Local voters say federal election will be dominated by Trump’s tariffs, annexation threats

In one of the defining federal elections for the ages, the seriousness of the ballot question is not lost on local residents.

As U.S. President Donald Trump turns the international order on its head, eschewing historical allies like Canada and wreaking havoc on markets with his chaotic, daily musings, no one is clear on what will come next.

Lorne Chester, a retired judge who lives in Lindsay, told Kawartha Lakes Weekly that for him it’s all about “Elbows up Canada, true north strong and free!”

When asked what the election should also be about, Chester said he wants to see quick, clear action on many fronts. “Do what they say they will do, quickly and boldly, with no damn excuses, whether it be sovereignty, defence, affordability, or housing.”

Chester says we should be raising taxes on higher incomes, raising the HST on luxury items, while at the same time reducing spending on “a bloated, and in some areas, ineffective bureaucracy with too many consultants.”

He uses a recent defence spending announcement to illustrate his point. In 2022 the Department of National Defence launched a formidable plan to modernize security and defence infrastructure, including defence commitments to NATO and NORAD. This included drones, fighter jets, coast guard ships, submarines, army personnel and more. The cost was about $33 billion over 10 years.

This impressed Chester until he learned in September last year, through the Toronto Star, that the government had only spent $69 million over a two-year period – or .21 per cent of the committed amount – mostly for administrative costs.

“An example of all talk, no action. This is where Trump gets his ammunition.”

Wesley Found, owner of the Kent Place Mall in downtown Lindsay and president of Linborough Property Corp, says his prediction is “the question at the ballot box will focus on the latest symptom on what ails us instead of debating solutions to the root cause.”

“It will be about who is a better leader to deal with Trumpism rather than who can lead the large task of redefining what a prosperous and sovereign Canada means and how to achieve it.”

Found says tariffs, “fuel uncertainty, increase costs and ultimately decrease the size of the pie we all try to share.”

He acknowledges the one good thing to come from the tariffs is that Canadian polarization has taken “a back seat for (Canadian) unity.”

Like Chester, Found points out Canada must bear some responsibility for what has happened, too, in terms of our own economic house. “We created the problem and Trumpism is capitalizing on it.”

Kawartha Lakes Ward 2 Councillor Pat Warren also mentions the U.S. president as a key component of this federal election. She says the most important issue is “bringing Canadians together to fight the threat from Donald Trump.”

As Found pointed out, Warren says “this threat has helped to break down partisan barriers and has instilled within Canadians a new sense of national pride.”

Echoing Chester, she, too, called for an “elbows up” philosophy.

As for other critical issues, Warren says many people know she cares deeply about green issues but says the economy and the environment are not mutually exclusive.

“I believe that with a strong economy we will have the ability to grow while doing what is good for the environment. It isn’t one or the other, caring for our environment makes economic sense.”

Emphasizing the need to get our own economic house in order, Found says whatever party wins, we need a solution to figure out how to “best preserve our home for now and the future generations, rather than (worry) what our neighbour is deciding to do in their backyard.”

As for Chester, he says his “election sign” has been up for a while. “It is red, blue, and black with the bold words “Elbows up.”

“It’s just missing a photo of a Gordie Howe elbow.”