A surge in patriotism and fewer US trips

Nadine YousifSenior Canada reporter

EPA Prime Minister Mark Carney, slightly out of focus, walks in profile next to President Donald Trump. EPA

In the year since US President Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term, he has brought with him significant global shifts.

Like many countries, Canada – America’s closest neighbour to the north – has felt the impact and seen a change in the long-standing relationship with its close security ally and trading partner.

Trump has imposed tariffs on several key Canadian sectors and has warned of more to come. He has also referred to Canada as “the 51st state” — a jab that has been met with a mix of anxiety and an uncharactaristically fierce display of patriotism.

He has had an effect not just on how Canadians shop and travel, but on the country’s domestic politics and world view.

Here are five ways Trump has had an impact on Canada.

A shift in how Canadians see the US

While the relationship between the two countries has had its ups and downs, many Canadians shop, travel and even work in the US, and have family ties to the country.

But the past 12 months has seen a change in Canadians’ overall attitudes towards the US, if not towards Americans themselves.

Polling conducted by the Pew Research Center last spring indicated that 64% of Canadians held a negative view of the US in 2025 — the highest ever recorded in more than two decades of polling by Pew.

This is a reversal from how they felt before the second Trump administration, when the majority said they held a favourable view of their neighbour.

The survey suggested an even larger percentage of Canadians, around 77%, lack confidence in Trump as a president. Nine-in-10 respondents described him as “arrogant”, and three-quarters said they believe he is “dangerous”.

A separate Angus Reid poll from October suggests that nearly half of Canadians (46%) want their government to approach the US as an “enemy or potential threat”.

This is higher than for India (24%) or China (34%). Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to improve the relationship with both of those countries after years of tensions related, among other issues, to allegations of foreign interference.

A more recent Leger poll conducted earlier this month indicates that one in three Canadians believe the US could take “direct action” to control Canada in the future. The poll was in response to the US seizure this month of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Trump’s renewed comments on taking control of Greenland.

Fewer trips south

The US has long been the number one travel destination for Canadians — an unsurprising statistic given the proximity of two countries.

While it remains a top destination, the number of Canadians making trips south has dropped by more than 25%, according to the latest data by Statistics Canada.

That decline has been noticed by the American tourism industry, which forecast a loss of $5.7bn (£4.3bn) in tourism spending in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Some jurisdictions, like California, have even run advertisements to try to entice Canadians back.

But many have opted to vacation at home, with the domestic tourism sector reporting a record-breaking C$59bn ($42bn) in revenues from May to August, up 6% from the same period last year, according to Destination Canada, a national tourism organisation.

Others have gone to Mexico, with national data showing a 12% surge in Canadians visiting Mexican cities in the last year.

‘Come hug it out!’ – How a Canadian tourism ad went viral

Buying more local products

The boycott has extended to store shelves, with more Canadians now choosing local products in the face of US tariffs.

Nowhere is this more significant than in liquor stores, where American alcohol was pulled from shelves by most provinces in retaliation against Trump’s levies.

Overall exports of US spirits fell 9% in the last quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

In Canada, the value of US liquor imports dropped from $63.1bn in late 2024 to just over $9.5bn in late 2025.

Canadians are also buying more Mexican-made cars, with vehicle imports from Mexico surpassing American imports for the very first time as of July, according to data from Statistics Canada.

There’s even a push to “Buy Canadian” at the federal government level, with Carney prioritising procurement from domestic suppliers, a move tailored to help specific sectors hard-hit by Trump’s tariffs on products like steel and lumber.

That includes in defence procurement, with Canada seeking to shift away from US suppliers as it significantly ramps up defence spending to meet its Nato commitments.

An up-ended federal election

Before Trump’s second term, Canada’s governing Liberal Party appeared headed towards a potentially historic collapse in the upcoming federal election.

Polls at the time consistently showed the opposition Conservatives leading by a wide margin with party leader Pierre Poilievre, whose focus on affordability was resonating with voters, likely to be the next prime minister.

Then the political script in Canada flipped.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January – an exit hastened in part to his finance minister publicly quitting in protest over his handling of Trump.

That made way for Carney, a former central banker with political ambitions, to run for the party’s leadership.

