Trump’s Expansionist Plan: Unite the AI Oligarchs and Divide Canada

  • National Newswatch

President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory…and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.” (President Donald Trump, Inaugural Address)

Is the liberal, rules-based order of the last 75 years at an end? Are Great Power politics on the rise again? President Trump’s Inaugural Speech seems to confirm it. Talk of expansion, dominance, and new frontiers signal his desire to extend America’s sphere of influence, economically and geographically. Two major obstacles stand in the way: China and Canada. Trump, however, appears to have a plan—and AI is at the heart of it.

Containing China—Why Trump Needs the “AI Oligarchs”

America and China are now locked in a high-stakes race to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—the next big breakthrough for AI. New global markets are emerging, and AGI will be decisive in capturing them. To the winner will go the spoils: new wealth and global influence.

If Trump has fixated on the “AI Oligarchs,” it’s not just because they’re rich. He needs their help to deliver his MAGA agenda. Over the last year, Trump’s advisors and Silicon Valley have forged a remarkable consensus around three basic principles that define their converging interests in AI and lay the foundation for an historic public-private partnership:

  1. AGI is imminent, promising groundbreaking advances that will drive a new era of global economic growth.
  2. China’s use of AI for state control poses a threat to American values and prosperity, making US leadership in AI essential.
  3. AI is a national security priority that requires minimal regulation and strong intelligence and military backing.

These principles align well with Trump’s MAGA agenda. Silicon Valley’s role in this partnership is to “Make America First in AI,” positioning the US to dominate the new global economy and lead the world into this new era.

Not everyone agrees. Many Americans see the AI arms race as a runaway train that must be brought under government control. Joe Biden used his Farewell Address to warn Americans—and the world—about the emerging oligarchy and the rise of a “tech-industrial complex” that threatens Americans—their jobs, their safety, and their democracy. Trump, it seems, is comfortable with the risks.

Uniting North America: Can Trump Destabilize Canada?

Canada poses a second challenge to Trump’s vision. He thinks we belong with America, even suggesting that this is our destiny. So far, Canadians aren’t interested. And Trump has wisely ruled out military intervention. For a merger to succeed, he believes Canadians must agree to it.

But if military intervention is out, Trump views economic pressure as an acceptable way to achieve his goal, and this is clever. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and Canada’s weak links are not hard to find. Our constitutional battles reveal how fragile these ties can be. The federalist side won the 1995 Quebec referendum by less than 1%. Separatist sentiment in Alberta has been simmering for decades.

Tariffs may be the perfect tool to exploit these weaknesses—to divide and conquer. We’ve already seen how the mere threat of action against Alberta’s oil split Premier Danielle Smith off from Team Canada.

Of course, Canadians could hit back with heavy tariffs or export restrictions, as Chrystia Freeland proposes, but that’s risky. America can compensate Iowa farmers or Michigan factory workers far longer than Canada can compensate Alberta’s oil industry or Ontario auto workers. Trump may be willing to wait Canada out—though that creates risks for him. The midterms are only two years away and public opinion could turn against him.

No one knows how committed Trump is to a divide-and-conquer strategy, but he seems determined to try it. If he hits Canada hard enough and long enough, some province might reach the breaking point. And if separatist fires start raging in one, others could follow. Might these disaffected parties then join the US?

A brutal trade war could seriously weaken or harm Canada’s economy, leaving provinces desperate to recover—and that makes them vulnerable. The Oligarchs might be called in to play the carrot to Trump’s stick.

Silicon Valley is already engaged in a massive build-out of infrastructure to deliver AI products to the world. If America wins the AI race, its economy will surge, and these efforts will scale exponentially.

Offering to build new AI infrastructure in a struggling province—say, a massive data centre—could be a big incentive for them to join America or at least make deep concessions on integration. Basically, Trump and his Oligarchs could offer Canadian provinces a ticket on America’s AI train—an offer that many might see as too good to refuse.

Conclusion

No one can say how far Trump will go to contain China or to unite North America. But dismissing his threats would be a mistake. AI is poised to unleash a seismic shift that will transform the global economy. Trump certainly wants America to benefit from this boom, but his alliance with Silicon Valley is about more than prosperity. It is about channeling these forces for larger, geopolitical purposes: to constrain China at the global level, and to consolidate North America at the regional level.

As for Canada, the stakes couldn’t be higher. From Trump’s viewpoint, we are the grand prize—the other half of his new America.

Fortunately, that choice lies with Canadians.

Don Lenihan PhD is an expert in public engagement with a long-standing focus on how digital technologies are transforming societies, governments, and governance. This column appears weekly. To see earlier instalments in the series, click here.