Politics
What is the Monroe Doctrine, and why does Trump want to ‘reassert’ it? – National TenX News
One of the central pillars of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy is a plan to update a more than 200-year-old foreign policy statement known as the Monroe Doctrine.
“After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region,” the strategy document unveiled last week states.
The document goes on to lay out a “‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine” that prioritizes American-led cooperative efforts to combat mass migration, drug trafficking and “hostile foreign incursion or ownership of key assets.”
The strategy marks the latest evolution of the Monroe Doctrine, which has been held up as either an argument for peace and non-intervention or justification for American imperialism — depending on how U.S. presidents interpreted it.
The implications of the doctrine were particularly felt in Latin America, where Trump is currently seeking an array of strategies — from military action near Venezuela to financial aid for Argentina — to exert U.S. influence.
Here’s what to know about the Monroe Doctrine and how it has evolved over the years.
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
U.S. President James Monroe delivered what became known as the Monroe Doctrine during a State of the Union address to Congress in 1823.
The text, developed by his secretary of state John Quincy Adams, asserted that countries in the western hemisphere — identified as North and South American continents — “are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers.”
At the time, Latin American nations were establishing their independence from Spain, and they welcomed Monroe’s statement as affirming their freedoms.
Yet Monroe also made clear he wanted to see the United States as the new dominant power over the hemisphere, by asserting later in the speech that any “inter-dispositions” by “any European power” would be viewed as a threat to American “peace and safety.”
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This portion of Monroe’s speech would not be formalized as the Monroe Doctrine until the late 1800s, by which time the U.S. had established itself as a world power capable of exerting its influence through military might. That’s when it began to be viewed as a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy.
In 1904, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt issued what became known as the “Roosevelt Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, which envisioned the U.S. as “an international police power” that would keep western hemisphere nations “stable, orderly and prosperous.”
Roosevelt had issued his corollary to ensure the U.S., not Europe, would intervene if necessary and “however reluctantly” to keep Latin American countries financially solvent.
Yet it was later used to justify multiple U.S. military interventions and occupations in Central American and Caribbean nations in the early 20th century, in what historians have called “gunboat diplomacy” and the so-called Banana Wars.
At the same time, Canadian politicians including then-prime minister Wilfrid Laurier were suggesting the Monroe Doctrine would protect Canada from foreign invasion because the U.S. would come to its defence.
How did the Doctrine evolve further?
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt effectively ended the Latin American interventions with the Good Neighbor policy of 1934, which sought to re-establish diplomacy and economic cooperation in the region.
However, the Cold War saw the end of that approach and re-emergence of the Monroe Doctrine as a basis for countering communism and Soviet expansionism in the western hemisphere.
That, in turn, led to a series of U.S.-backed regime change operations in Central and South America, including the 1954 coup in Guatemala that had covert support from the CIA. The doctrine was also used to justify U.S. support for right-wing dictatorships like the Pinochet regime in Chile.
In 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy directly cited the Monroe Doctrine in a press conference to explain why the U.S. was seeking to “isolate the communist menace in Cuba” — culminating in the Cuban Missile Crisis that year.
The Monroe Doctrine was also invoked by then-CIA director Robert Gates when it emerged that the U.S., with funds from secret arms sales to Iran, was training guerilla soldiers to overthrow the Sandinista socialist government in Nicaragua, in what became known as the Iran-Contra affair.
In 2013, then-U.S. secretary of state John Kerry declared during a speech to the Organization of American States that “the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over,” which was seen as another shift toward warming relations with Latin America.
Yet Kerry also warned during this time that the U.S. must continue to pay attention to what is happening in America’s “backyard.”
Why does Trump want to bring it back?
Trump seeking to “reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine” is further evidence of his “America First” approach to foreign policy, experts and members of his administration say.
“Past administrations perpetuated the belief that the Monroe Doctrine had expired. They were wrong,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a speech on Saturday.
“The Monroe Doctrine is in effect and it is stronger than ever under the Trump Corollary, a common sense restoration of our power and prerogatives in this hemisphere consistent with U.S. interests.”
That strategy has been most visible in U.S. military strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea since September, which have killed nearly 90 people so far, as well as a U.S. military buildup near Venezuela.
Max Cameron, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia who studies Latin America, told Global News those operations had created “a sense of horror in many places that this is a return to gunboat diplomacy, to the Monroe Doctrine, to the Americans treating the Caribbean as an American lake that they can control and do what they want in.”
Others have noted Trump’s recent announcement of a US$20-billion bailout for Argentina, and his support for the country’s right-wing populist President Javier Milei, as another sign of the Monroe Doctrine at work.
Alejandro Garcia Magos, a political science lecturer at the University of Toronto, said the alliance of “ideological soulmates” Trump and Milei may counterbalance the regional influence of more leftist leaders like Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“It’s an opportunity for Trump to have a solid friend and ally in a region that in the last 25 years has been difficult for the American to have a solid footing in,” he told Global News.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
A trip to the world’s most-visited museum is about to cost Canadians significantly more.
France has hiked ticket prices at the Louvre by 45 per cent for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that is fuelling debate over so-called dual pricing and the growing backlash against overtourism.
Starting this week, adult visitors from non-EU countries, including Canada, must pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s an increase from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Visitors from EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will continue to pay the lower rate.