Carney leaned heavily on his economic experience as he campaigned as the man who could stand up to Trump, and voters, anxious about Canada’s sovereignty and economy in face of the new US administration, flocked back to the Liberals.

In late April’s election, Carney achieved what was unthinkable just a few months prior: another return to power for the Liberals, with voters giving the party a few seats shy of a majority government.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, lost their fourth consecutive election and Poilievre faces a leadership review later this month.

The latest polling indicates that Carney’s Liberals are a few points ahead of the Conservatives, though the gap between them has narrowed.

Reuters Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney smiles as he shakes hands with President of China Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Facing the camera, they stand on a red carpet in front of Canadian and Chinese flags. Reuters

Making new friends and allies

With the Canada-US trade relationship increasingly unpredictable, Canada is seeking to bolster ties elsewhere, in some cases mending strained ties.

This shift is perhaps most notable with Carney’s visit to China this week — the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.

On Friday, Carney announced a deal that would reduce tariffs between the two countries and increase access to each other’s markets.

In Beijing, he struck a pragmatic tone, saying that Canada is forming a “strategic partnership” with the Asian power that will bring economic benefits to both countries.

It was a remarkable shift in tone by Carney, who on the campaign trail called China Canada’s the biggest security threat.

Asked by reporters about his concerns over national security and human rights, the prime minister responded with: “We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”

Carney is also expected to embark on a trade mission to India in the next few weeks. The trip would be a further thawing of Canada-India relations, which have been icy since Trudeau openly accused Indian agents of being behind the extra-judicial killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

In the past year, Carney has also made trips to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as a number of European countries, in search for new trade relationships.

What questions do you have about Trump’s first year since returning as President? Click here or use the form below.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

The Iran war has sparked concerns over oil and gas supp;ies due to the blockade of Strait of Hormuz (AFP)

Japan to release oil reserves starting March 16 amid Strait of Hormuz chokehold

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday the country will start releasing part of its oil reserves as early as on March 16. This comes amid supply disruptions due to the blockade of oil and gas passage Strait of Hormuz over the West Asia conflict. The Iran war has sparked concerns over oil and

emergency crew vehicles in a car park

Married couple from UK drown at unpatrolled beach in Shellharbour

A married couple visiting from the United Kingdom has drowned at an unpatrolled beach south of Wollongong, in the New South Wales Illawarra region. New South Wales Police Inspector Luke Geradts said a 66-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman were swimming at Shellharbour Beach South on Boollwarroo Parade at Shell Cove when they came into

The oil terminal at the Fujairah port, where pipelines, including the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, terminate.

The World Needs These Two Middle East Pipelines Now More Than Ever

Two pipelines built just for the occasion—one in Saudi Arabia and one in the United Arab Emirates—bypass the Strait of Hormuz. They are the only ways to get a significant amount of oil out of the Persian Gulf into world markets. The oil terminal at the Fujairah port, where pipelines, including the Abu Dhabi Crude

Galaxy Globe bulk carrier and Luojiashan tanker sit anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. (REUTERS)

Latest episode in US-Iran war: A rescue at Strait of Hormuz that never happened

Global oil markets swung both ways for a second straight day on Tuesday as mixed signals from the Trump administration about the war in Iran and security in the Strait of Hormuz caused panic among investors and energy traders. Galaxy Globe bulk carrier and Luojiashan tanker sit anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close

See Where U.S. Sites Have Been Damaged in War With Iran

See Where U.S. Sites Have Been Damaged in War With Iran

U.S. installations damaged in strikes U.S. baseat Erbil Airport U.S. base or a base hosting U.S. forces Air defense infrastructure Note: Some sites shown were claimed to have been struck by Iran-aligned militias. Data are as of March 10. The New York Times Iran has responded to the U.S.-Israeli assault on the country by launching

Ivanna Ortiz

Florida woman faces life in prison after shooting at Rihanna’s L.A. mansion

A 35-year-old woman from Florida is facing the possibility life in prison in connection with a shooting earlier this week outside popstar Rihanna’s Beverly Crest mansion, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the singer’s home in 9500 block of Heather Road around 1:15 p.m. Sunday after receiving reports of shots fired.

A Lane Transit District bus splashes through a puddle on Hilyard Street in Eugene on Nov. 5, 2025.

