Stéfane Marion, chief economist of the National Bank of Canada, has urged the Canadian government to reconsider their own trade barriers amid criticism of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in a 2019 study that Canada’s own restrictions are “regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of internal trade barriers.” Rather than tariffs, Canada’s eagerness to attract foreign investments has proved to be a barrier for domestic corporations.

Canada has trade agreements with over 40 nations as it has sought to attract international capital since 1989 since its first free trade deal with the USA. “[C]ompared to an ambitious and successful international trade strategy, progress in reducing internal trade barriers across Canada has not kept pace,” the IMF noted. The astounding amount of red tape has simply made it more expensive for Canadian companies to conduct business. Some estimates believe non-geographical internal trade barriers in Canada are equivalent to a 21% tariff. On the contrary, those barriers amount to a 3% tariff for the United States.

Marion noted that interprovincial trade relevant to international trade has declined from 50% to 40% in recent decades. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has long fought for government to stop taxing its own corporations into oblivion. “It’s ridiculous that it’s still easier for Canadian small firms to do business overseas or across the border than within their own country,” said Chorine Pohlmann, CFIB’s executive vice president of advocacy.

Canadians are ready to welcome fresh leadership after Trudeau’s failure. Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods would be disastrous for both economies. However, the Canadian government has shot itself in the foot with policies aimed at boosting international trade while ignoring domestic objectives. We have seen that happen countless times throughout history when nations are so focused on world trade that they end up dampening their own competitiveness. Canada must consider the steps it can currently take to boost business domestically without punishing companies from operating within Canada.

The population of the United States grew by 1% to 340.1 million in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau, marking the largest population increase since 2000. The nation has added nearly 58 million over that 24-year period, but there certainly has not been a baby boom.

The birthrate in America has been declining for decades. As of November 2024, 3.31 million newborns were born on US soil. The overall birthrate declined 0.12% from 2023 to 12 births per 1000 people. There were around 3.05 million deaths in the US last year, with the average life expectancy reaching 75.8 years for men and 81.1 years for women. It is true that the population would have remained relatively stagnant if not for new immigrants. People are living longer, but there has not been a notable increase in recent years.

However, the population rise is due to ILLEGAL migration. About 1.2 million people legally immigrated to America in 2024. Around 756,000 immigrants were granted family-sponsored green cards, 197,000 received employment visas, and 67,000 received diversity visas.

The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 3 million inadmissible encounters last year, marking a 50% increase from 2021 at the beginning of Joe Biden’s term. Around 1.45 million encounters occurred at an entry point in 2024. Estimates state there were 2 million “known gotaways” who snuck into the US illegally but the true figure cannot be calculated. No one can calculate exactly how many people entered the nation under Biden’s open border catastrophe but there have been around 11 million encounters at the border if that is of any indication.

The large Baby Boomer generation is aging, and fertility rates are declining. The United States has always been a melting pot of migrants from throughout the world. However, the dynamic has shifted in recent years as there are far more illegal, unvetted migrants arriving in the US who cannot legally work and are draining our economic resources while expanding the welfare state. The composition of the United States will be far different from what it is today if this trend continues.

Germany’s failing auto sector may prove to be an integral power play for China, as Chinese OEMs are eyeing soon-to-be vacant Volkswagen (VW) factories. Volkswagen plans to close at least three factories by 2027 due to declining sales amid the country’s exigency to eliminate fossil fuels.

Germany once looked to China to offload vehicles, but Chinese-made EVs are drastically more affordable than anything Germany could produce. China provides subsidies for their auto manufacturers, who are able to produce every part necessary for autos domestically. More importantly, Germany has abandoned economic objectives for climate change objectives and believes it must reduce carbon emissions by 65% within a 5-year period, followed by an 88% reduction into 2040 before meeting gas net neutrality in 2045. China has no such restrictions.

China’s own auto industry grew 156% over a two-year period from 2021 to 2023 after exporting 4.14 million vehicles last year. China is not adhering to the climate change agenda, and those same regulations derived from fictional data are not strangling China’s energy-dependent sectors. Tariffs are preventing the Chinese from offloading EVs to the West.

Chinese OEMs are discussing bypassing some tariffs by producing vehicles directly in Germany. One anonymous source told Reuters that a Chinese manufacturer already has plans to purchase a factory in Osnabrueck.

