Point of View: Will the Special U.S.-Canada Bond Survive Trump 2.0?
[Left] The Peace Arch at the Washington and British Columbia border (Source: Wikimedia)
Canada’s federal election on April 28 drew much attention from the world’s most populous and powerful democracies. And earlier, there had been plenty of drama, as seen by Prime Minister Modi’s and President Trump’s contentious relationship with Justin Trudeau, the former Canadian prime minister. While Trudeau is gone, the drama won’t be over anytime soon.
Regardless of what happens between Canada and the U.S. after the Canadian federal election, we can’t overstate the damage Trump 2.0 has already done to the special bond. The two countries have much in common. Canadians may beg to differ these days, but it’s true that outsiders can have a hard time distinguishing between native-born Americans and Canadians. Like the British or South Africans or Australians or Irish, the accents of the North American neighbors set them apart from native speakers of English elsewhere. Australians and New Zealanders are similarly indistinguishable.
On a few occasions, when I mistook a Canadian for an American (or vice versa), none of them was offended. It’s different now. Alarmed by the unprovoked attacks on their sovereignty, and incensed by the Trump tariffs, Canadians have been saying—often, loudly—that they want to be no part of the U.S. And for Canadians, unlike their brash neighbors, being loud is unusual.
Is that a difference? Sure, but all such differences are superficial. There’s so much that unites the U.S. and Canada—language, culture, geography, history, cuisine, and even their experience with immigration, which goes back a long way.
North America’s first gurdwara for Sikhs was built in 1905 in Golden, British Columbia, and the first Hindu temple was erected in 1906 in San Francisco.
The list of notable Canadians in the U.S. is long, and they include many South Asians. Television journalist and anchor Ali Velshi, actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (the lead in Netflix’s Never Have I Ever), and Princeton mathematician Manjul Bhargava (Fields Medal winner) are just three examples.
Now, thanks to Trump 2.0, we’re not only in a different era but we’re in uncharted territory.
Of all the bizarre developments in the last few months, none has been more baffling than this rupture between the U.S. and Canada. The economic damage caused by tariffs will be difficult to undo, at least in the short term. Canada is America’s second biggest trading partner (after Mexico), and there’s been no troubling export-import imbalance. In 2024, while the U.S. exports to Canada amounted to $349.4 billion, its imports from Canada added up to $412.7 billion.
“It’s clear the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner,” Mark Carney said bluntly. He took over as the leader of the Liberals and Canada’s prime minister after Trudeau resigned. Pierre Poilievre leads the Conservatives, the other major party in the 2025 election. Incidentally, Carney, who earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard, also has ties to the U.S.
More recently, Trump softened his approach, and his first phone conversation with Carney was respectful, even hopeful. But it wasn’t long ago that he condescendingly referred to Trudeau as the “governor” of the 51st American state. Carney has been cautiously optimistic, given the new tone, but he knows—as do most Canadians—that his country will still be dealing with a mercurial president and an overweening, reckless administration beholden to its MAGA base.
Trump’s plan to create a 51st state is a nonstarter, since at least 90% of Canadians have no use for such fantasies. Worse, because of anti-U.S. sentiments, Canadians are avoiding trips to America and boycotting American-made products. All this is upsetting to people on both sides of the border, including the Liberals, although their political fortunes wouldn’t have revived without the crisis. Poilievre even said that Trump wanted the Liberals to win! In reality, both Trump and Modi would have rooted for the Conservatives.
Canada’s population is a little above 40 million, making the U.S. population about 8.5 times bigger.
The U.S. is smaller in size, and its northern border—at 5,525 miles—is the longest border between two nations. Canada’s rich natural resources, as Trudeau and others pointed out, have made it a target for Trump 2.0’s imperialist goals (Greenland and Panama are other targets).
But here’s the rub for the Republicans. Even if they accept the 47th president’s twisted reasoning, the 51st state would be a disaster for their party. It’s no secret that Canada is more closely aligned with Blue America than Red America, politically speaking. Being slightly more populated than California (the most populous U.S. state), Canada would have the most electoral votes in the reshaped nation, giving the Democrats a big advantage.
Leaving aside such hypothetical scenarios, let’s hope the U.S. and Canada will repair their relationship in the near future. Given their long friendship, it would be a shame if they didn’t.
The U.S. has been called a melting pot, rather than a mosaic like Canada. Today, however, the truth is more complicated, and the neighbors are more alike than different. As two of the most immigrant-friendly nations, they have been learning from each other’s experiences, which include the civil rights struggle and policies like multiculturalism and the points-based immigration system.
One could argue that the salad bowl, with its mixed ingredients, is a better metaphor to describe Canada or the U.S. now. Food metaphors, despite their limitations, can provide insights. For instance, Shashi Tharoor’s metaphor for India—a thali—does capture its uniqueness.
If we go back in U.S. history, the melting pot meant that sometimes immigrants, to avoid prejudice and discrimination, masked their origins by changing their names, background details, and even their religion. That’s no longer true. We take heterogeneity for granted, and integration in society is seen as a healthier alternative to total assimilation.
Which brings us to the crux of what Trump 2.0 (and the MAGA movement, more broadly) is really about. But their heavy-handed attempts to unravel multiculturalism and a more inclusive, equal society will eventually fail—because most Americans, especially young Americans, have no interest in turning the clock back. And you can’t drag them there if they refuse to follow.
In the 1960s, during a time of upheaval, the U.S. was an inspiration to countries like Canada. Now, as the U.S. goes through a period of turmoil and regression, it’s Canada that’s the beacon.
Murali Kamma is the managing editor of Khabar. A slightly different version of this column appeared in The Quint, a news and opinion media outlet based in New Delhi, India. Email: letters@khabar.com
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