The David Lin Report · Thursday, September 17, 2026
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stated that Canada is prepared to endure economic pain to defend its sovereignty against US actions, a sentiment echoed by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. However, some argue that framing it as a sovereignty issue distracts from the core economic and trade aspects of the dispute.
“We're prepared to take that pain because our sovereignty is worth it.”
“Stephen Harper, the former Conservative Prime Minister of Canada, said very clearly that Canada, and this was last year, as the threats first mounted, he said Canada should be prepared to endure any amount of economic harm to defend our sovereignty.”
“Well, it's just pardon me, it's just so easy to start throwing the sovereignty thing around. Let's talk about this is an economic issue. This is a trade issue.”