President Trump chooses a woman as new ambassador to Canada

U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to nominate Kelly Knight Craft as the next American ambassador to Canada. The post has been vacant since the former ambassador Bruce Heyman appointed by former president Barack Obama resigned on January 20.

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The White House announced in a statement late Wednesday that Craft had been picked for the post. Maryscott Greenwood who heads the Canadian-American Business Council praised the choice saying: "I think it's an inspired choice on the part of the president. It's a complement to Canada that the White House would choose a person of Kelly's calibre, intellect and talent, so I am excited about the prospect."

Her nomination will need to be approved by the Senate. The Trump administration hopes to get her nomination approved quickly so she can be ambassador before the NAFTA trade negotiations begin in August. Craft is married to billionaire Joe Craft, president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners LP, one of the largest coal producers in the eastern United States. In 2012 a profile of him in McClatchy newspapers said he was Kentucky's most powerful non-elected person. He was critical of the Obama administration's environmental policies. His licence plate has the slogan "Friends of Coal."

Nevertheless, Greenwood did not think her husbands business would hurt relations. Both Knight Craft and her husband have donated to her alma mater the University of Kentucky. Knight Craft serves as a trustee on the board of the university. Her husband's business have given $2 million to the Super PAC of Karl Rove American Crossroads and to other Super PACs. Knight Craft is said to close to the Republican Majority Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. She has donated to and co-chaired fund-raising campaigns for him over the years. She is also involved in charitable work with the Salvation Army in Lexington, Kentucky. Knight Craft said of Trump's nominating her for the job: "I deeply appreciate the President's confidence in me, and am looking forward to the Senate confirmation process." The State Department has already vetted her. Knight Craft was appointed to a UN delegation back in 2007 by George W. Bush.

Mac Brown, co-chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky also sang the praises of Knight Craft saying: "She's an unbelievable, very nice woman who is extraordinarily hard-working," The US Senate over which McConnell presides is expected to deal with a number of major issues affecting Canada in the future, including tax reform, trade disputes, and the renegotiation of NAFTA.

Trump claims he is ready for "massive" renegotiation of NAFTA

(May 13) In an interview with the Economist, US president Donald Trump said that as soon as his trade czar is approved by the Senate he will start a major renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Act NAFTA.

Just today, the US Senate voted in favor of approving Robert Lighthizer as the US Trade Representative. Lighthizer's nomination had been held up by his having to get a legal waiver as he had worked for foreign governments.

Trump said he intends to file a 90-day notice with Congress and would work with it on negotiating priorities. Talks would start with Canada and Mexico later this year. Trum said that the clock started with Lighthizer's nomination. The Trump administration has already said it wanted significant changes in a number of areas that included dairy, auto, and pharmaceuticals as well as the dispute-resolution mechanism. Trump said that he wanted "massive changes" to the system. This may not sit well with either Canada or Mexico who could very well reject Trump's suggested changes and also demand changes of their own. So far, Canadian PM Trudeau has made no comment on the proportionality clause that many critics want changed nor the necessity to ensure that water is not classed as a commodity or service. It should be excluded from the agreement.

It may take ages for a massive renegotiation of NAFTA assuming it is even possible. Negotiations wont start until later this year. Mexico wants a deal by early next year before the Mexican election but most observers think it will take more than a few months to make a major overhaul of NAFTA. Given the problems that appear to be building up for Trump he may be more concerned with other issues than NAFTA, such as surviving as president.

Trump had earlier claimed he was ready to withdraw from NAFTA but after phone calls from Trudeau and the Mexican president urging him to reconsider, he decided not to do so. Trump said:"I have a very good relationship with Justin and a very good relationship with the president of Mexico. It was an amazing thing. They called separately 10 minutes apart. I just put down the phone with the president of Mexico when the prime minister of Canada called. And they both asked almost identical questions: 'We would like to know if it would be possible to negotiate as opposed to a termination.'And I said, 'Yes, it is. Absolutely.' So we did that and we'll start. "

What more likely happened is that alarm bells were going off within the business community and pressure was put on members of the Trump administration to stop Trump from actually withdrawing from NAFTA. Trump's own son-in-law Jared Kushner set up the Trudeau call. Trump may have wanted to take credit for forcing Canada and Mexico into negotiation before his 100 days in office. This is rather ridiculous in that both Canada and Mexico have always expressed their willingness to renegotiate NAFTA. However, Trump's moves being ridiculous are the norm rather than exceptional. However, neither government will step in to spoil Trump's joy in claiming credit for in effect doing nothing except what was planned all along.

