Oh Canada
A reflection on out neighbor to the north
Last Memorial Day, Gary and I entered Canada through Maine at the US border with New Brunswick. We had about 5 weeks to explore the Candian Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island before returning home through the provinces of Quebec and Ottawa. We had so many amazing experiences and learned a lot along the way.
It was at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site that I learned about Canada and the American Revolution. The revolutionaries hoped to persuade Canada, also a part of the British Colonies, to join them in fighting against the British. The American revolutionaries were not successful in their attempts to invade Quebec City or Nova Scotia who remained largely loyal to the British Empire. I don’t ever recall learning that series of events in my American History classes, and realized for the first time that the revolutionaries fought against our Canadian neighbors.
Our experience of the people of Canada is one of warmth and generosity. As an example, reserving and paying for campsites throughout the US and Canada occurs online or through the park’s ranger station. In the US, whether you make a reservation online or in person, you will typically be paying a reservation fee in addition to the campsite fee. While in Canada, we decided to stay an extra two nights in our campsite overlooking the Atlantic. I reserved it online and then went down to the ranger station to collect my pass for the new reservation. Once there, the ranger said, “Oh you should have come down here to reserve it and you could have saved the registration fee.” I commented that I did not realize reserving in person would save me that fee. His response, which is so Canadian in its friendliness and generosity was, “That’s ok. I will bring you up a bundle of firewood for your campfire tonight.” In our three years of traveling through US campgrounds, that has never happened. And that was one of several similar stories.
While in Canada, we met many people who were on their way to Newfoundland. Some made the trek annually, while others were finally making their once in a lifetime trip. Many spoke about the warmth and friendliness of the people of Newfoundland. I was reminded how the community of Gander, Newfoundland welcomed 38 planes with over 6,000 passengers to its little town of 10,000 on September 11, 2001. It took 24 hours for those planes to be cleared for unloading. In such a small town there were not enough hotel rooms available. Yet in those 24 hours the townspeople stepped up to organize and host the passengers by providing free food, shelter and even prescriptions until their planes were cleared for flight. Come From Away is a fabulous musical about that story.
I share these personal reflections as a reminder that Canadians have been our good neighbors to the north. There is not, nor has there been, a threat to the United States coming from Canada. It is why I, and so many others, are confounded and upset by the remarks of the president in the months since the election.
It started with poking Prime Minister Trudeau by calling him the governor of the 51st state. Around that same time calls to acquire Greenland arose again, echoing similar remarks in 2019. Then the Panama Canal entered the conversation with the president elect saying we made a bad deal and the US should repossess the Panama Canal. And of course all of that initially met with the same, “He’s just trolling.” You know Trump, he’s all bluster or a bull in a china shop comments of defense. The problem is, there are many who are now questioning what is appearing to be a real intention. He seems very serious.
In early January, prior to taking office, the president elect stated he could use military force to acquire the Panama Canal and Greenland, and that he would use tariffs to put economic pressure on Canada to join the US. In his inaugural address on January 20, the President declared that the US would expand its territory. At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in late January, the President suggested Canada could avoid the tariffs by becoming the 51st state. On February 2, the president reiterated his proposal that Canada could avoid the tariffs by becoming the 51st state. It’s been reported that in the early weeks of the new administration, in a private phone call with Prime Minister Trudeau, the president said he did not think the borders between our countries were valid. If any other leader in any other country were making these kinds of comments, would we be concerned? Or is our president just the sort of person who is all bloat and bluster and not to be taken seriously? And if so, may I say, that is not what makes a leader great or a country strong.
I discovered an interesting history of tariffs and pressure to annex Canada that occurred back in 1890 when then Representative William McKinley framed an act known as the McKinley Tariff Act which were part of a plan to make Canada more reliant on the US and force it into annexation. According to Canadian historian Craig Baird, the tariffs failed badly, “Not only did it increase prices for people in the United States, but Canada really started to kind of join hands and become more nationalistic and we aligned ourselves much more with Britain.”
Time will tell what will happen with the tariffs and increasing upset of Canadians feeling betrayed and angered by the president’s continued rhetoric of division that many are perceiving as a very real threat. In typical Canadian fashion, they are elbows up, a rally cry uniting the country. Canadian shelves have been emptied of US goods. Canadian tourists are cancelling vacations. It appears there is a surge of Canadian nationalism just as there was in 1890.
I have grave concerns over the actions of the president. I am concerned about the allies he casts aside, and the authoritarians he embraces. I am concerned about the ambition of expanding the US in its territory. I am concerned that those who tell me to wait and see, stop overreacting, are not reacting enough.
When camping in Kejimkujic National Park in Nova Scotia, our neighbors invited us to the campfire for an evening of conversation and connection. We shared experiences of living in each of our countries. They had lived in Nova Scotia all their life. We were soon leaving to go up to Cape Breton, an historical and stunning peninsula of Nova Scotia. They told us they had never been but were intending to one day. I remembered thinking how fortunate I am to have seen and experienced so much in my own country and abroad. I continue to trust that in our travels to other countries we will find a welcome yet as Americans. I join you in your anger and feelings of betrayal. I join you in elbows up.
There’s work to do, Congress members to call, protests to attend, and connections to make. Connections that inspire a vision of a country and a world uniting in the common values of freedom, integrity, honor and justice. It would be easy to stay in my own little world and blot out what’s happening around me. At this point in my life, though, I know how intrinsically I am connected to each one of you and there’s work to do.