Adam Beattie, most commonly known online as iamRobinSkies, is a political strategist, columnist, content creator and campaigner from Vancouver, B.C. You can follow him @iamrobinskies on all social platforms.
It is normal to get angry and respond negatively to a perceived injustice, especially when that injustice is perpetrated by someone you would have regarded as a friend. However, anger blinds your ability to be practical and often leads to unnecessary, unforeseen consequences — consequences that could be difficult to undo and could harm you and the people you love for a very long time.
We as a country have benefited greatly from our relationship with the world’s largest consumer economy. Being able to trade with a stable, friendly and hard-working neighbour has been the greatest gift God has ever given Canada, other than our bounty of natural resources and immense coastlines.
Which is why I think the general attitude that many Canadians have towards the United States, either because of this trade dispute, or exacerbated by it, is unbelievably counterproductive, and how we respond next will dictate Canada’s future for generations to come.
Every time we boo Americans’ national anthem , argue that they’re evil, thump our chests because we think they’ve declared war on us and tell our allies that the old world order is coming to end , while building inroads with America’s adversaries , we set ourselves back from actually making progress.
To be clear, I understand that Canada didn’t start this trade dispute and that as a country we need to use every tool at our disposal to negotiate a fair resolution, but just like being cut off in traffic isn’t your fault, what you do next can dictate whether or not you end up getting home alive.
These prolonged trade negotiations are going to be hard on Canadians. Last year around 72 per cent of our exports went south and a 50 per cent tariff on even five per cent of our exports could be catastrophic for many people. Responding with anger feels good in the moment but only serves to escalate the dispute, and what comes as a result could mean devastation for many people who are currently struggling to hold on.
There are many people in Canada, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who seem giddy at the idea of this trade dispute harming Donald Trump during the 2026 midterms. Ford said in February that “ the walls are closing in ” on the president due to this “economic war,” specifically in reference to the upcoming elections.
If you’re also excited about the idea of Trump suffering during the midterms, then I’m sorry to break it to you but your priorities are in the wrong place.
Now don’t get me wrong; I think Canada should use whatever leverage it has to get the best deal imaginable and I think we should have been using that leverage to close a deal months before it got to this point.
I know a lot of Canadians think that patriotism means hating the United States, hating Donald Trump, hating our neighbours to the south and hoping that the worst happens to them because they are so terrible and mean, but the reality is that that isn’t patriotism, it’s spite. Spite, animated by resentment, that has unfortunately captured much of the Canadian spirit as of late.
Which is entirely unfair considering that over the past 159 years of our existence we have had the pleasure of living next to a relatively friendly neighbour who has always looked out for us. A neighbour that we have benefited greatly from simply by existing next to them. We are rich because we trade with the United States and if that ends we won’t be as rich anymore and the things that make us Canadian, like our health-care system, will be harder to pay for.
We should be negotiating hard. We should walk away from deals that don’t serve our interests and we should work for the best possible outcome for both parties. But what we shouldn’t do in the midst of that is embrace an attitude of disrespect driven by entitlement towards a country that we depend on for so much.
Donald Trump has only two years left in his second term as president. These tariffs might not exist after 2028 but what will exist and will be remembered by future U.S. administrations is how we responded to this dispute.
If we continue to tell the world that we’re done with America, that it cannot be trusted and that we want to go our own way, it might actually respect that declaration, which would ultimately harm us more than anything we’re facing right now.
National Post
