Trump has done the impossible and turned Canada patriotic
Trump has done the impossible and turned Canada patriotic
Share:
Even the beleaguered Trudeau seems to be doing well out of Trump’s posturing, writes Holly Baxter. It was a trend that began at NHL and NBA games on Sunday and has clearly stuck. The loudest reactions came on Sunday, a day after Donald Trump ordered his now-paused 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods, as well as 10 percent tariffs on energy imported from America’s northern neighbor. Meanwhile, the Canadian independent media company Made In Canada — previously only concerned with pop culture and sports news — was busy offering 25 percent discounts for Canadians to advertise with them and tweeting out pictures of hoodies emblazoned with the slogan “CANADA STRONG.”.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a back-and-forth over email with Rupa Supramanya, an Ottawa-based reporter, about why so many young Canadians had reacted surprisingly positively to the idea of becoming America’s “51st state.”. Supramanya mentioned something that stuck with me: “Americans have a positive sense of who they are centered around their culture and history,” whereas “many Canadians, especially on the left, identify themselves as non-American. In other words, Canadian identity is ‘we’re not American,’ which is a negative and fragile sense of who they are.”.
It turns out that “we’re not American” may actually be enough. Sure, it’s fragile when you’re simply standing up for politeness and decency, even a better approach to health care. But when you’re defining yourself against a man who’s happy to crash the global economy for a soundbite and who just claimed he’s going to buy Gaza? “O Canada” starts sounding a heck of a lot more melodic.
There are some on the other side. An X account that calls itself Canadians For Annexation has been operating for the past month — but it only has 3,100 followers, and not all of them seem supportive. Meanwhile, other accounts are sharing pictures of “Canadian Traitor” medals to hand out to those who would join America. The most upvoted reply? “Great quote. I’m a Texan, and consider myself a U.S. patriot in my own way, but I hope, if it comes down to having to fight a fascist takeover, you and I can be allies.”.
