Canadians are a polite people, but we aren’t pushovers.
We’re used to harsh conditions. Winter here can be brutal, and there isn’t a Canadian alive who hasn’t done their turn navigating heavy snows in some form or another. Able bodied Canadians clear our cars, struggle over ice, and drive on roads so invisible we’re basically praying that the driver ahead of us knows what he’s doing.
Even those of us who aren’t able bodied, those in wheelchairs or otherwise immobile, they have to deal with the added costs of the winter months. Heating, travel, care if needed, assistance even leaving the house — it’s all ten times harder with the snowbanks blocking you in.
Everything is more expensive.
We’re used to having a hard go of it for some part of the year. Yet, we persist; we remain cheerful, polite, and offer each other a helping hand.
I’ve been part of human chains crossing icy parking lots in the winter, where a half dozen of total strangers linked arms with my mother and I to help each other make it from our cars into the mall without slipping and going down.
That’s the Canadian spirit in a nutshell.
When I say that we don’t easily break when the going gets tough, you know I mean it. We buckle down and keep going because life goes on, even when the sun goes down early and the cold nights run long.
We throw some apple cider in the crockpot, grab blankets, and read in comfort. Even when the power goes out, we’ll drink our cider cold and light a candle so we can see.
No sweat.
I know a lot of American small businesses or even major tourism companies are hoping that Canadians are going to come back to the U.S. and save them. We’re going to keep being their ATM machines and bring a flush of money with us when we visit.
What they need to understand is that our boycott is not petering out. It’s gaining speed.
Since that disastrous attempt to overrule us and treat us like a vassal state with that ‘deal’ Trump tried to push us into, our Prime Minister has cut off trade talks with the U.S. and made our position clear.
We are a sovereign, free nation. We do not grant you any authority over us.
Instead, we’re finding new friends. We’re turning to Europe, negotiating to become the very first Associate Member of the EU, with incredible benefits to both them, and to our own people.
I’d love to be able to travel around Europe without a Visa. It’d be amazing to have closer ties to our cousins over the ocean. Especially our northern cousins in Scandinavia — there are a couple in the Union, too, and it’d be great to shore up our connections.
Trump pitched a tantrum when he heard this, threatening more tariffs.
He still thinks we pay those. He’s going to punish us by making his own constituents’ financial situation worse.
At the same time, it’s not just our politicians making grand gestures and trade deals. Canadians at the grassroots level are done.
The push to avoid the tariffs and support local businesses is getting stronger. Even the store I work at is putting American goods on sale to get them off the shelves, and cutting American suppliers out to replace them with Canadian sources.
Other local businesses are doing the same.
Even our airports are cutting flights to the U.S. because of how low the demand is these days.
So, American business owners, understand; we are not coming back. Our country is under attack, and the only ones to blame are Trump, his regime, and the millions of voters and non-voters who decided to put the reigns of power in his tiny little hands.
Don’t blame us. Don’t be angry at the rest of the world for moving on without you.
Be angry at the right people. At least then we could agree on something.
Solidarity wins.
For nearly half of my life, I've had one foot in Canada, and the other one in the U.S. and beyond. I just recently found out (if I want to pursue it) that with the new change in Canadian immigration law last December, I am eligible to apply for a Canadian citizenship certificate now, because of my great grandparents. I thought I was one generation removed, but someone else recently told me that I am eligible. Not that I'm making any immediate plans.
At my age, I have to ask, is it still worth the massive effort it would take to undertake all of that records research? I'm thinking about it.
I will always root for Canada because of my roots, and all of the time I spent in my life living near the border of New Brunswick. I sincerely hope the Canadian economy strengthens and makes the people more prosperous in the long run. As for the U.S, it will never recover from what the people have allowed to happen. I don't know the future, other than a major recession is coming soon. I just hope it doesn't break the rest of the world when it comes.
OMG I love everything you said. Maybe eight or ten years ago, my wife and our two young children took a trip to Canada. We went to Toronto first, then took a side trip to Montreal. If we had jobs and more money, I'd be willing to move there in a heartbeat.