Maryscott Greenwood of the Canadian-American Busines Council wrote in an article: "President Trump is eager for some wins. Canada can help provide him with one, while also advancing its own interests. The Canadian government could present the United States with a proposal for aligning a particular set of regulations. This would represent a bilateral victory for what is at the moment a U.S.-only effort to cut regulatory red tape." However, this is a minor issue. Any major overhaul will involve major disputes as well. It remains to be seen if Canada will bring up issues that were very much against Canadian interests in the original NAFTA agreement. Mexico too may want to make substantial change in its own interests. An America First policy may not be agreeable to either Mexico or Canada. There should be public consultation on the issues in all three countries and a transparent negotiation process. Trump has not asked for this but it would seem neither Trudeau or the Mexican president have either.

Canadians' opinion of the United States hits an all time low

In 2012 nearly 70 percent of Canadians had a favorable opinion of the U.S. Today that has dropped to 44 percent, less than half. This is the lowest value recorded since polls began way back in 1982

The poll was just released by Environics Institute on Monday. The entire poll can be found here.

Donald Trump`s election had a dramatic impact on Canadian opinion about the U.S. the report claims. 20 percent of Canadians now say they have a 'very unfavorable' opinion of the U.S. and 33 percent said they had a 'somewhat unfavorable' opinion of the country. The changed attitudes will have an economic impact through reduced travel to the U.S. Almost 20 percent said they had already changed travel plans because of the political situation in the U.S. Another eight percent were contemplating doing so.

The survey was of 2,002 Canadian resident contacted by phone between April 3 and 15, 2017. Results are accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

In a poll last month, Abacus Data found that Canadians thought that Canada should not behave more like the U.S. When asked whether 'Canada should try to be more like the United States', 80 percent disagreed while only 20 percent agreed. Asked whether Canada should join conflicts with the U.S. in various countries, nearly half or more in each case preferred Canada remain neutral or even oppose military action and opt for diplomatic solutions:In light of Trump’s more combative approach to foreign affairs, the firm asked if Canadians could get behind their country joining the U.S. in an armed conflict against Syria, North Korea, Russia or China. In each hypothetical case, nearly half or more preferred Canada remain neutral or outright oppose military action while pushing for diplomatic answers.However 20 percent of Canadians favored joining in a military mission to remove Bashar Assad from power in Syria. 32 expressed support for the U.S. without participation. 20 per cent would also favor joining the U.S. against North Korea but with just 26 percent even approving public support without participation.

The U.S. did not come out well in some comparisons with China:When asked which country was doing more to “try to maintain peace and avoid conflict,” 61 per cent of respondents chose China. Fifty-seven per cent said China was “showing a better example of what world leadership should look like,” and 54 per cent said the nation was “more stable and predictable” than the U.S.

Only ten percent approved of Canada being involved in a war with China.. However on the issue of free speech, 84 percent agreed that the U.S. was more committed to the right than China. 61 percent of Canadians surveyed also saw the U.S. as doing more for the poor and 57 percent also thought the US was doing more to address climate change and environmental issues.

Bruce Anderson and David Coletto of Abacus write in the poll summary: “That so few believe Canada should be more like America is an illustration that for many Canadians, Trump’s America is not, for the moment anyway, a ‘shining city on a hill.'” The survey was conducted online between April 21 to 24. A random sample of 1,500 adults were chosen from a representative panel of some 500,000 Canadians. The margin of error for a similar poll would be 2.6 percent 19 times out of 20.