overblown?
ETTINGER: That's overblown. You can expect an influx of American visitors to Canadian immigration websites, but that's about it.
FADEL: Aaron Ettinger. He teaches political science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Tomorrow, we hear how Mexico is preparing for a second Trump administration. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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