Canadians call on Americans to speak out about 'dictatorship in the making'

What you probably already know: Canadians are not OK. In fact, they’re livid. After President Donald Trump made overt threats to the country’s sovereignty, suggesting it could become the 51st state. Since then, there’s been a dramatic rise in nationalism as Canadians band together against a common enemy — an enemy that was once the country’s strongest ally. That has many Canadians boycotting American-made goods and canceling travel plans. Early estimates suggest this could result in a $4 billion economic loss to the U.S. in tourism this year, hitting border states the hardest.

Why? “Our anger and sense of betrayal is not targeted at individual Americans,” said Shari Graydon, the founder of Informed Opinions, a Canadian nonprofit that works to get more women represented in the media and in politics, “but rather, at the ones who have been front and center, wielding chainsaws or making pronouncements about us becoming the 51st state.” Graydon lives in Calgary and spends significant time in Vancouver. Until recently, she frequently traveled to the U.S. for business and pleasure, but says she and her husband “will. not be doing that for the next four years.” She’s not alone. Hotel demand along the U.S.-Canada border is down, return car trips by Canadians has dropped 23%, and return flights are down 13%, according to Statistics Canada.

What it means: It’s not just travel. Canadians have cut back on purchases of American goods as the tariff trade war heats up. The country barred Tesla cars from qualifying for electric vehicle rebates, and sales of the vehicles in the country have plummeted. For Graydon, though, it’s about more than holding the Trump Administration accountable for its actions. It’s also a deep concern that Canada’s neighbor is shifting from a bastion of democracy to a dictatorship. Three globally respected scholars who study fascism just left their roles at Yale University and moved to Canada, expressing their concern about what is happening in the U.S. “The rest of the world is looking at what is happening in your country and what we see is a dictatorship in the making,” Graydon said.

What happens now? Graydon, who helps train women to speak to the press and understand the risks involved in doing so, has a few thoughts about speaking out at this time. “Even speaking up … whether it’s on social media or in your community, speaking up about the values that you hold dear, and that you’re speaking up for the rule of law, speaking up for treating people with dignity and respect,” Graydon said. “You don’t necessarily have to name names.” And if you’re in a position of power, she said, where you don’t feel as vulnerable, then you have a degree of privilege. That comes with even more responsibility to speak up, she said.