On May 17, 1961, in addressing the Canadian Parliament, President John F. Kennedy stated “Geography has made us neighbours. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.” For over 60 years those words have rung true.
Yet since being elected to a second term, the longest undefended border in the world has become sharply under fire. Donald Trump wants Canada to do more to control the flow of immigrants and fentanyl into the US. Only Donald Trump could unite Canadians, and he has done it by mocking Canada as the 51st state and suggesting that he will make the unification of the two countries happen through economics.
As Canadians, we have developed a much different culture and social norms. Our country did not come into its own through war. Our country has not gone through a civil war. Our country grew out of two distinct nations: one of French, the other of English, one Catholic, the other Protestant coming together for their own good and then growing from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We have become a fully integrated nation welcoming people of all colours and faiths.
Immigrants have kept their cultures and their traditions that have expanded our diversity as a nation. We are not the melting pot of the United States.
The Donald has proposed tariffs on all items imported into the United States.
First will be a 25% tariff on all products imported into the United States from Canada, which will harm Canadian industries. We learned in the last Trump administration that when tariffs were applied to steel and aluminum coming from Canada to the US, it hurt industries that relied on those raw materials to manufacture products for the US market. Ultimately, it hurt American consumers.
Sunday morning Justin Trudeau in an interview with Jen Psaki, explained what made Canada unique and what Canadians say about our nation. He spoke with a great deal of pride of how Canadians have worked to strengthen and enhance the middle class through our health care, our social networks, our inclusiveness and at the end stated quite confidently that when Canadians talk about our nation our final comment is that “We are not Americans.”
Donald Trump is a bully. We are learning from every premier, every federal minister, every member of provincial and federal parliaments that we are prepared to stand up to the bully. Plans are being put in place. Our orange juice may not come from Florida but more likely will come from Brazil as happened before. Kentucky bourbon that had high Canadian tariffs in the last tariff battle again will be made more expensive.
We are different. Our Canadian values are different. And we are proud of our differences. It is what makes us “Not American.”
