Canadians have every right to be furious about the attacks on our country by U.S. President Donald Trump and his crew.
Like all authoritarian propagandists, they try to paint a cartoonish, simplistic image of a foe with no military, endless wokeism and economic incompetence.
But we’re winning. Please keep that in mind. We have a crucial advantage at a touchy moment — Canada is popular and Trump isn’t.
The rest of the world is appalled by these attacks on America’s most enduring economic and military ally.
On the British Guardian news site, columnist Robert Reich writes that “Trump’s ridiculous bullying of Canada is backfiring.”
He asserts that Trump is so humiliated by failing to crush Iran that he sets his sights on another foe he perceives to be weaker.
“But bullies like Trump rarely think about the effects of their bullying on the thinking and attitude of their targets.”
Most people don’t cower and whimper in the face of such abuse. They buck up and resist. This is happening to Trump in Canada, across the West and in his own country.
Now amplified by Trump’s ludicrous effort to rename Lake Ontario, European countries are largely critical and deeply uneasy about another trade rupture.
In Canada, the effect is profound, an eruption of patriotism and resolve unlike anything in my long experience.
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Trump has succeeded in uniting us. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals just won three byelections, including a Quebec seat formerly held by a separatist.
Every move Trump makes hurts the Alberta separatist movement that has deep ties to the U.S.
Our invaluable high card, however, is the U.S. itself.
A CNN poll shows that 57 per cent of Americans oppose the new tariffs on Canadian goods (which are paid by Americans, although you’ll never hear Trump say that). Only 20 per cent approve.
In northern states with deep cross-border trading ties, including Michigan and Maine, the fury at Trump is white-hot. They face catastrophic damage.
On the bizarre lake renaming, 63 per cent of Americans are opposed and only 14 per cent in favour.
Overall, 73 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of Canada as a historic friend, ally and trading partner.
Poll after poll shows Trump’s approval in the low 30 per cent range.
In short, Canada is far more popular than Donald Trump in his own country.
We are winning the crucial battle for public support — but there is a way to lose.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Sept. 2, 2026 in Washington, DC.
One is to insult American symbols dear to Americans, mainly the flag and the anthem. We should resist booing and insults. That angers ordinary Americans, our most valuable allies.
We must avoid idiocy, such as the CBC’s ban on calling the 9/11 attacks terrorism.
That infuriated many Americans. Nearly 3,000 of their citizens (and 24 Canadians) died that day.
Canadians were just as angry as Americans, with good reason.
Ex-premier Jason Kenney pointed out Wednesday that Canadian right-wing extremists often supply the U.S. MAGA crowd with images to use against us — such as the photo of female military cadets that drew a sickening response from U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
As Kenney explained, U.S. response gets the Canadian posters more hits they can turn into money. These people should be called out and condemned.
We’re now in a delicate moment during the buildup to Canadian counter-tariffs on Sept. 8. Premier Danielle Smith, for one, urges people to cool their comebacks.
We need Ontario Premier Doug Ford to keep his mouth shut. His talk of cutting electricity to the U.S. is a serious provocation — potentially a genuine national security issue for America. Nothing would cost Canada more support in the U.S.
Also, there cannot, must not, be any talk from Ford or any other leader of imposing an export tax on Alberta oil and gas. That could double Alberta separatist support overnight.
In Victoria on Wednesday, U.S. Admiral Samual Paparo, head of the Indo-Pacific command, called a question about military action against Canada “absolutely and utterly preposterous,” as silly as asking about his attack plan “for the Martians.”
There are many sane heads in the U.S. Here at home, we should stay cool and enjoy the sight of Trump on the skids.
Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald
X: @DonBraid