Guest Opinion: O Canada, we’re so sorry

By Bill Gouveia on August 7, 2025.

“What did I ever do to you? I don’t deserve this, that much is true. And I don’t think there’s much that I can do. Stop screaming, you’re turning blue.”

– From the song

“What Did I Ever Do To You” by The Hives

Yeah, I had never heard of the above song either. When I first heard that opening line, I thought it was an actual recent conversation between Canada and the U.S.

Because, quite frankly, if I were Canada, I would be wondering just what in the world I ever did to earn the disrespect and extremely aggressive scorn and bullying consistently reigned down upon it by President Donald Trump and – through him – the United States. It’s undeserved and a sad commentary on what passes for American diplomacy these days.

You remember Canada, right? It’s that big, quiet country located directly north of us. The one with the really nice side of Niagara Falls and universal healthcare. The one where politeness is a national tradition.

The country that always has our back when we have international conflicts and problems. The nation that played a key role in rescuing and returning our hostages held in Iran in 1979 and stood by our side during 9/11. They are that family in your neighbourhood that shows up with a casserole and an offer of help every time someone in your family is struggling or hurt.

Yet Trump wants to make them part of the United States, by force and against their will if necessary. He charges this forever friend higher tariffs than most other countries while claiming “we don’t do much business with Canada” and don’t need them. Yet the truth is Canada was the leading buyer of U.S. exports last year.

Trump cites a trade imbalance with Canada as one ridiculous excuse. Then he truly abandons all credibility by claiming his actions are necessary to stop the flow of fentanyl over the border. The amount of that drug coming through Canada is negligible. It’s a weak political excuse to justify bullying and simply coveting thy neighbour’s country.

But to Canada’s everlasting credit, they are not just rolling over and capitulating to Trump’s patronizing attitude toward them. They are – politely of course – telling the United States they will retaliate in kind if forced. We in this country rely heavily on things like Canadian lumber, steel and other products. If we charge them more, they will and have charged us more also, a move Trump then used as a reason to hike tariffs even higher, punishing Canada for defending themselves and acting reasonably.

Canada is a great neighbour. They never play the music too loud when we are trying to sleep. They keep their lawns mowed and neat. They happily invite us to visit and often stop by our place to say hello and spend their tourist money. They seem to genuinely like us – at least until now.

You can’t blame them for wondering why Trump has generally treated them worse than other countries when it comes to certain trade issues, while telling them to either sell themselves to him or he might just take their land.

O Canada. We’re sorry. It’s not you, it’s US.

Bill Gouveia is an American syndicated columnist

15
-14