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The world moves fast. Daybreak keeps you up-to-date.
Enjoy everything you need to know to stay informed — on campus and off — in this digestible, efficient podcast. Daybreak is produced by Maya Mukherjee '27, Twyla Colburn '27, Sheryl Xue '28 under the 149th Managing Board of The Daily Princetonian. The theme music was composed and performed by Ed Horan, and the cover art is by Mark Dodici.
Opener: For the Daily Princetonian, I’m Anastasiya Chernitska. You’re listening to Daybreak.
Intro: Today, we take you inside Québec Day at Princeton and New Jersey’s gubernatorial primaries.
Tag: It’s Friday, February 7th.
Body: Yesterday, Princeton’s Fund for Canadian Studies, housed within the Humanities Council, hosted a discussion on US-Quebec trade diplomacy. The event was especially timely, considering Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on both Mexico and Canada before ultimately pausing the plan. This move has heightened tensions, sparking discussion on trade diplomacy. The Princeton event featured key insights from John Parisella, special advisor for NATIONAL Public Relations, and Richard Ouellet, Full Professor of International Economic Law at Laval University, in conversation with journalist May Jeong. Here are Parisella and Oullet now.
[Event interviews]
ANA: What are your names and what do you do?
PARISELLA: My name is John Parisella. I'm a Senior Advisor with National Public Relations, and I'm also a fellow at the Canadian Global, Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
OUELLET: I’m Richard Ouellet. I'm a professor at the Laval University, the Faculty of Law, and I'm the older of the research chair on new challenges of economic globalization.
ANA: Given the things that Donald Trump has said, what has been the general reaction of Canadians?
PARISELLA: Very, I would say, upset, and I would say, to some extent, maybe infuriated by the comments that were made. Some of them felt insulting and not based on fact and a sense that we were encountering sort of bullying in the schoolyard, but what it's done is that it's made Canadians more focused on finding a solution and working together. And I've never seen Canada as united as I've seen, Canada in the last few days.
OUELLET: Yeah, I fully agree with John, and I would add that Canadians were also surprised. We didn't think we would have to see the U.S. as a rival or as an opponent, and we were very surprised about it because we can see the United States as a friend, a partner, an ally, and a neighbor. So, there was also surprise from Canadians.
ANA: The United States threatened to levy 25 percent tariffs. What kind of effect would that have on both the United States and the Canadian economy?
PARISELLA: Well, obviously, there'll be retaliation if America does that. And we have a plan and we made it public. So, bottom line is that tariffs ultimately reach the consumer, and it would hurt both economies, either from the point of view of inflation and possibly for the uncertainty it creates in certain decision-making areas of a corporation. So, it could actually affect unemployment. So we could end up with recessions in the three countries, maybe the recession, in terms of percentages, may be less in the United States. The United States is the number one superpower economically, but it's a win, lose. Or, as my friend Richard says it so well, it's a zero-sum game. It's not good. Nobody wins on this one. So it's bad. We prefer not doing it. But we will not be indifferent if the United States acts unilaterally,
OULLET: Yeah, once again, I fully agree with John's answer. I would add that it might be a source of inflation, so no good for the wallet of Americans, and it might bring losses of jobs. Nine million jobs in the US depend on the trade with Canada.
ANA: What do you think the next four years will be like in terms of U.S.-Canada relations?
PARISELLA: Well, not too restful, and we'll have to deal with other areas, like the whole question of Canada's involvement with security issues, like our contribution to NATO, the North American Treaty Organization, we, there's a decision that was made by NATO, that we would bring it up to a 2 percent of our GDP, or GNP. It would go essentially as part of the budget. It contributes to the budget of NATO. Canada has not been doing its job. It's worth 1.3 [percent] and we expect to be at 2 percent in 2032. That's too far down the road, so obviously that will be an issue that Mr. Trump will push on. And I think there's a consensus that's developing among Canadian politicians that we can't wait too long. We're going to have to act quickly on that one, and the rest is basically getting ready for the next negotiations, you know, in different areas where we're going to be probably pushed to have to make adjustments in the way we operate as a country and the way our economy operates as well.
OULLET: Yeah, and Canadians hope that we can convince the U.S., administration, presidential administration, that things can be done together. There are enough challenges in this world if we can try to solve a couple of them together, instead of facing each other, it would be a good thing. Thank you so much.
ANA: Thank you so much.
[LOCAL NEWS STORY]
In local news, the Princeton Community Democratic Organization invited the six Democratic candidates in New Jersey’s upcoming gubernatorial election to a town forum. As incumbent governor Phil Murphy nears the end of his second term, the primaries have begun, with both parties holding their first debates this week. On Sunday, the six Democratic candidates debated rising housing costs, government transparency, and immigration. All candidates criticized NJ Transit, and each discussed Amtrak and New York’s new congestion tax. On the other side of the ticket, the four Republican candidates debated on Tuesday. All candidates promised to reverse Governor Murphy’s executive orders barring police from working with immigration officials but appeared more split on supporting a state amendment to protect abortion rights. The primary vote is set for June 10, and the Princeton forum will be held February 16th at 6:15 at the Suzanne Patterson Center.
[OUTRO]
That’s all for Daybreak today.
[CREDITS]
Today’s episode was written by Charlotte Young, and me, sound engineered by me, and produced under the 149th Managing Board of the ‘Prince.’ Our theme was composed by Ed Horan [class of] ‘22. For The Daily Princetonian, I’m Anastasiya Chernitska. Have a wonderful day.