Stephan Soldanski, a union representative from Osnabrueck, said that he believes union workers would have no problem working for a joint venture. The VW closures alone are expected to reduce the workforce by at least 2,500, with 120,000 already receiving a large pay cut ahead of closures. Soldanski also noted that workers would want to continue producing VW vehicles, calling it a “key condition,” but Germany would need to be willing to allow China to infiltrate its most iconic auto producer.

“We are committed to finding a continued use for the site. The goal must be a viable solution that takes into account the interests of the company and employees,” a VW spokesperson said without providing specifics. The company would save money if they sold rather than shut down, but the company’s best interest clearly does not align with the nation’s best interest or the EU’s.

“China has introduced a series of opening-up measures to create new business opportunities for foreign companies … It is hoped that the German side will also uphold an open mind, (and) provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms to invest,” a spokesperson from the Chinese side of the negotiating table told Reuters.

It would be monumental for China to take on a stronghold of Germany’s auto sector. Lawmakers are certainly devising ways to prevent this from taking place. Forget Chinese influence, if China were to begin overtaking Germany’s most prominent sector, the entire EU would be at risk. I do not believe Germany or the EU would allow this to happen, as the entire West has made it clear that China is their top competitor, if not an outright enemy. Governments see China’s rapid rise and are desperately attempting to prevent it from becoming the next financial capital of the world.

Russia’s CPI reached 9.5% this December as government spending has pulled the reigns away from the central bank. Inflation elevated from 8.9% YoY in November to 9.5%, slightly below expectations of 9.7%. Prices are up 1.3% on a monthly basis overall, but Russians are feeling the impact of war.

Services from 11.4% to 11.5% on the yearly while non-food goods are up from 5.7% YoY to 6.1% Prices at the grocery store have soared from 9.9% YoY to 11.1% as Russia struggles to find reasonably priced imports. Core inflation is up 1% monthly, but up 10% over the past four quarters. The central bank is lightyears away from its 4% inflation target. The spread between rates and inflation is a concerning 11.5%.

Russia’s Central Bank maintained its policy rate of 21% in December. This is not a money supply issue and government cannot curtail spending amid a rapidly escalating war effort. The Kremlin pumped 10 trillion rubles ($100 billion) into military spending last year and that figure will continue to grow. Russia’s economy still grew by 4% in 2024 as it adapted to trade without the West.

Analysts had expected the central bank to raise rates in December, but that would not have deterred government borrowing. The Kremlin also required banks to issue state-direct soft loans to military defense contractors for 25 trillion ($250 billion). As we are seeing in Russia, there is absolutely nothing more inflationary than war.

 

PayPal has finally admitted that it DEBANKED people because of their views on COVID-19. Let me state clearly: PayPal did that to us, and I had to get lawyers involved to even get our money back. They claim to have these policies, and my real question has been who is directing these policies, and are they taking money for them? We no longer take PayPal, for they will debunk you for political reasons.

PayPal debanked Molly Kingsley, the founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem, that her account had been terminated in September 2022 owing to “the nature of its activities.” Now, PayPal has admitted that her account was frozen for the first time due to “content published by UsForThem relating to mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations and school closures”.

The firm said that since UsForThem received donations via PayPal, this contravened its “acceptable use” policy.

When I do interviews, I cannot even use the word “vaccine,” or the post is removed, especially from YouTube. There should be an investigation to see if there is a coordinated effort by someone directing this censorship, for it only profited companies like Pfizer. Where I would at least take a flu shot, I would no longer take any vaccine, for they are all now being crafted with MRNA. Pfizer should be criminally investigated.

 

Donald Trump was sworn in and became the 47th president of the United States. He said he would reverse America’s “horrible betrayal” and instead usher in a “golden age” while taking on “a radical and corrupt establishment.” At least this time, he is fully aware of Washington’s corruption, and I wish him all the luck. Our model does show that he will succeed going into 2026 before there will be challenges on the international scene as Europe desires war. Note that the Oath of Office is to protect the country from both foreign and domestic enemies.

After listening to his inauguration speech, it was hard not to be optimistic about a New Dawn for America. President Trump is restoring common sense where there are only two bathrooms and restoring “In God We Trust,” which the Republicans adopted after the Civil War against the Democrats who rejected it back then as they have with abortion again advocating it as birth control. As he listed so many things that had to be reversed that have been a total disaster, it was hard not to notice that Biden and Kamala were sitting right there. Their legacy is nothing but a failure and tainted by corruption and last-minute pardons to even all of his family members, yet claiming they did nothing wrong. This is very strange.  To obtain a presidential pardon for a felony, you must submit a formal application to the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, typically five years after completing your sentence. The application will be reviewed, and the President has the final authority to grant or deny the pardon.

