Strolling several years ago in Vancouver, Canada, I inadvertently crossed the street in front of a car after my light turned red but before the vehicle began moving. If you do this in the San Francisco Bay Area, the driver might toot and shout at you. In my native New York, you’d hear a loud honk and an even louder expletive.
The Vancouver motorist instead said, “Excuse me, did you know that you’re crossing against the light?”
Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Country
Canadians are among the nicest and most polite people on the planet. Americans are blessed to have them as neighbors.
Yet Donald Trump is spitting in these wonderful folks’ faces, on everything from fentanyl to immigration to tariffs to statehood. His spiteful barbs portend long-term damage to what once seemed our two nations’ unbreakable goodwill. This potential funeral for a friendship says much about America’s shrinking place in the world.
The insults reach back to Trump’s first term, when he called Canada’s then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “very dishonest and weak,” as well as “two-faced.”
Who in the world says that to a steadfast friend? To a country whose long border with ours has been peaceful for well over a century? To a nation that helps protect ours through its partnership in the North American Aerospace Defense Command? To a people whose armed forces sent over 40,000 troops to fight in Afghanistan, with 158 dying and thousands more injured. (In contrast, Trump reportedly dodged the Vietnam-era draft due to a dodgy medical deferment facilitated by a doctor who was his father’s tenant.).
Second Time’s Not a Charm
In his second term, Typhoon Trump has proven even more catastrophic for our relationship with Canada. His attacks include his 25 percent tariffs (rising to 35 percent on August 1), which he justified in January based on allegedly huge fentanyl imports and illegal immigration from north of the border:
“They’ve [Canada and Mexico] allowed, both of them, Canada very much so, they’ve allowed millions and millions of people to come into our country that shouldn’t be here. They could’ve stopped them and they didn’t. And they’ve killed 300,000 people last year, my opinion, have been destroyed by drugs, by fentanyl. The fentanyl coming through Canada is massive. The fentanyl coming through Mexico is massive.”
So how many tons of fentanyl and millions of people have actually entered America illegally from Canada?
Seizures and arrests provide some sense of scale: From October 2023 through September 2024, 43 pounds (not tons) of fentanyl were seized at the Canadian border, in contrast with over ten tons from Mexico. During that same period, fewer than 28,000 people were apprehended entering illegally from Canada, compared with over 1.5 million down south.
Putting aside the complex calculation of America’s relationship with our neighbor and friend Mexico, those figures clearly don’t justify such Trumpian lies, hostility and trade barriers against Canada.
Adding national insult to economic injury, Trump has notoriously declared that this proud country should be our 51st state:
“We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives… We don’t need anything from Canada. And I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state.”
Boos for Our Booze
During a visit to Canada’s Nova Scotia province this month, I got a glimpse of the damage he’s quickly done to our two nations’ bonds. The first hint was alcoholic – by which I mean the disappearance of U.S. beer, wine and spirits from many restaurant menus and liquor stores. Another sign was the plethora of Canada’s national maple leaf flags flying everywhere – a rejection of Trump’s 51st state slap and other insults.
As usual, Canadians were unfailingly friendly and polite during my visit, blaming neither my friends nor me for Trump’s affronts. But their perspective on our country has changed.
The next president might conceivably restore some foreign faith in the United States if we demonstrate renewed faith in friendship and alliances. But after their being burned twice, could we blame Canadians for remaining wary?
The Tip of the Iceberg
Canada is by no means our only appalled ally. On a visit to Australia earlier this year, I heard rage about Trump’s tariffs; worry about American unreliability as China antagonizes our ally Down Under; and sympathy to the point that several Aussies said they feel sorry for us. Trump’s threats to take over Denmark’s territory, Greenland, is sparking similar ire by our loyal European partner (which, by the way, lost 52 soldiers fighting alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq).
With hundreds of thousands slaughtered by Russia’s invasion and bombardments, Ukraine endures Trump’s fickle promises of aid and his outrageous, dishonest Oval Office attack on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and other European nations wonder if they’re next in line for American abandonment and Russian aggression.
Canada and other countries saw first-term Trump was as maybe an anomaly, something from which America could rebound. His even more adversarial second-term actions suggest that our allies must plan for a future in which they can no longer count on us. All the while, he cozies up to corrupt autocrats like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Just One Wish
If I could make just one wish for Trump supporters who are friends and neighbors, as well as for the many millions of other MAGA backers, it would be that they talk to Canadians about why so many are flying their country’s maple leaf flags these days. In their polite way, our northern neighbors might help Americans grasp how Trump’s words and actions hurt both them and us.
Even examining the matter in a cold-hearted manner, the biggest winner in such a dialogue would be the United States. In alienating so many allies, we toss aside the “soft power” flowing from our influence, example and friendship around the world. That power has protected, strengthened and enriched us for decades. We’d accordingly benefit if more of us could see our nation through the eyes of foreigners.
