Context: The Confederation Report
Host: Steven R. Martins
Language: English
Part I: Tariffs, Trump & Trudeau (0:30-3:20)
Trump paused tariffs for 30 days as Canada pledged tougher border security and anti-drug measures, but future pressure remains.
Part II: Trade, Sovereignty, and Justice (3:23-9:00)
Canada’s trade standoff with the U.S. exposes a crisis of sovereignty, justice, and national integrity.
Part III: The Decline of Canada (9:00-11:15)
Canada’s moral and spiritual decline can only be reversed through the Gospel, as true renewal comes not from politics but from a nation that fears the Lord and submits to Christ’s dominion.
Transcript:
It’s Week 6 of 2025, and this is The Confederation Report, a weekly analysis of Canadian news and culture from a biblical worldview. I’m Steven R. Martins, and each week, we break down the headlines, challenge secular narratives, and apply Scripture to the issues that matter. Because Christ is Lord—over Canada, over culture, over all of life.
Part I: Tariffs, Trump & Trudeau (0:30-3:20)
U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to pause his planned tariffs on Canada for 30 days following two phone calls with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The move comes as Canada commits to enhanced border security measures, including a $1.3-billion investment in personnel, technology, and coordination with U.S. officials. While this temporary halt provides relief from an escalating trade war, Trump has indicated he still seeks a “final economic deal” with Canada in the future.
To secure this concession, Trudeau assured Trump that Canada would bolster efforts to combat illegal drug trafficking and border security concerns. This includes appointing a fentanyl “czar” to address the opioid crisis and formally designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations under Canadian law. Additionally, Trudeau announced a Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force with a $200 million investment to tackle organized crime and money laundering.
Trump, while acknowledging Canada’s new measures, framed the tariff pause as merely an “initial outcome,” leaving open the possibility of future economic pressure. His administration remains focused on curbing fentanyl imports, despite the Liberal government and mainstream media claiming that most of the illicit fentanyl entering the U.S. comes from its southern border rather than Canada. Nonetheless, Trump has continued to demand a stronger Canadian crackdown on drugs and migration. And as Canadians know well, our government has been soft on crime and immigration. Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre recently cited a government report that there could be as many as 20,000 to 500,000 undocumented immigrants in Canada. The uncertainty and overall lack of concern over national security is alarming.
Beyond trade and border security, Trump introduced a new complaint against Canada’s banking sector, claiming American banks are unfairly restricted from operating in the country. This represents a shift from his earlier focus on trade deficits and border security. Despite his criticisms, U.S. banks already hold $113 billion in assets in Canada, and the country’s financial regulations have historically prioritized domestic banking stability.
The tariff dispute has continued to provoke domestic political reactions in Canada, with Conservative politicians from the federal to provincial levels urging Trudeau to deploy military forces to the border and hire additional CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) officers. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe even proposed reclassifying CBSA funding as military spending to help Canada meet its NATO defense commitments, the latter of which has been a frequent point of contention with Trump. Meanwhile, Trudeau remains committed to avoiding a trade war but insists Canada will not back down in defending its economic interests.
Part II: Trade, Sovereignty, and Justice (3:23-9:00)
Canada’s recent trade standoff with the United States is more than just an economic dispute—it’s proven to be a test of sovereignty, justice, and national integrity. The temporary pause on tariffs following the Prime Minister’s negotiations with the President provides short-term relief, but at what cost? A nation should not be forced to trade its autonomy for economic security, nor should trade policy be wielded as a tool of coercion. Scripture teaches that “unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 20:10). Justice in trade requires fairness and honesty, not political manipulation. However, while the approach taken by the US administration may not be in any way principled in how it deals with Canada, it has nonetheless forced the current Canadian government to address long-standing issues of national security which have, for the most part, been treated as unimportant, and which Canadians have been crying out to the government to address for the sake of the public good. Infiltrated terrorists, drug traffickers, human traffickers, car thieves, covert Chinese police stations are not exclusively due to a broken immigration system but has certainly been exacerbated by it. But why did a Trump presidency have to force Ottawa’s hand to deal with these issues seriously? This is the mark of tragedy—that such matters had to be pressed by our Southern neighbors rather than arising from our own elected representatives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
While Canada’s rapid concessions may be considered good by the Canadian people in terms of its practical results—appointing a “fentanyl czar,” expanding border enforcement, and designating cartels as terrorist organizations—this is nonetheless an alarming development when we consider Canada’s sovereignty and Trump’s claim that Canada should become the 51st state of America. Already it seems like policy is being dictated from Washington as opposed to Ottawa. But then again, it doesn’t help that Parliament has been prorogued until March 24th.