President Trump pledged to tackle residual inflation by declaring a “national energy emergency” to encourage domestic fossil fuel production, with policy changes that would enable new oil and gas development on federal lands and roll back Biden-era climate regulations, which have been disastrous and this entire net-zero culture has wiped out the European economy. In all honesty, I have stood and watched how this climate policy undermined the German economy, which is reminiscent of how Spain fell from the wealthiest nation on the planet becoming a serial defaulter beginning in 1557, followed by 1570, 1575, 1596, 1607, and 1647 ending in a 3rd world status without hyperinflation. German climate change policy and its own refusal to turn on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has undermined its economy and that of all of Europe, as no leader is even willing to discuss peace.

This will not be easy because the SWAMP includes many members of Congress, where Trump’s agenda hinges on Congress. We already see Republicans can split to save the SWANP, and differences are already emerging over national debt plans. There is much talk about Trump orienting his administration around personal grievances, including the press’s constant propaganda about the 2020 election and that his claims were false when, in fact, the press refused to ever look at the REAL coup to rig the election. As one such American political Jan 6 hostage, Kyle Becker said:

“I have just received word that I have received a FULL pardon of exoneration. I have wept tears of joy. Thank you Donald Trump for hearing us.”

Never would the press tell the truth that Pelosi shut down any challenge unconstitutionally and then used COVID rules to prevent any challenge from being debated on the full floor when she would not allow more than 53 people on the floor at one time. I am sick and tired of the corrupt press and their corrupt propaganda paid for by the LEFT to undermine this country. The Dail Mail polled Americans asking what is Biden’s lasting legacy. The overwhelming response was “NOTHING,” and that sums up the accomplishments of the Democrats.

Trump has pardoned 1500 people imprisoned for BS, and we call Putin a dictator, claiming Russia does not allow protests. Trump said that six defendants would have their sentences shortened. These people have been distributed around the country to PREVENT their families from even visiting them. He also ordered all federal employees back to the office. They have been working supposedly from home, which does not work for most jobs. Unsupervised union workers tend to think it is their obligation to cheat the employer – that is inbred in Marxism-inspired organizations.

President Trump also signed an executive order Monday night telling the Justice Department not to enforce for 75 days a law that effectively bans TikTok. It was supposed to go into effect a day ago.  He also signed an executive action withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, and he claimed the U.S. would save a trillion dollars by leaving the agreement. Another executive order signed by Mr. Trump called for the U.S. to leave the World Health Organization. The order cites “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and “onerous” costs associated with being apart of the international organization as the reasons for the U.S.’ withdrawal.

He began invoking presidential powers to launch a sweeping crackdown on immigration, tasking the military with border enforcement, designating cartels and gangs as terrorist groups and shutting down asylum and refugee admissions, and ending Biden’s catch-and-release. The president declared a national emergency at the southern border and ordered the Defense Department to more heavily involve military resources there, tasking officials to deploy additional troops to the border. Trump also moved to dismantle the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, signing an order to federal agencies to deny birthright citizenship to children of parents who are unauthorized immigrants or temporary visa holders. He also issued executive orders making it a policy of the federal government to recognize only two sexes that cannot be changed: male and female. No longer can you feel like a female one day and a male the next.

President Trump has promised to restore the rule of law and end the weaponizing of the Department of Justice. He touted today as a “historic” first day in office; he enacted 42 executive orders, memoranda, and proclamation actions. Additionally, President Trump signed “115 personnel actions” and more than “200 executive actions.”

He signed an executive order to STOP all government censorship and coercion of the media, restoring FREE SPEECH!!! I think they got the message. I cannot even use the word “vaccine” in any context when I do an interview, or else YouTube will remove the post and ban the interviewer. President Trump stated that he would forge a country that is color-blind and merit-based – the way it should be. He also reinstated all military personnel who refused the COVID-19 vaccine with full back pay.

President Trump also declared a national emergency related to energy costs for American consumers and ended electric vehicle mandates. I have a BMW I8. During the first hurricane, water rose in my driveway by at most 10 inches. No water ever got inside the car. BMW refuses to work on any electric vehicle. I was told by the dealer they trashed over 100 electric cars simply because they got wet. I was told it does not have to be salt water – even fresh water can lead to an electric car exploding. BMW refuses to even look at the vehicle. Sorry. I will never buy another electric car.

