Let’s take a look at the list of issues this administration has stuck its nose into. Ukraine. Russia. Greenland. Venezuela. Cuba. Iran. Israel. Canada.
Is there a single one of these issues where the situation is now more stable, more peaceful, or more promising than it was when this administration took office? Just one? “Pounding the table” diplomacy produces sensational headlines but no tangible results. We’re confusing agitation with action, and brutality with firmness.
Canada: From Loyal Neighbor to Designated Target
/https%3A%2F%2Fdoyou.ca%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2FAdobeStock_2030887350_987_-optimized-madmax-msabx9pu.jpeg)
This may be the issue that hurts the most, because it was the most pointless.
Canada has never threatened the United States. We’ve shared the world’s longest unmilitarized border, fought in the same wars, and exchanged billions in goods, services, and friendship. And now we’re being treated like an adversary, referred to as the “51st state,” and subjected to tariffs as if we were a hostile power.
The result? Canadians have stopped crossing the border. And it is the American border towns that are suffering. Business owners in upstate New York, Vermont, Michigan, and Washington State—the very people who have depended on Canadian tourism for generations—are now paying the price for an insult they did not commit.
It’s not easy to recover from being humiliated by a friend. And trust cannot be restored by decree.
ICE Against Its Own Citizens
/https%3A%2F%2Fdoyou.ca%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2FAdobeStock_2030887350_844_-optimized-madmax-msabxcl9.jpeg)
And while we’re looking for enemies abroad, we’re creating them at home. Immigration enforcement operations that have led to the detention of U.S. citizens. Families torn apart. A population learning to fear its own government.
A nation that treats its people with suspicion does not become stronger. It becomes more isolated.
Monetize Every Word
/https%3A%2F%2Fdoyou.ca%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2FAdobeStock_2030887350_613_-optimized-madmax-msabxfhi.jpeg)
There is a disturbing consistency to all of this. Power as a business. The presidency as a vehicle. Public discourse itself transformed into a product for sale, on a platform whose very name embodies irony.
Everything is monetized. Everything becomes a transaction. And with every transaction, there’s someone who cashes in and someone who pays. Guess which one you are.
When will we wake up?
/https%3A%2F%2Fdoyou.ca%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2FAdobeStock_2030887350_233_-optimized-madmax-msabxidm.jpeg)
I don’t want to believe that the American people are blind. Rather, I believe they were told a compelling story: that of a strong leader who would make others pay. It was a good story. The bill, however, was sent to the wrong address.
The wake-up call will come. It will come through the grocery store, through the bills, through the closed businesses in border towns, through the tourists who don’t return. Economic reality is more patient and more stubborn than any speech.
But in the meantime, how many burned bridges will need to be rebuilt? How long will it take for our neighbor to start crossing the border again with a light heart?
Until then, we on the Canadian side are watching. With sadness rather than anger. Because we don’t like to see a friend hurt themselves.
Jacques PJake Provost
This content was created with the help of AI.
