Tuesday, February 10, 2026
    ADVT 
    National

    Thanks Canada Trends: Some Americans Say Friendly Ties With Canada Will Persist Despite Trump Tirade

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 12 Jun, 2018 12:18 PM
      MONTREAL — U.S. President Donald Trump's sharp comments against Canada over trade are just a blip in an otherwise unbreakable, long-standing friendship, say some Americans living in the northeastern part of the country near the Canadian border.
       
       
      "In the long term, what we have in common as North Americans will ensure we overcome this period," says John Tousignant, executive director of the Franco-American Centre, based in New Hampshire.
       
       
      Trump embarked on a post-G7 Twitter tirade on the weekend against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him "dishonest" and "weak" in the escalating battle over trade tariffs.
       
       
      The president's surrogates also piled on during Sunday U.S. news shows, with Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro saying there was "a special place in hell" for Trudeau.
       
       
      Navarro apologized Tuesday.
       
       
      The jabs left a bitter taste with Phyllis Klein, owner of a marina on Lake Champlain in upstate New York, where about half the clientele are Quebecers.
       
       
      "I feel that it's certainly detrimental to U.S.-Canadian relations to have this kind of rhetoric out there," said Klein, who will soon turn 80.
       
       
      Klein, who has operated her business for 38 years, says she she believes Canadians understand the difference between political rhetoric and the opinions of everyday Americans.
       
      "I find it difficult to try to apologize for words that come from the mouths of people in our government, so I don't even try," she said.
       
       
      "Because they know that the words that are coming out of the president of the United States' mouth are not necessarily the feelings of those of us who value our relationships with our neighbours to the north."
       
       
      In Vermont, where Trump is particularly unpopular, a few choice words from the president won't keep people away from a popular weekend getaway on either side of the border, says one keen observer.
       
       
      "There is a large influx both ways of people visiting," said Aki Soga, reader engagement editor for the Burlington Free Press. "Vermonters visit Canada, Canadians visit Vermont."
       
       
      From a big-picture perspective, there are concerns about how the rest of the world sees the United States globally, he added. But as long as tariffs don't directly have an effect on jobs in the state, the president's words shouldn't have a major impact, Soga said.
       
       
      "I think the first-hand interaction is likely to be a stronger factor than anything the president says," he said. "If it goes on for a while — and it would have to go on for a while — people might change their views, but I don't think this one incident is likely to have that effect."
       
       
      Many social media users echoed that sentiment Monday, when the hashtag #ThanksCanada was trending on Twitter, celebrating Canadian contributions while pushing back against Trump's comments.
       
       
      In New Hampshire, which counts Quebec as its largest trading partner and where nearly a quarter of the population has French-Canadian roots, Tousignant doesn't believe a few undiplomatic words will do much to sour relations between "cousins."
       
       
      "In the short term, we quarrel from time to time and certainly this is one of those quarrelsome moments," Tousignant said, recalling that Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the current prime minister's late father, had his own issues in 1971 with then-president Richard Nixon, who famously referred to the elder Trudeau as an "asshole."
       
       
      Upon learning of the insult by Nixon, Trudeau replied: "I've been called worse things by better people."
       
       
      That slight was a temporary issue and Tousignant believes this will be too.
       
       
      "If we spend more of our time focusing on the positives we share as North Americans, we'll get past this short-term issue," he said.
       
       
      Klein said tensions are normal in any relationship, but eventually the frostiness subsides.
       
       
      "Take any husband and wife, who are trying to learn to live together and raise a family, you're going to have tensions, but usually we overcome them," Klein said. "I don't see this as anything different."
      Prev Next

      MORE National ARTICLES

      Four Peel Regional Police Officers Charged With Theft, Obstruction And Perjury

      Four Toronto-area police officers are facing charges following an investigation that began after charges were stayed against an accused drug dealer, who alleged police stole items during a search of his storage locker.

      Four Peel Regional Police Officers Charged With Theft, Obstruction And Perjury

      Prominent Calgary Chef Michael John Noble, Charged With Sexual Assaulting Employee

      Prominent Calgary Chef Michael John Noble, Charged With Sexual Assaulting Employee
      Police allege a man followed an employee into a bathroom during a social gathering in January in downtown Calgary.

      Prominent Calgary Chef Michael John Noble, Charged With Sexual Assaulting Employee

      Ottawa Doctor Facing Dozens Of Charges Of Sexual Assault, Voyeurism: Police

      Police say 56-year-old Vincent Nadon of Chelsea, Que., is due in court today to face 43 counts of sexual assault and 40 counts of voyeurism related to 40 female complainants.

      Ottawa Doctor Facing Dozens Of Charges Of Sexual Assault, Voyeurism: Police

      Class Action Lawsuit In Works In Calgary Young Canadians Sex Abuse Case

      Class Action Lawsuit In Works In Calgary Young Canadians Sex Abuse Case
      A law firm is encouraging victims in a sex abuse case to be part of a lawsuit against the man convicted of the crimes and the Calgary Stampede Foundation.

      Class Action Lawsuit In Works In Calgary Young Canadians Sex Abuse Case

      6 Quebec Seminary Students Aged 12 To 14 Arrested For Alleged Child-Porn Offences

      6 Quebec Seminary Students Aged 12 To 14 Arrested For Alleged Child-Porn Offences
      Quebec City police say they have arrested six seminary students aged between 12 and 14 for alleged possession and distribution of child pornography.

      6 Quebec Seminary Students Aged 12 To 14 Arrested For Alleged Child-Porn Offences

      Evacuation Alerts For More Homes As Officials Monitor B.C. Flood Threat

      Evacuation Alerts For More Homes As Officials Monitor B.C. Flood Threat
      The River Forecast Centre says those regions are expected to see the warmest temperatures over the next few days, speeding snowmelt into already surging rivers, and it says that warmth will be followed by rain next week.

      Evacuation Alerts For More Homes As Officials Monitor B.C. Flood Threat

      PrevNext