Toronto’s bid to be Amazon’s new home is the X factor in Trump’s war with the company

The quick-to-tweet American president’s recent flurry of posts attacking Amazon.com raises the political stakes in the tech titan’s consideration of Toronto, the only non-American city on the short list, for its second headquarters.

It’s unlikely Donald Trump’s social media missives will sway the decision either in Toronto’s favour or that of any of its 19 U.S. city competitors, as the company is probably more focused on its long-term goals than acquiescing to a White House administration that could be around for a maximum of eight years. But a successful Toronto bid could be interpreted as a personal affront to the president and his America-first agenda, experts say.

Trump has targeted Amazon frequently in the past week, claiming the e-commerce company pays little or no taxes to state and local governments, puts thousands of retailers out of business and costs the country’s postal service billions of dollars.

“Only fools, or worse are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed. Also, our fully tax paying retailers are closing stores all over the country…not a level playing field!” he sent from his account on Monday.

The rant makes it clear that if Amazon decides to put down roots north of the American border — and the promised up to 50,000 jobs and more than $5 billion US in construction investment — it will elicit “certainly a negative reaction” from the president, said Sean Mullin, executive director of the Toronto-based Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.

Sherena Hussain, an assistant professor at York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, said we”will have a long-term impact on the strategic direction of Amazon.”

Canada has a lot of things going for it, like a relatively open immigration policy, that make Toronto an attractive place, she said, but the city also has potential weaknesses.