How Trump Broke Canada–U.S. Relations

Canada stood by the U.S. after 9/11. Under Trump, that loyalty was betrayed breaking an alliance once built on trust, sacrifice, and shared values.

From Close Allies to an Inevitable Divorce

Photo by Kilyan Sockalingum on Unsplash

In 1996, the world felt steady. Bill Clinton was in the White House, Jean Chrétien led Canada, and the economic boom of the late 1990s was well underway. The internet was taking off, globalization was expanding, and I sat in social studies class learning a simple truth: our country shared the longest undefended border in the world with the United States. More than just a line on a map, it was a symbol of trust, cooperation, and an alliance forged over a century of mutual interests.

That illusion shattered just a few years later.

On September 11, 2001, the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil claimed thousands of American lives. The world mourned, and Canada did what any friend would do: we stood with our neighbour. For the first time in history, the United States invoked Article 5 of NATO, calling on its allies for support. Canada answered. We sent troops to Afghanistan. We lost soldiers fighting alongside the United States. We fought their war. We bled for them.

But today, the loyalty Canada once showed means nothing. Under the Trump administration, the United States has abandoned its allies, betrayed its closest friends, and aligned itself with authoritarians who see it as nothing more than a pawn. The damage is done. And there is no going back.

Betrayal at the Highest Level

The United States did not lose Afghanistan to the Taliban. It gave it away. Trump brokered a deal with the very regime we spent nearly two decades fighting, a regime infamous for its brutality, its repression, and its harbouring of the very terrorists who orchestrated 9/11. While Canada sacrificed lives, the United States negotiated with the enemy.

Worse, while Trump appeased the Taliban, he maintained an alliance with Saudi Arabia, the country where 15 of the 19 hijackers came from. That same Saudi Arabia, with its history of human rights abuses, remains a favoured partner, while Canada, one of America’s oldest and most loyal allies, is now treated with hostility.

Trump’s disdain for Canada is not an anomaly; it is a pattern. He mistreats allies because he can. His foreign policy is the policy of a bully: attack those who cannot retaliate, flatter those who can.

The United Kingdom, despite its historical closeness to the United States, is subjected to derision. Trump and his allies smear it as a “jihadist hellscape” with “no free speech.” And yet, when faced with Russian aggression, North Korean brutality, or Chinese authoritarianism, Trump is silent. He knows these leaders do not need the United States in the way Canada, the UK, and Europe once did. They can shut him out without consequence.

The worst part? A large portion of the American public supports this. It will not stop. If the January 6th insurrection and Trump’s 39 felony charges did nothing to shake their faith, nothing will. The more power he accumulates, the harder it will be to reverse course.

A Relationship That Will Never Recover

Canada and the United States were once inseparable. But the wounds inflicted by Trump will not heal. The damage is economic, political, and deeply personal.

The decline in Canadian tourism to the U.S. is not temporary. The business relationships Canadians once had with American companies are being replaced by a surge of economic nationalism, Canadians buying Canadian, investing in their industries, and reducing reliance on a country that has proven itself untrustworthy.

The goodwill that once existed, the instinct to send help after hurricanes, wildfires, and terrorist attacks, is fading. When the U.S. struggled, Canada was there. We sent firefighters, aid workers, and military assistance. We put lives on the line. Now, that instinct is being replaced by indifference. The thrill of defeating the U.S. in a hockey game at the Four Nations tournament is nothing compared to the quiet satisfaction Canadians will feel watching America’s self-inflicted wounds deepen.

It did not have to be this way. But America made its choice.

The United States on an Island

Trump’s America is not a superpower standing tall; it is a nation isolating itself from the world. Canada is not the only country it has alienated. Europe is wary. NATO allies are reassessing their dependence. Globalization once ensured American dominance, but the tides are shifting.

For Canadians, the solution is not to wait for the United States to come to its senses. That moment will never come. Instead, Canada must invest in its industries, build stronger economic ties with Europe and Asia, and create a foreign policy that does not rely on an unstable partner.

This is not bitterness. It is pragmatism.

A new era has begun: one where Canada moves forward without the weight of a failing empire dragging it down.

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