I’ve had this ongoing conversation with myself since Canada got slapped with 50% tariffs on $27.6 billion goods.

Should I weigh in?

Okay, here I go. Dipping my toe in the politically charged waters – the ongoing trade war with the USA.

I’m not going to get into the tit for tat of who said what when, or why each side responded as they did.

I will tell you how a woman who grew up in a New Brunswick border town with family on both sides of the line is feeling right now.

Betrayed.

That’s the word that comes to mind.

Canadian, eh? We are the good guys!  The polite, easy-going folks who come to the rescue of most anyone who asks.  We are your neighbours and friends. Your closest ally.

And we’ve been taking it on the chin for a while now from a US Administration that has replaced history with a distorted version of events.

Remember 9/11 when the world turned upside down?  All those stranded passengers who landed on our airfields?  You were scared, we were too, but we held space for you. We fed, clothed and housed you, and welcomed you with open arms.

Our troops served in the US led war on Afghanistan and we suffered tremendous casualties and loss of life.

Even closer to home, our economies, our way of life is so closely connected, no one, certainly not one administration hell bent on rewriting history, will destroy the close-knit relationship our two countries share.

We are diverse, strong and proud, we say sorry more times than we probably need to, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

We can take a joke.

But no, we don’t see the humour when Agent Orange, Mango Mussolini, Cheeto-in Chief, The Tangerine Nightmare, or the Angry Creamsicle, whatever name you prefer, pulls a sharpie from his pencil case and decides to unilaterally change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake of America. 

Same goes when calling us the 51st state. We are not, nor ever will be.

And when the same President of the United States posts AI generated memes of a Bald Eagle attacking a Canadian goose?

Is that the behaviour befitting anyone let alone a President?

Honestly, I don’t think most Canadians know what to do.  How should we react when it feels like our closest friend just gave us the middle finger?

There’s talk of boycotting American goods but that’s not easy.  Can I somehow extract the Canadian free run eggs and Canola oil from my Hellman’s mayonnaise and send the remaining ingredients back to America?

Hardly.

This household made a choice to avoid travel to the USA while under this current administration and we’ve held firm.  We aren’t the only ones. Statistics Canada reports that compared to 2024 data, travel to the US remains down by 28.7 per cent.

These tarriffs impact both sides of the coin and we all pay the price.

To the 70 million Americans who voted against this regime – thank you. I know many of you are still fighting the good fight.

The others though?  The ones who hide under the cloak of all things good while rounding up immigrants for concentration camps?  The ones who’ve stripped women of their right to choose? The ones who have robbed citizens of their rights and freedoms including the right to vote? The ones who smile at the American public while lining their own pocketbooks?

Are there no adults in the room?  Surely someone can put an end to this madness before things go from bad to catastrophic.

America, this Canadian is weary.  Exhausted by the confusion. Downtrodden by the chaos.

We have no choice but to move on.

We’re making new friends, forging new relationships. 

We’re still holding space though – hoping decency and common sense returns soon.

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