The Democrats are already seeking to undermine whatever Trump does against all common sense. They are planning on a full-scale obstruction as they did for his first term with lies and Russia Gate spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on propaganda that they crafted falsely. Here is what their email said today:

“We’re writing to ask you to make a donation to the DNC tonight.

Not tomorrow, not next week, but tonight. Here’s why:

Trump was sworn in just a few hours ago. He already has a Republican Congress at his disposal, and he’ll have a Cabinet stacked with billionaires ready to do anything they can to enact his Project 2025 agenda — no matter the harm they cause everyone else.

Democrats are going to need a huge sum of resources to organize and mobilize against any dangerous legislation Trump and his allies have planned.”

The Democrats are already spinning their labels that Trump is the oldest president to be sworn into office at 78, the first Commander-in-Chief to be a convicted felon that they manufactured with a prosecutor acting as a judge who donated to Biden, and the first president to be the subject of two separate impeachments by the House of Representatives for high crimes and misdemeanors that were also without foundation. What they do not get is that their actions have become transparent, for many to see through them as desperate attempts to keep their LEFTIST agents to champion Marxism over America.

 

Perhaps Trump has delayed his promised renewal of the trade war he launched against China seven years ago after I do know many close to him are our readers and I warn the ECM had turned down into 2028 and we should not accelerate this economic decline. Trump has more reasonably directed his administration to address unfair trade practices globally and investigate whether Beijing had complied with a deal signed during his first term. Trump’s first administration negotiated a “phase one” trade deal with Beijing that ended years of tit-for-tat tariffs, but few of China’s promised purchases of US goods materialized. He

Trump did call for federal agencies to address alleged currency manipulation by other countries. Let us hope he backs off of this nonsense with tariffs, which would send the world into a Great Depression, leaving him with a legacy like Herbert Hoover. I have been pushing every button I can to turn him away from a protectionist approach. I testified before the House Ways & Means Committee, and I invite him to read that testimony. Companies left the USA because the Supreme Court wrongly allowed the income tax to apply to worldwide income. That meant in trade, an American company was 35% higher in price than those from Germany who paid no taxes of external income.

A union representing hundreds of thousands of federal employees has already sued the new Trump administration over its plan to reduce the size of government. The lawsuit from the American Federation of Government Employees and government watchdog groups Public Citizen and State Democracy Defenders Fund was one of three cases filed as Trump was being sworn in today challenging the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE. This filing claims that the initiative violates a 1972 US law requiring checks on conflicts of interest, ideological balance, and transparency for groups with a direct line to the White House. This is the corrupt government that once you hand them power, they will fight to retain it. Like Socialism/Communism, you can vote your way in, but you have to shoot your way out. These are the people destroying our country.

Instead of waiting to see whether Trump follows through on his endorsement of a national “strategic” Bitcoin stockpile, which makes no sense, some states are taking matters into their own hands. As local legislative sessions get underway, eight states have already introduced bills proposing crypto reserves. However, while the push to ensure that state governments hold Bitcoin in one form or another has generated momentum among long-time crypto advocates, all the cheering has no economic benefit. During the Great Depression, over 200 cities had to issue their own currency to facilitate commerce. Bitcoin reserves will do nothing to enhance the economy for these people fail to even understand what makes the economy in the first place.

Inflation is NOT caused by the increase in money supply. That has been proven dead wrong with all the central bank expansion of money by purchasing in government debt. The bulk of the money supply today is debt, which is now money that pays interest, and central banks have ZERO control over the debt issue. Unless Trump is willing to open his mind and eyes to what is the real problem, all the bitcoin in the world will never prevent sovereign defaults.

Some of the world’s richest people turned out Monday to pay homage to Trump. It was a who’s who of the world’s wealthiest—gathering a combined net worth exceeding $1.3 trillion for the occasion. Seated prominently behind the Trump family were Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. Also, there were Bernard Arnault, France’s richest man, Alphabet co-founder Sergey Brin, John Paulson, and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

QUESTION: You have been critical of an executive order by Biden. What will you say when Trump unleashes his flurry of executive dictated?

GV

ANSWER: The purposes of an executive order should be confined to running the government like any company CEO. Trump should withdraw the security clearance of all 51 people who falsely claimed the Hunter laptop was Russian propaganda. I believe that they are traitors to the country. I would fire each and everyone and strip them of all pensions. That would be a valid executive order, as would firing executive bureaucrats. The president is the CEO of the Executive Branch. He needs Congress’s approval to install judges in the Judicial Branch. When orders are confined to personnel inside the Executive Branch, that is within his Constitutional Power.

