By The Associated Press’ Rob Gillies
TORONTO One thing has become very evident as Canadians deal with U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and his threats to declare Canada the 51st state: One of the most enduring and cordial partnerships in the world, forged by geography, heritage, and centuries of shared interests, is fractured.
Trump’s announcement of a trade war against America’s longstanding ally and northern neighbor has left Canadians feeling unquestionably betrayed. Although Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated Monday afternoon that the tariffs will be delayed by at least 30 days after he pledged greater border cooperation, Trump continues to threaten Canada’s sovereignty and has threatened to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.
Disapproval and debate are commonplace in Canada. At recent National Hockey League games, Canadian hockey fans have even begun jeering the American national anthem. Speaking to the nation over the weekend, Trudeau tapped into the sense of betrayal that many Canadians are experiencing by reminding Americans that Canadian forces fought with them in Afghanistan and assisted in responding to other crises, including Hurricane Katrina and California wildfires. He remarked, “The American people, we were always there, standing with you, grieving with you.”
Some worry that the Canadian anxieties could not be temporary. Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international affairs at the University of Toronto, predicted that the harm would be permanent. The Americans will no longer be trusted. The information from the 51st State is simply disrespectful. It acts as if Canada doesn’t exist.
How, they ask, is Canada the problem?
There is no comparable in the two nations’ ties. Every day, goods and services valued at around $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.5 billion) pass the border. Seventy-seven percent of Canada’s exports are sent to the United States, making it the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Approximately 400,000 people pass the longest international border in the world every day. Law enforcement, border security, and defense are closely coordinated, and there is a great deal of cultural, traditional, and recreational overlap.
Doug Ford, the leader of Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, remarked, “He wants to come after us?” He has compared it like having a family member stab you in the heart. “I haven’t heard a single American say that Canada is the issue,” he continued.
Some Canadians are abandoning their plans to take vacations in the United States, while others are circulating lists of Canadian goods they may purchase in place of American goods. Canada is the largest source of foreign visitors to the United States, with 20.4 million trips last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, which also stated that the tariffs on Canada may have an effect on Canadian spending and travel to the United States.
His current behavior is unheard of and extremely detrimental to the partnership. According to Daniel Beland, a professor of political science at McGill University in Montreal, he is undermining Canadians’ confidence in the United States in ways that will make it difficult to mend the relationship. Given that the two nations have traditionally had close economic, cultural, and geographic links, he claims that many Canadians feel deceived by Trump’s threats and demeanor.
According to Beland, it’s undoubtedly one of the worst periods in Canadian-American relations since Canada’s founding in 1867. His proposal to make Canada the 51st state is an outright assault on the sovereignty of the nation. He doesn’t respect Canada’s institutions and sovereignty, even if we take that threat out of the picture.
According to Canadian officials, 25% retaliatory tariffs are being applied to American imports of paper goods, drinks, and cosmetics. The second stage will be considerably harsher.
Trudeau did hope that Canada wouldn’t be punished by Trump. Mexico announced that it will send 10,000 troops of its national guard to combat drug trafficking, and Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum put their planned tariffs on hold Monday for a month in order to allow for additional negotiations.
According to Trudeau, the United States and Canada have established the most prosperous economic, military, and security alliance in history. He claims that this collaboration has been the envy of the whole world.
We are neighbors by geography, as President John F. Kennedy once remarked. According to him, need has made us allies, economics has made us partners, and history has made us friends.
The closer the allies, the bumpier the ride?
Trump also intends to impose a 10% tariff on electricity from Canada. The fact that Canada supplies the US with more than 4.3 million barrels of oil per day highlights the possible consequences. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the country uses roughly 20 million barrels per day. It has been generating roughly 13.2 million barrels at home.
However, Trump continues to claim that Canada is not necessary to the United States and reiterated on Monday that he would want to see Canada become the 51st state. Canada is also dismissed by his vice president.
Don’t tell me the tearful tale of how Canada is our closest buddy. I have a lot of Canadian pals and I adore Canada. However, is the government spending enough on the military to reach its NATO target? Are they preventing drugs from entering our nation?, Vice President JD Vance of the United States wrote on X.
Although fewer people and narcotics reach the United States through Canada than Mexico, Canada has launched a billion-dollar plan to protect the border.
The threat of tariffs was paused, but this did nothing to cheer Canadians.
Respected Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur suggested on the social media site X that we take a 30-day break from destroying our economy in exchange for some border theater to solve a nearly nonexistent cross-border issue.
There have been difficult times in the past, just as in most intimate partnerships. For decades, there have been intermittent limited trade wars over products such as lumber, pulp and paper, and others. The personal animosity between President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who resisted American encouragement to be more assertive in Cold War maneuvers, caused a sour divide in the early 1960s.
On Monday, February 3, 2025, in Detroit, trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge to enter the United States from Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Paul Sancya/AP)
Later, when Trudeau’s father, then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau, welcomed American draft evaders who crossed the border, the Vietnam War created some rifts in Canada. Additionally, some Canadians, particularly the intelligentsia of Ontario, believe that Americans are more crude and gun-happy than those living north of the border.
During his first term, Trump himself disparaged Canada’s prime minister and trade. However, nothing like this moment. Trump said that without a significant subsidy from the United States, Canada would no longer be a functioning nation.
Trump wrote on social media, “Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Retorted esteemed Globe and Mail reporter Steve Chase: It is the act of a hostile foreign power to ask Canada to acquiesce to annexation.
At a Toronto NBA game between the Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers, the jeering persisted. Wearing a Canada hat, one Raptors fan decided to sit during the anthem. Importer Joseph Chua stated that he anticipates feeling the effects of the tariffs quite immediately.
I have consistently stood for both anthems. “To honor the American national anthem, I have removed my hat,” he stated. However, we’re feeling a little resentful about things today.
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