Financial analyst Hamish McRae has warned that the United Kingdom must support Canada as US President Donald Trump attempts to inflict severe damage on the Canadian economy. Writing during the late summer bank holiday, McRae argued that Britain should stand alongside its long-standing international ally as Washington ramps up economic pressure on Ottawa.
Dismissing Trump's proposal to rename Lake Ontario as "Lake America" as petulance, McRae stressed that the US administration is pursuing serious efforts to harm Canada's economic interests, making it vital for the UK to offer practical assistance.
Lake Ontario is one of North America's five Great Lakes, forming a natural border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the US state of New York. While Britain is not currently in the direct firing line of American commercial hostility, McRae urged UK policymakers and consumers to actively align with Canada.
Reflecting on recent global turmoil, McRae observed that Canada, alongside Australia and New Zealand, ranks at the top of the list of Britain's genuine international friends. While the UK shares a close relationship with the United States as economic and cultural "cousins," American domestic politics can create periodic disruption for transatlantic partners.
The economic pull of the US has consistently attracted high-profile British leaders across the Atlantic. Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband moved to New York after failing to secure the Labour Party leadership in 2010, while former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg relocated to California's technology sector after losing his parliamentary seat, alongside the prominent relocation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
To assist Ottawa, McRae pointed to several practical measures Britain can take to strengthen bilateral economic ties. The UK's existing trade agreement with Canada primarily updates terms inherited from Britain's former membership in the European Union, after formal negotiations for a comprehensive new bilateral trade deal broke down in 2024.
A joint UK-Canada working group is currently operating to reduce mutual regulatory barriers without needing a formal treaty structure. Despite the physical proximity of the vast US market to Canada, the UK remains Canada's third-largest trading partner, with substantial scope to expand bilateral trade in crude oil, natural gas, and nuclear power technology, where Canadian industry holds specialized global expertise.
Strengthening Economic and Cultural Ties Across CANZUK
At a consumer level, McRae urged British households to look for Canadian products, predicting that UK supermarkets will increasingly display maple leaf flags on retail shelves to reflect growing public support for Canada.
Beyond bilateral trade, McRae called for a strategic rebalancing within the wider English-speaking world. While the US will inevitably remain the largest economy in the Anglosphere, he argued that American dominance must be counterbalanced by CANZUK, an informal alliance comprising Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Data from the World Bank shows that the four CANZUK nations have a combined population of 145 million, compared to 343 million in the United States, giving CANZUK a 30 percent share of their combined population. In economic output, CANZUK generates $8.4 trillion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), alongside $31 trillion for the US and $21 trillion for the 27-nation European Union.
Together, the combined economic output of the US and the CANZUK countries reaches $39.4 trillion, roughly double the size of the EU economy. McRae noted that although China may potentially surpass the US economy in absolute size over the coming years, China has zero chance of surpassing the combined Anglosphere economy, ensuring English-speaking nations remain the dominant force in global commerce throughout the twenty-first century.
Policy Proposals and Shared Transatlantic Migration
With the Canadian government in Ottawa reportedly pushing for closer economic cooperation, McRae recommended cautious progress toward integration, while acknowledging that complete free trade or a common travel area similar to the UK-Ireland agreement remains impractical.
He urged the UK Government to prioritize citizens of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand if it grants reduced university tuition rates to European Union students, arguing that CANZUK nations share the strongest cultural and historical ties with Britain and belong at the head of the queue.
National migration figures confirm that British citizens moving abroad overwhelmingly prefer Australia, the US, and Canada over European destinations such as France or Spain. McRae highlighted former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, a Canadian national who currently serves as Prime Minister of Canada, noting that Britain chose a Canadian governor rather than an official from Germany's Bundesbank to lead its central bank.
Concluding his analysis of an increasingly unpredictable global environment, McRae cited William Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which Polonius counsels his son Laertes to "grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel." Describing Canadians as Britain's true friends, McRae urged the UK to solidify its partnership with Ottawa during a period of economic pressure.
