{"id":1034354,"date":"2026-08-31T05:18:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1034354\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T05:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T05:18:22","slug":"at-a-washington-war-memorial-honouring-shared-sacrifice-americans-highlight-new-divide-on-trade-war-attitudes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1034354\/","title":{"rendered":"At a Washington war memorial honouring shared sacrifice, Americans highlight new divide on trade war attitudes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Demonstrators attend a ‘Defend the Vote’ rally on Aug. 28. American support for tariffs on Canada is split down, and even within, party lines, the Angus Reid polls indicate.Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

At the Korean War Veterans Memorial, just a short walk from the White House on the National Mall in Washington, the names of both Canada and the United States are inlaid in silver. <\/p>\n

The memorial, dedicated to those who served in the Korean War of 1950\u201353, is a <\/b>testament to the shared cost of the conflict. Nearly 27,000 Canadians served as part of United Nations forces in Korea, alongside millions of Americans. Five hundred and sixteen Canadians died during the war, making it Canada\u2019s third-bloodiest overseas conflict, after the two World Wars.<\/p>\n

Along the monument\u2019s granite expanse, listing 22 countries that participated, the names \u201cCanada\u201d and \u201cThe United States\u201d stand at opposite ends. <\/p>\n

The gulf, at this moment, seems emblematic of another divide: how much citizens of each country are thinking about their relations with the other, a few days after trade<\/a> negotiations broke down. The Americans visiting the memorial on a recent evening appeared to be thinking very little about the subject. <\/p>\n

Opinion: Americans don\u2019t understand Trump\u2019s trade war against Canada. Here\u2019s how to explain it to them<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur relation to Canada is just not at the forefront of my mind,\u201d said Ryan Finnegan, of Maryland, out for an evening stroll near the monument. \u201cNo offence to Canada. It\u2019s just on the back burner when it comes to what I think about.\u201d <\/p>\n

Just more than half of Canadians said they are following the tariff threats \u201cclosely,\u201d compared with fewer than one-quarter of Americans, according to surveys conducted by Angus Reid<\/a> in July and August. One-quarter of Americans said they hadn\u2019t heard about them at all. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, only 45 per cent of Americans said they have heard of Mark Carney<\/a>, according to data-analytics firm YouGov. <\/p>\n

Mr. Finnegan did hear that President Donald Trump had made an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America<\/a>. But he didn\u2019t pay the announcement too much mind. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably going to be gone within two years,\u201d he said, referring to the next presidential election. <\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard too much,\u201d Fernando Pech, who is visiting D.C. from outside Sacramento, Calif., said of the rift between the two governments. \u201cI thought they had settled it.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say he hasn\u2019t noticed the pinch of inflation lately: His family of four is dining out less frequently, as the bill regularly exceeds US$200, on top of pricier gas. <\/p>\n

Trade talks collapsed suddenly on Aug. 21, with each country\u2019s representatives later pointing the finger at the other over last-minute demands. In response to Mr. Trump\u2019s imposition of 50-per-cent tariffs on about $28-billion <\/b>of Canadian goods, Ottawa\u2019s dollar-for-dollar countertariffs<\/a> are scheduled to take effect Sept. 8. <\/p>\n

The trade rift is deepening as the U.S. economy is feeling the strain of its conflict with Iran<\/a>, particularly at the gas pumps.<\/p>\n

To First Nations that named Lake Ontario, Trump\u2019s threat doesn\u2019t hold water<\/a><\/p>\n

Among those paying attention, surveys show American support for tariffs on Canada is split down, and even within, party lines, the Angus Reid polls indicate. While seven in 10 self-described \u201cMAGA Republicans\u201d back Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs, non-MAGA Republicans are more split, with about one-third supporting them and one-quarter unsure. Democrats are almost universally opposed, with just 5 per cent supporting the tariffs.<\/p>\n

Mike McGhee, a local tour guide, was <\/b>waiting in the centre of the memorial by the American flag \u2013 at half-mast, in memory of Dolly Parton \u2013 for a group he was showing around. He wasn\u2019t familiar with the new round of threatened tariffs. \u201cI\u2019ve been on vacation. But my wife said there\u2019s been something going on with Canadians and the news recently,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

On the President\u2019s renaming of the lake, he said: \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be renaming anything. How about getting the economy going? How about we leave Canada alone?\u201d <\/p>\n

The memorial was busy that night. After a steamy August day, Washington was starting to cool down. Occasionally, police cars rolled by, lighting up the stone and trees in blue, white and red. <\/p>\n

Most visitors to the Korean War monument aren\u2019t aware of Canada\u2019s contribution to the conflict, Mr. McGhee said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s public knowledge that we worked hand-in-hand with these other countries,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is just so about America that you kind of forget. Even in the World Wars. We were working with 20 other countries, not just one.\u201d <\/p>\n

Nearby, Josh Sefcik was wearing a glowing vest to identify him to his cohort of a few dozen tourists, who were wandering around the reflecting pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody has ever asked me specifically why Canada is here,\u201d he said. \u201cI bring up the United Nations wall when we walk along it,\u201d he added, gesturing to the list of countries that participated in the conflict. \u201cThere should be more awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gulf of understanding: The way we see the Earth has never been set in stone<\/a><\/p>\n

The next day, protester Tim Milligan, from Glen Burnie, Md., stood near the White House holding a sign covered in complaints about the Trump administration. At the bottom, in capital block lettering, was the newest addition: \u201cCanada??!! Really?!!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe borders have been open, and things go back and forth. As far as I know, it\u2019s been good. No one else has complained in the past,\u201d he said. \u201cTariffs? We\u2019ve never done this before, not to this extent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the current tension, he believes the relationship between the two countries will improve if there\u2019s a shift in U.S. leadership. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce Trump is gone and MAGA is dead, things will go back to normal,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all Trump. Americans love Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Demonstrators attend a ‘Defend the Vote’ rally on Aug. 28. American support for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1034355,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[2148,2138,671,104,2132,692,2147,2131,2143,2144,2140,2133,2130,79,407,746,2142,2137,2159,2134,2135,454,2139,1165,728,2149,108,2154,2155,50,2157,2152,2156,2150,2153,2136,85,2146,80,2145,2151,1458,158,1164,2141,1154,107,2158],"class_list":["post-1034354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1034354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1034354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1034354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1034354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}