The price hike comes as the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist last October that prompted a costly security overhaul, and years of chronic overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly nine million visitors annually.
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Some Canadian tourists told Global News they feel unfairly targeted.
“We didn’t cause the robberies or some of the other issues that happened and we are paying the consequences,” said Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue tourists already shoulder higher costs simply by travelling long distances.
“In general for tourists, I think things should be a little cheaper than for local people, because we have to travel to come all the way here,” said Darla Daniela Quiroz, another Canadian visitor. “It should be equal pricing, or a little bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans question the two-tiered system. A French tourist interviewed outside the museum said there was “no reason” to charge non-Europeans more and that the fee should be the same for everyone.
Tourism experts say the Louvre’s financial pressures help explain the decision.
“The Louvre is really cash-strapped right now and needs to do something,” said Marion Joppe, a professor at the University of Guelph. “It can’t really look to the government, which is already struggling with its own budget.”
The move also reflects a broader global pushback against mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have spread across parts of Spain, New Zealand has increased its entry tax, and the United States recently raised national park fees for foreign visitors.
“You take Paris — it gets about 50 million tourists a year,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill University. “That’s roughly a million a week. The city simply wasn’t built for those kinds of numbers.”
Despite the higher price, many visitors say they will still line up to see the Mona Lisa and other of the museum’s famous artworks.
“It’s one of the main attractions. It’s on everybody’s list,” Moore said. “We’re still going to go, and hopefully it will be worth it in the end.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Politics
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada’s new trade deal with China is getting a mixed reaction in Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing support as administration officials warned Ottawa could regret allowing Chinese EVs into the Canadian market.
The deal signed with Beijing on Friday reverses course on 100 per cent tariffs Canada slapped on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, which aligned with similar U.S. duties. Canada and China also agreed to reduce tariffs on canola and other products.
Asked about the deal by reporters at the White House, Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney was doing the right thing.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.
However, members of Trump’s cabinet expressed concern.
“I think they’ll look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at an event with other U.S. government officials at a Ford factory in Ohio to tout efforts to make vehicles more affordable.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters the limited number of vehicles would not impact American car companies exporting cars to Canada.
“I don’t expect that to disrupt American supply into Canada,” he said.
“Canada is so dependent on the United States for their GDP. Their entire population is crowded around our border for that reason. I’ll tell you one thing: if those cars are coming into Canada, they’re not coming here. That’s for sure.”
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Carney has said it’s necessary for Canada to improve trade ties and cooperation with China in light of Trump’s trade war and threats to let the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade expire.
The trade pact is up for review this summer, and Greer reiterated that the Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the U.S. and incentivize companies to do so.
Under the new deal with Beijing, Carney said he expects China will lower tariffs on its canola seed by March 1 to a combined rate of about 15 per cent.
Greer questioned that agreement in a separate CNBC interview.
“I think in the long run, they’re not going to like having made that deal,” he said.
He called the decision to allow Chinese EVs into Canada “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”
Greer said rules adopted last January on vehicles that are connected to the internet and navigation systems are a significant impediment to Chinese vehicles in the U.S. market.
“I think it would be hard for them to operate here,” Greer said. “There are rules and regulations in place in America about the cybersecurity of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it might be hard for the Chinese to comply with those kind of rules.”
Trump and officials like Greer have taken aim at Chinese attempts to enter the North American car market through Mexico by bypassing rules of origin under CUSMA.
The CUSMA review set for July is expected to address those loopholes that American and Canadian officials have said are being exploited by China.
Those concerns, which were also raised by the Biden administration, in part helped spur the steep tariffs on Chinese EVs, which are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Trump, however, has also said he would like Chinese automakers to come to the United States to build vehicles.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have expressed strong opposition to Chinese vehicles as major U.S. automakers warn China poses a threat to the U.S. auto sector.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, said at Friday’s event at the Ford plant that he was opposed to Chinese vehicles coming into the United States, and drew applause from the other government officials.
“As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold the United States of America — period,” Moreno said.
—with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade mission to China is being framed as a win for British Columbia’s economy.
Carney announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip on Friday.
“The inroads Canada has made this week are a sign that the government gets it and is showing Canadians and the world that we are open for business,” Alexa Young with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.
The trade deal would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada yearly at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent.
An expanded auto terminal on Annacis Island will be able to handle the additional volume of cars that could be more affordable than what is currently on the market, with prices expected to be under $40,000.
The New Car Dealers Association said in a statement to Global News that, “We look forward to reviewing the full details of this announcement and engaging constructively with governments to ensure that affordability, competition, and long-term market stability remain central considerations.”
In British Columbia, the overall reaction to the news on Friday is positive.
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“China’s economy is important,” Alex McMillan with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said.
“Having trade deals like this — and diversifying our markets — is important. Providing certainty is important.”
There are concerns with the agreement, including privacy issues and China’s human rights record. But Ottawa’s goal is to double trade with partners outside the United States, which is a goal that would be impossible without China.
“We do want to see more trade and more diversification of our markets and know that China is an important nation and important economy, so having better trade relationships with them, I think overall is going to be good,” McMillan said.
–with files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Louvre raises ticket prices for non-Europeans, hitting Canadian visitors TenX News
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