A just government is one that rules with wisdom and righteousness, not merely expediency. It is certainly right for the government to address the fentanyl crisis—as a matter of fact, it’s long overdue with about 50,000 having died of overdoses—but the solution is not found in more government oversight. The state may wield the sword of justice, and it is certainly tasked with safeguarding the public good, but the state is not man’s savior. The real battle is moral, not just logistical. Until there is a renewal of virtue and accountability in families and communities, no amount of policing will solve the drug epidemic. Scripture warns, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Of course, the response isn’t to cultivate some sense of moralism, but an awareness of God’s law and our sin.
The broader economic implications of this standoff, however, reveal a deeper issue—principally, how nations should engage with one another. Trade should be mutually beneficial, not a zero-sum game where one side must submit to the will of the other. Trump’s fixation on tariffs and economic dominance reflects a spirit of raw pragmatism rather than justice. For this reason Poilievre publicly declared Trump’s decision to be “unjust.” On the other hand, Trudeau’s reactive approach lacks a firm foundation in principle. A biblical vision of commerce recognizes that nations, like individuals, are called to act with integrity. “It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5). A nation that governs its trade with fairness will find long-term prosperity, not just momentary relief. This is the rule, not the exception.
At the heart of this dispute lies a simple question: will Canada act according to truth and justice, that is to say, according to objective, factual reality and righteousness, or will it bow to economic and social pressures from without (such as the World Economic Forum) as well as from within? It has not, in recent history, acted according to truth or justice, and it has already bowed to apostate, pagan ideologies at the expense of the Canadian people. Under the present government, and the current Canadian consensus, truth and justice is something yearned for but altogether foreign to their understanding. What ought we to expect of Trudeau’s “post-national” state?
While it is true to say that Canada must not allow itself to be drawn into a cycle of reactive politics that compromise its foundational principles, the truth is that Canada doesn’t know any better, not at present, especially since it has sought in recent years to expunge those historic principles with its own revisionism. Nonetheless, we can still dare to hope—as the Gospel is proclaimed, as the Kingdom expands, as God’s people meaningfully engage with the culture—for a nation that fears the Lord, a nation that governs with wisdom, a nation that does not bow the knee to foreign pressure. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).
Part III: The Decline of Canada (9:00-11:15)
Canada’s current trajectory is one of moral and spiritual decline. It has been so ever since its post-WWII drift from the Christian principles that once undergirded its laws, institutions, and culture. The revisionists may attempt to erase or obscure this reality, but history cannot be rewritten. There was a time when justice was understood to be rooted in God’s law, when righteousness was esteemed as the exaltation of a nation, and when governance, however imperfect, still bore some reflection of biblical wisdom. Today, the question is whether we, as Christians, will passively observe this unraveling or actively work to restore what is right.
The task before us is not merely political but spiritual. The hope for Canada is not found in a nostalgic longing for the past, nor in seeking to recreate a bygone era, but in pressing forward with the truth of the Gospel. If Christ is truly Lord over all—if He is King, not just in heaven but on earth—then our work is clear. We must call Canada back to righteousness, proclaim the unchanging Word of God, and disciple the nation in the ways of the Lord.
There is no neutral ground. Either Canada will continue in its present course, further abandoning its Christian heritage and the Lord it once honored, or it will repent and return to the foundation that once made it strong. And while we do not know the particulars of what the Lord has decreed for the future of this nation, we do know this: “Christ shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!” (Psalm 72:8). It’s written on the Canadian coat of arms and engraved on the peace tower on Parliament Hill.
As we assess our current national development, it would serve us well to bear in mind that if there is to be any true renewal in Canada, it will not come through mere policy changes or political realignments, but through a people who fear the Lord and seek His righteousness first—a people who believe in the Lordship of Christ over the dominion of Canada.
Thanks for listening to The Confederation Report, this podcast is brought to you by the Cántaro Institute. Visit our website at cantaroinstitute.org for more information. For books to read on worldview, philosophy, and theology, visit our store at cantaroinstitute.store
We’ll meet again next week.
Documentation and Additional Reading:
CBC News (John Paul Tasker)
Trump to pause promised tariffs for 30 days after speaking with Trudeau
Canada: The Introduction of Christianity in Early Canada
by Steven R. Martins