9 hours Ago By Editorial
There are surely many diplomats and ordinary Canadians who hope the current tensions between us and the United States ease up a bit — but to be honest, it’s not looking good. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * There are surely many diplomats and ordinary Canadians who hope the current tensions between us and the United States ease up a bit — but to be honest, it’s not looking good. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion There are surely many diplomats and ordinary Canadians who hope the current tensions between us and the United States ease up a bit — but to be honest, it’s not looking good.
An online Leger poll conducted between Feb. 14 and 17, surveying 1,500 Canadians and 1,000 Americans, revealed that a little more than a quarter of Canadians (27 per cent) now describe the U.S.
as an “enemy” country. Among the rest, only 30 per cent still see the country as an ally. “Enemy” is a phrasing not to be taken lightly.
The language of political relationships between nations tends to err on the soft side, so as not to arouse tempers. However much Western countries might be antagonized by, say, China, the relationship between us and them is often described as “tense,” as opposed to acrimonious. Patrick Semansky / Associated Press files Many Canadians are doubting our longtime neighbour.
But just because it’s a serious term doesn’t mean it’s unwarranted. In just one month since his inauguration, U.S.
President Donald Trump and his hangers-on have successfully dashed that long-standing friendship against the rocks of their own ambitions. The people he is supposed to represent seem more interested in that relationship; according to the Leger poll, only one per cent of Americans surveyed view Canada as an enemy, and 56 per cent see us as an ally. (Granted, some of those who call us friends may do so under the belief we will one day be their fellow Americans.
) Leger’s vice-president for Eastern Canada, Sebastian Dallaire, said the strong opinions of that 27 per cent of Canadians “speak to the level of animosity that we feel right now in Canada and that are triggering kind of a broader rally-around-the-flag effect in all aspects of our lives.” Indeed it has. That’s because Trump, with his threats of tariffs and annexation, has managed to rouse in Canadians the one thing we pretty much all agree is central to the Canadian character: not being American.
“What does it mean to be Canadian?” is a well-worn question, one with perhaps as many answers as there are Canadians, period. But usually, “we are not the same as Americans” constitutes a central pillar of one’s own sense of Canadian identity. Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future.
Canadians, however polite and humble we may be stereotyped as, do have an entrenched habit of patting ourselves on the back as the kinder, gentler North American nation, one with a better social safety net, an ever-so-slightly better record on social progressive and environmental issues. “We’re not like Americans,” we cry out by the thousands. “We have health care!” Sometimes, this tendency has been to our detriment.
This self-satisfaction of comparing ourselves favourably to our southern neighbours often has the effect of clouding our judgment about our own country and its own history of racism, colonialism, homophobia and socio-economic equality. Canada is a great country to live in for many people, but it could be better than it is and we mistakenly rest on our laurels a little too much simply because the grass tends to look a little worse south of us. However, that habit of asserting that we stand apart from the U.
S. serves us well here. Because the 27 per cent of those Leger respondents who call the U.
S. an enemy may not have the wrong idea — as dramatic as it is considering our history with the U.S.
, if there was ever a time between the end of the War of 1812 and right now where they could be said to be our enemy, it is probably right now. That means that as we continue to weather the constant, infuriating threats against our country by a volatile American president, we’ll need all the fortitude we can get to rise to the moment. And certainly, when that president is talking about absorbing our country into his, a national reflex to bark out “We’re not Americans,” certainly puts us in the right headspace for the trials ahead.
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