Just maybe, such chats might persuade some Americans of one more vital fact: Standing by our allies and shared values is not just a matter of friendship, as crucial as that is. What’s at stake, both here and abroad, is freedom. Let’s hope that our foreign friends have the patience and that we have the perseverance to see all this through and to help each other through the challenges ahead.
I live in Vancouver, Canada and I find this whole situation to be tragic. I’m not mad at Trump, he’s just being the ass he’s always been, but I’m furious at all the people that willingly handed him the power to mold the future of the US that their children will inherit. What could they possibly have expected?
Excellent perspective, Steve. Trump’s attacks on our friends and allies weaken our country. They serve to make America weak again, like we were in the 19th Century. Trump is not defending America by attacking Canada. Instead, his goal is to try to force Canada to accept more Trump hotels.
Thanks very much for the thoughtful comments, Barbara and Richard. I’m afraid that both of you hit home all too well.
Hi Steve, There was an article today in the Globe. Apparently Canadians aren’t coming to Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Trump’s hatred of Canada has reached into the pockets of people I know and love. And honestly, I think it stems from Melania’s smitten gaze of Justin Trudeau.
With friends like these…
I think Canadians feel as if they have been thoroughly cheated. We thought we were good neighbours, thought we truly had a connection with the people south of the border.
But we were wrong. It seems the relationship between our countries only extends to dollars and cents (and maybe fentanyl). Long gone are the days when we shared some ideals on freedom and liberty. You mention Putin and Orban. Let me add Netanyahu and his murderous regime. But apparently this cannot be said in your country.
I doubt talking to a MAGA fan would do anything. I spoke to many of them while in Vegas. All were very friendly and welcoming. But they’re all America First, other countries be damned. Even the Filipina immigrant I spoke to was 100% behind Trump (‘he’s a businessman’ carries a lot of weight politically!). Or the guy who told me with a straight face that he was longing for his future US flag with 51 stars on it.
As such, I don’t see any use in engaging in conversations with the majority of Americans who believe all the lies about us, don’t correct the narrative or don’t care. Canada has just cancelled America. If all the USA cares about is dollars, Canadians have stopped buying US products and vacationing there.
This is very sad but I believe this too shall pass. A country as pragmatic and dynamic as the US will soon realize where its strengths lie, who its allies are and who have been misleading it. Its myriad of democratic institutions provide checks and balances. Sure it’s messy, but democracy is and will always be.
And in the end, we’ll still be your good neighbours to the North.
Best wishes!!
With friends like these…
I think Canadians feel as if they have been thoroughly cheated. We thought we were good neighbours, thought we truly had a connection with the people south of the border.
But we were wrong. It seems the relationship between our countries only extends to dollars and cents (and maybe fentanyl). Long gone are the days when we shared some ideals on freedom and liberty (once called the Western Bloc). You mention Putin and Orban. Let me add Netanyahu and his murderous regime. But apparently this cannot be said much down south.
I doubt talking to a MAGA fan would do anything. I spoke to many of them while in Vegas. All were very friendly and welcoming. But they’re all America First, other countries be damned. Even the Filipina immigrant I spoke to was 100% behind Trump (‘he’s a businessman’ carries a lot of weight politically!). Or the guy who told me with a straight face that he was longing for his future US flag with 51 stars on it.
As such, I don’t see any use in engaging in conversations with the majority of Americans who believe all the lies about us, don’t correct the narrative or don’t care. As a response, Canada has just cancelled America. If all the USA cares about is dollars, Canadians have stopped buying US products and vacationing there.
This is very sad but I believe this too shall pass. A country as pragmatic and dynamic as the US will soon realize where its strengths lie, who its allies are and who have been misleading it. Its myriad of democratic institutions provide checks and balances. Sure it’s messy, but democracy is and will always be.
And in the end, we’ll still be your nice neighbours to the North and happy to engage with all Americans.
Thanks, Francoise and Bev, for your comments about and from Canada. Francoise, I apologize for missing (and thus not approving) your comment the first time around.
As for the substance of what both of you said, I can’t blame Canadians at all for cancelling and boycotting America. Maybe it will even do some slight good down here, though ultimately it will be up to us Americans to do something about the scourge that’s befallen our country.
Quick follow-up re Canadians going much less to the US.
In an article (link below), it seems Americans are also shunning Canada! For Montreal, there are 7% less American tourists compared to last year. Quebec City: 8-10% less.
According to a poll of potential American tourists to Canada, 25% of Americans think they’ll not be welcomed in Canada!!
Don’t worry Steve, you’ll always be welcomed here!
Link: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/2025-08-12/tourisme/recul-notable-des-voyageurs-americains.php
This article powerfully captures the damage Trumps actions have done to US-Canada relations. The personal observations about lost beer sales and maple leaf flags flying high make the political divide feel immediate and real. It’s a stark reminder of how allies see us and the cost of isolationism.