‘Long duration atmospheric river’ coming to Eugene-Springfield

The snow that fell in eastern Lane County this morning soon will be replaced by heavy rain throughout northwest Oregon from March 11 to March 13, the National Weather Service is predicting. NWS said a “long duration Atmospheric River” will impact northwest Oregon over these three days. The heaviest rain is expected in southwest Washington

A man holds a placard with an image of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei with late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a gathering to support Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026. (credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

Mojtaba Khamenei injured but still functioning as Iran’s leader, source says

Critics of the regime say the lack of public appearances raises questions about who is actually directing Iran’s government. A source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post that the assessments are that although Mojtaba Khamenei was injured during the war he remains capable of carrying out his duties and managing state affairs as

Yamaha Motor Corporation's headquarters in Cypress, Calif., on July 7, 2021. (DigitalIceAge via Wikimedia CC 4.0)

Another Calif. company moves its HQ out of state, this time to Georgia

Yamaha Motor Corporation’s headquarters in Cypress, Calif., on July 7, 2021. (DigitalIceAge via Wikimedia CC 4.0) Another California company has announced its decision to move all operations outside of the state. Yamaha Motor Corporation, known for creating motorized vehicles like motorcycles and WaveRunners, is set to relocate its headquarters to Kennesaw, Georgia, after more than 45

A customer places a bag of food items into a shopping cart at Grocery Outlet in Oakland, Calif., on June 7, 2024. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)

Grocery Outlet to close 9 California locations. Here’s where.

A customer places a bag of food items into a shopping cart at Grocery Outlet in Oakland, Calif., on June 7, 2024. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE) Anyone who’s watched (regular) television in California can likely belt out the catchy “Grocery Outlet, Bargain Market” jingle by heart. Unfortunately, the Emeryville-based supermarket chain doesn’t have much to sing about these

Blue 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Parked Front 3/4 View

5 Manual Cars Worth Buying Now Before Prices Climb Higher

Manual transmissions now live in a much smaller corner of the performance market. Every farewell edition and every closed order book makes the surviving cars more interesting. Value usually rises when rarity meets driver appeal. Buyers who move early often land the best outcome. The strongest bets share a few clear traits. They offer a

Wawa is known for its hoagies and other fresh foods.

How many Wawas are in Cincinnati? Another store opens this week

Wawa is spreading its wings across Greater Cincinnati after opening its first Ohio location in Liberty Township last year. Since 2025, the Pennsylvania-based gas station and food and beverage destination has introduced nearly a dozen stores to the Greater Cincinnati region, including its newest location in Liberty Township, which is set to open March 12.

An AI chip in a circuit board.

2 AI Stocks That Could Go Parabolic

Artificial intelligence (AI) has developed a reputation for taking stocks to parabolic levels. This is particularly true of stocks like Nvidia and Palantir Technologies, which have driven exponential growth from their 2022 lows. Now, with those AI stocks likely to grow more slowly, some growth investors may want to move on to other names. Finding

Louise Arnold (Senior Innovation Engagement Lead, Interface), Howell Davies (Head of Strategic Programmes and Funding, Interface), James McConnell (Advisor and Public Sector Specialist, GoLLM), Daniel (CEO, GoLLM), Luciana (Intelligent Automation Lab Lead

Major study reveals how ready UK local councils are for AI technology

image:  Louise Arnold (Senior Innovation Engagement Lead, Interface), Howell Davies (Head of Strategic Programmes and Funding, Interface), James McConnell (Advisor and Public Sector Specialist, GoLLM), Daniel (CEO, GoLLM), Luciana (Intelligent Automation Lab Lead, HWU), Krishan Chandarana (Research Intern, HWU), and Emma Perfect (Business Development Manager, HWU). view more  Credit: Heriot-Watt University A major UK study

Two injured after crash closes I-10 West in Baldwin

Truck driver falls asleep, hits school bus on I-10 in Jacksonville

A dump truck ran into the back of a school bus on Interstate 10 Monday near mile marker 350 in Jacksonville. The wreck happened at about 6:54 a.m. as both vehicles were traveling in the right eastbound lane of I-10. The dump truck driver, a 44-year-old Jacksonville man, said “he was very fatigued behind the

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x