🐶 Scott Bessent Calls Canada a "Little Yippy Dog"
Author: The CANADA List Team
Published: Sept 7, 2026
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has found a fresh way to conduct diplomacy with America's closest neighbour: he compared Canada to a "little yippy dog."
This came during an interview with Lara Trump on Fox News (of course, with Fox News 🙄), Bessent recalled a dachshund that used to antagonize his 110-pound German shepherd. The larger dog ignored the smaller one for a time, he said, until one day it had enough. In this charming little parable, Canada is the dachshund, the United States is the German shepherd, and the warning is not especially subtle.
Bessent was responding to the Canada-U.S. trade dispute and Ottawa's planned retaliatory tariffs. He also dismissed the potential effect of those tariffs on American prices and accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of walking away from what Bessent characterized as a great trade deal.
Our take
Well, which is it? Washington keeps insisting that Canada is too small to matter, while its officials spend an extraordinary amount of time talking about us, threatening us and now, apparently, comparing us to dogs. If Canada were truly inconsequential, they would simply ignore us. Instead it is Canada, Canada, Canada.
The insult was intended to put us in our place, but it mostly reveals how much our choices matter to the United States. Canada is a major customer, supplier, energy partner and neighbour. The best response is not to bark louder; it is to reduce our dependence, strengthen our economy and use our leverage with confidence. So yes, Mr. Bessent, we heard you. Judging by all the attention, it seems you hear us too.
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