Some people found a bit of levity in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s remarkably stern speech on Tuesday, as he outlined Canada’s response to the potentially devastating tariffs brought by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trudeau referred to Trump as “Donald” several times, rather than using his full name and title, during his address to reporters on Parliament Hill — which some perceived as a cheeky slight.
Referencing a recent Wall Street Journal editorial that called Trump’s trade action against allies “dumb,” Trudeau spoke directly to the camera and to the U.S. president: “Donald, they point out that even though you are a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”
He twice more went on to address him simply as “Donald.”
Some X users called the use of Trump’s first name “priceless” and “spot on,” and some speculated that it was retaliation for Trump repeatedly referring to Trudeau as the “governor” of the “51st state” when talking about annexing Canada.
“[Trump] has no honour, so he gets no honourific,” one Reddit user wrote.
“This is so deserved. Get him Trudeau,” wrote another.
In the speech, which was broadcast on Canadian and U.S. television networks, Trudeau said Trump is trying to collapse the Canadian economy.
But not everyone was pleased with his informal tone, with some calling it disrespectful. Fox News host Harris Faulkner said on air that Trudeau had just made his squabble with Trump “personal.”
“He didn’t acknowledge his title as president of the United States,” Faulkner said.
Robert Gillezeau, assistant professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto, says Trump has behaved like a “brat” in his dealings with Canada and has earned some pushback.
“I think the prime minister has shown a lot of grace up until this point,” he said. “He still didn’t stoop to President Trump’s level, but I think he’s getting into the dirt a little bit.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking from Parliament Hill on Tuesday, says Canada will immediately start imposing tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods. Trudeau said tariffs will be imposed on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days as a response to U.S. tariffs that went into effect on Canada Tuesday.
Gillezeau says Trudeau, who will step down after next week’s Liberal leadership election, is likely thinking about his legacy and is happy to set himself up in contrast to Trump while signaling that he won’t be pushed around by the U.S.
He says it’s unusual for a world leader to publicly refer to a counterpart on a first-name basis; but then again, there is nothing usual about the current situation.
“It is a bizarre circumstance,” Gillezeau said. “I think time will tell if it was wise or not. I think it’s likely to just get under [Trump’s] skin a little bit. I don’t think it’ll really matter at the end of the day.”
U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance seemed to react similarly to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy calling him by his first name last week, calling Zelenskyy disrespectful in a now infamous meeting at the White House.
But Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says he can’t help but laugh at the idea that Trudeau was being disrespectful.
He says Trudeau simply used Trump’s first name to establish their relationship and strike a familiar tone.
“Trump uses insults all the time. He has been demeaning Canada and the prime minister over and over again. None of that took place with Trudeau,” Bratt said. “[Trudeau] didn’t have a stupid nickname, he didn’t call him Premier Trump.”
Bratt says he feels Trudeau’s speech was strong and hit the right tone, reaffirming that it was not the American people Canadians are upset with, but Trump’s policies.
“Is he supposed to say, ‘Dear President Trump, please don’t put tariffs on our country and try to take us over?'” he said.
Trump responded to Trudeau’s speech on his social media platform Truth Social, again calling the prime minister “Governor Trudeau” and threatening to further increase tariffs.
Trudeau has put tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods and promised $125 billion more will face levies in three weeks’ time. He said more, non-tariff measures are coming if Trump doesn’t immediately back down.
