“A Letter to Our American Friends” by Raphael Melancon, public affairs consultant and political analyst. Ottawa Citizen, July 4, 2026
Ottawa Citizen
Jul 04, 2026
Canadians will not be raising a glass to you — and you deserve an honest explanation why
To our southern neighbours,
Today, across all 50 states, millions of you will be celebrating 250 years since your country’s founding. Quite a milestone.
But exceptionally this year, Canadians will not be raising a glass to you — and you deserve an honest explanation as to why.
For over two centuries, our two nations built something rare: the longest undefended border in the world, mutually beneficial integrated economies, shared defence, and a friendship most of us took for granted far too long.
For 250 years, we shared a special bond like no other countries in the world had — like brothers sharing a whole continent together.
But that relationship has been badly shaken over the past 18 months.
It began with tariffs. As soon as he came back to the White House, Donald Trump imposed sweeping duties on Canadian goods, hitting steel, aluminum and autos particularly hard, and Canada answered with retaliatory measures of its own.
We didn’t start this. Your president did.
But tariffs, as painful as they are, could be forgiven as a simple policy dispute between two good old friends. What has been much harder to forgive is the anti-Canadian rhetoric.
Trump has dismissed our sovereignty as a historical accident, repeatedly mused about Canada becoming the “51st state” and suggested economic coercion could be used to bring it about.
To Canadians, this is not something to joke about. It’s a direct threat to the very existence of our country, voiced by the leader of our closest historical ally.
Poll numbers tell the story even better: Nearly two-thirds of Canadians view the United States unfavourably. Nearly half of us now perceive the U.S., rather than China or Russia, as the top threat to world peace. Only one in three Canadians still consider the U.S. a reliable partner — a dramatic shift compared to just a few years ago.
These are not fringe opinions. They cut across party lines, from Conservative to Liberal voters. Something has broken that will not simply mend itself when a new administration eventually takes office.
The wounds are too deep. The consequences of all this will be felt in the long term.
So this July 4, you will find Canadians largely absent from your celebrations. Fewer of us are visiting — cross-border travel has dropped sharply over the past year. Fewer of us are buying American products — a real cost to your communities’ economy.
That said, let’s be clear about something: This letter is not addressed to all of you. Many Americans oppose the tariffs and the annexation talk as strongly as we do, and polling has shown limited American appetite for a trade fight with Canada in the first place.
Our quarrel is with policy and rhetoric, not an entire people.
We hope, genuinely, for a day when that relationship could be rebuilt — generations of friendship, economic partnership and peaceful cohabitation deserve better than this.
This fall’s midterm elections will be a good opportunity to send your Canadian friends a message of hope by taking away Trump’s full control over Congress — that would be a good place to start rebuilding that shattered relationship.
But trust, once broken, takes far longer to repair than it took to break it — and until then, we will be watching your celebrations from a respectful distance.
Happy 250th anniversary, despite everything. Sincerely,
A worried — but still somewhat friendly — Canadian neighbour.
*Submitted by George Shafer, Potlatch Canadian correspondent, Almonte, Ontario. This article has been printed in its entirety so that Americans might better understand the melancholy felt by Canadians during their ongoing estrangement with the United States.