Standing Up to Trump: How Canadian Cities Must Meet the Moment

Canada is under attack from our closest neighbour. Cities have a role to play in responding to the threat.

Congratulations to Catherine McKenney. As many of you will know, my co-author and partner in CitySHAPES has been elected to provincial parliament as the Member for Ottawa Centre.

With Catherine now at Queen’s Park, I am restarting regular Fix Your City posts.

Agent of chaos

The more I see of this Trump administration, the more I believe that his erratic behaviour will shape so many government decisions around the world over the next four years.

And not just national governments. In Canada, many actions taken by provinces, territories and cities will be in response to Trump.

One thing is clear. Canada has its best successes when our leaders stand up to the bully.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to expose an export tax on energy — even if he withdraw it shortly after announcing — got Trump’s attention, and likely marked a high water point in US belligerence. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s declaration that the “old relationship we had with the United States … is over” also rattled Trump.

Stand up to the bully. That’s what we need from our government leaders — federal, provincial and municipal.

How exactly should Canadian cities respond to the Trump threat?

I have written previously about how the City of Ottawa should react. There are common lessons for all Canadian cities.

The basics

A few obvious first steps that all cities should take:

• Review procurement and cut out American firms whenever possible.

• Join the calls for freer interprovincial trade.

• Sign up for any joint efforts, such as the recent Summit of North American Mayors.

These are the basics, and most cities are presumably already doing this. But there is more that cities can and should do.

1. Stand up to the enablers

Municipal leaders should stand up to Trump’s enablers, including local personalities who make excuses for his behaviour.

This means doing whatever cities can do to isolate Elon Musk and his business interests. Municipalities should stop posting on X, as North Vancouver and St John’s have both recently done. Eliminate Tesla vehicles from any municipal fleet replacement programs.

It also means pushing back on local figures who try to tip the scale towards Trump. The CEO of Ottawa-based Shopify, Tobi Lutke, did his best to bend the knee by criticizing the Canadian government for standing up for itself. It would have been opportune for Ottawa’s Mayor to call out Lutke on those comments.

2. Understand the concerns of local businesses

Many communities are at risk of being crippled by tariffs. City Hall should convene actual business owners and operators — and not just industry and trade association representatives — to understand how local employers could be affected by sustained trade barriers. City Hall should channel these concerns up to higher levels of government, to ensure that local priorities are properly addressed in any extraordinary economic support packages that might come forward.

3. Be the calm in the storm for the community

With Trump and his threats of economic warfare, people are genuinely worried. Worried about how tariffs could cripple their community, but also worried about a madman invading our country.

Elected officials should hold town hall meetings and community events, to explain plans for dealing with emergencies, and to reassure people that local authorities will be there in times on need.

This would be an excellent chance for local leaders to restore the sense of community that has been crumbling for so many years. Communities get closer in the face of an external enemy. Smart leaders can use Trump as the glue to strengthen local community bonds.

4. Seize the opportunities

Trump creates chaos, but in chaos there is opportunity.

A lot of tourism is looking for non-US destinations. Smart Canadian cities would have their tourism promotion agencies in overdrive reaching out to those sympathetic Canadian, American and international visitors.

Many prominent American academics, physicians, and other highly skilled professionals are looking for a more welcoming place to live. Cities’ investment promotion agencies should likewise be working overtime to find and attract American talent that lines up with local clusters of expertise.

Buy Canadian campaigns are in full swing right now. Smart cities can focus these on buying local, by increasing efforts to build awareness of local brands.

Still early days

I suspect we are coming to the end of the first chapter of this Trump administration — a chapter filled with unprecedented threats and outrageous demands. Those threats will continue, but more and more people will take them in stride and see them as the unserious words of a blowhard.

No one can say what the next chapter will look like. Maybe Trump’s lieutenants and supporters will stop backing him, and he will be forced to retreat on his imperial ambitions. Or maybe he will become empowered by a new set of yes men.

The only thing we can be sure of is that Canada, and the values we hold dear, will remain under threat. We have to stand on guard, and be ready to respond.

Our best response is to stand up to the bully. And that means all our leaders. The Prime Minister and first ministers, yes.

But mayors also. City halls are at the front line of civic engagement. Mayors need to do their part in showing that we are strong and can manage the threat that Trump represents for the next four years.