Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight — not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response. Canada will be implementing 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time. Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with The Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. I want to speak first, directly, to the American people. We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally. And we don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you. Markets are down, and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country. Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both. They have chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes and everything in between. What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy. Because that will make it easier to annex us, is the second half of his thought. Now first of all, that’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state. Because when it comes to defending our great nation, there is no price we all aren’t willing to pay.