What I disagree with are executive orders that circumvent Congress. Biden outlawed gas water heaters. That is a question for Congress – not an executive decision any more than sending in troops or allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to target inside Russia. The Constitution gave Congress the power to declare war, not the president.

I will look at what Trump does, and my analysis will be eliminated on those lines. I disagree with FDR’s executive orders to confiscate gold and silver. I think Congress should have decided that.

The major case issued by the Supreme Court striking down a president’s executive order came about in 1952. In Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, the court held struck down Executive Order 10340, issued by President Harry Truman, for seizing control of the steel manufacturers because of an anticipated union strike in the nation’s steel mills during the Korean War. The court held that President Truman lacked the constitutional or statutory power to seize private property.

The court focused on the fact that the Executive Order was not authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and thus, it could not sand Pp. 343 U. S. 585-589. Moreover, no statute expressly or impliedly authorized the President to take possession of this property as he did here.

Using this criterion, Biden’s outlawing gas water heaters is arbitrary and absurd. It was unconstitutional, as many of his antics demonstrated that he assumed dictatorial power. Still, the Constitution never authorized such an exercise of power outside the administration of the Executive Branch. He has the Constitutional power to issue a pardon, but not pronounce someone guilty and imprison them without a trial in the Judiciary branch.

 

To get a pardon, you are supposed to plead guilty and show remorse. I am not sure a preemptive pardon is even legal. Now, what I would do is subpoena these people to testify. They cannot be prosecuted now, so they have NO FIFTH AMENDMENT privilege against self-incrimination. I would then ask them to explain their crime and name everyone else who assisted them who is not pardoned. Let’s expose the whole shit. To accept these pardons CONFIRMS that they are guilty of high crimes against the United States. They may not be sent to prison, but they can now be interrogated like any criminal getting a plea deal.

QUESTION: Mr. Fauci, did you circumvent US law and send your gain-of-function to China to be released? Were you behind creating COVID-19? Do masks and lockdowns work?

QUESTION: General Milley, So you deliberately created the false accusations that Russia interfered in the US election, were you trying to create World War III with Russia?

Oh, the party can now begin.

How about the Small Business Association brings a class action lawsuit against Fauci for all the businesses he destroyed with his lockdowns? He has to testify now, and there better not be any lies in his testimony. Explain any conspiracy he was in with Gates, the Rockefeller Foundation, the World Health Organization, and Klaus Schwab. We can now get to the truth at last!!!!!!

They can be Prosecuted for Perjury post-these pardons.

Biden just opened the door really wide. Otherwise, you would have had to prove Fauci was guilty; now he is Pardoned, so he is guilty of a crime to accept a pardon. Fantastic!!!! Thank you, Biden, for your final act of corruption. It may help to bring down the corruption more than anything else. Most billionaires are Democrats to pretend they care, but only the honest billionaires who support Trump based on common sense rather than WOKE are oligarchs. Ask Fauci if he was collaborating with George Soros or his son Alex?

The Biden Administration will go down in History as the MOST corrupt in American History!

 

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, I was searching about civil unrest and found that FEMA did a report and cities your models. They even said:

ANSWER: Sources are saying that the Democrats, who had planned for a huge protest rally tomorrow, are disappointed again. The crowd is tiny. Our model on political civil unrest, which began with the Kent State Massacre of 1970 against Vietnam, peaked in 2017 with the violent protests in Washington, DC, with Trump’s inauguration. The good news is that the model bottomed in 2021, and here in 2026, it is the first wave up in the next iteration. So, it should be less in intensity, and that is what appears to be unfolding.

 

 

It seems that the Democrats and their propaganda over abortion and misrepresenting the entire issue has led many to be myopic and totally disconnected from the issues. The Democrats are still fighting internally and simply refuse to admit that they went way too far, embracing this like transgender, which represents such a tiny fragment of the population, turn women’s sports on its head while claiming to support women with abortion.

 

Let’s see. The double standard in DC and the Deep State imprisoning little old ladies for even walking in the capital building on January 6th and not imprisoning violate protestors at Trump’s last inauguration demonstrates the corruption in DC. The hopes of a significant violent protest to force Trump to call out the National Guard so they can label him a dictator is fading into the wind. The Democrats just oppose whatever the opposition proposes, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. This is the collapse of politics.