Why is the U.S. in a trade war with Canada? In many ways it makes no sense. They are our neighbors to the north. We share some of the same history and language with citizens in Canada. Nearly one million Canadians reside in this country.

Yes, we have a trade deficit. But as one of my radio program guests reminded us, the U.S. is nearly nine times larger than Canada. Obviously, there are fewer Canadians to buy U.S. products than Americans to buy Canadian products.

Victor Davis Hanson also mentions another issue. Canadians worry that a country that is that much larger with an even larger GDP than Canada might overwhelm Canada’s unique culture. “The United States is leaping ahead of other Western countries in ways few anticipated several decades ago, while Canada is stagnating.”

President Trump and others in his administration remind us that Canada used to have a dynamic economy and a significant military. Canada’s per capital GDP is now among the lowest in the industrialized West. And until last year, Canada refused to honor its NATO commitment to spend 2 percent of GDP.

That last point, as you may know, has been a major issue with President Trump. He has accused the European nations of getting a free ride and believes Canada has also been taking advantage of America’s generosity regarding the military.

Trump and others in his administration are also concerned with the way China can penetrate the U.S. market by sending goods first through Canada. And Canada resents U.S. demands concerning the importation of Chinese goods.

A trade war will likely continue for some time based on many of these issues and differences. Stay tuned for the next episode in this unnecessary melodrama.