Should Canadians forgive and forget now that American voters have delivered a sweeping rebuke to Donald Trump? It is a fair question. I’ve seen a ton of posts on Social Media from Americans asking to be friends again. I’d like to say I am shocked they think we’d be cool with them after Tuesday night, but I’m not.

They remain oblivious to what they have done, and the lasting, decades’ worth of damage they caused by voting for Trump not once, but twice.

No. No we can’t be friends again. Not yet. Not for a long while. And maybe, not ever.


Canada was part of the argument

Yes. Democrats have won control of both the House of Representatives and Senate, dealing Trump and his Republican Party a major and well deserved defeat. Canadians can welcome that result for sure. But there is a vast difference between being relieved and being reassured. Relief takes an evening; reassurance requires evidence.

Canada became an unusually prominent issue during the campaign, with Democrats using Trump’s tariffs to challenge his handling of affordability in ads, speeches and debates. The message was simple: picking a fight with your neighbour can leave your own household paying the bill.

The northern states offered telling examples. In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican senator Susan Collins in a race shaped partly by high energy prices and a decline in Canadian tourism.

In Michigan, where the economy is deeply connected to Canada, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers after both candidates criticised the trade war. Canada was not simply a friendly name dropped at a campaign stop. The relationship had become an economic issue.

That supports the argument that Canadians’ decisions to withhold their spending created pressure, especially where tourism mattered. It does not establish that our boycott decided the election: voters were also responding to inflation, fuel prices and the war with Iran.

We should acknowledge the pressure without awarding ourselves the entire victory. There is no need to exaggerate Canada’s role for it to matter.

The election changed Congress, not everything

The result makes it tempting to declare MAGA finished. Perhaps this is the beginning of its decline, but that remains an interpretation, not an established fact.

Trump is still in the White House, and the election does not automatically remove his tariffs. He retains substantial executive authority over trade, limiting how quickly a Democratic Congress can change the situation (CBC News).

And the damage goes well beyond trade. Trump’s threats to turn Canada into the 51st state have given Canadians reason to question whether Washington respects our sovereignty. His threats against Greenland and disparaging remarks about allied troops have also undermined trust within NATO and weakened its ability to deter Russia, according to analysts.

His repeated swings towards Moscow’s positions on Ukraine add to the impression that he is more comfortable accommodating Vladimir Putin than reassuring America’s friends. That is not a formal alliance with Russia, but a divided, distrustful West serves Putin’s interests all the same.

So for Canadians, that is the uncomfortable part. We are being invited to reconsider our feelings with zero evidence that the circumstances causing them will change.

If the message from American media voices or social-media users is “forgive us,” my response is: show us what comes next. An appeal for friendship is welcome, but it is not a substitute for different policies.

They chose the POS twice!

The deeper problem is not one bad election or one unpleasant political personality. Americans elected Trump in 2016 and returned him to office in 2024 – even after an attempted insurrection and the trashing of the US Capitol.

The first time, voters could argue they were taking a chance on a business man, and an incorruptible outsider. The second time, there is no excuse. None. Yes, Joe Biden stayed too long, but their choice boiled down to a known con man, crook, sexual predator vs a talented black woman.

They chose Trump again which is simply unforgivable.

That is what I mean when I say Americans are not serious people. It is a harsh judgement about the country’s collective political choices, not a claim that every American thinks alike or deserves personal blame.

An election is not a personality test for every citizen. Still, Canadians have to deal with the government America produces, not the better intentions of whichever Americans happen to disagree with it.

One midterm result cannot establish that the underlying risk has disappeared. Why should Canada restore its confidence before the United States demonstrates that the change will last?

Friendship needs more than an apology

Some will call continued Canadian resistance anti-Americanism. I would make a distinction between hostility towards individual Americans and an unwillingness to treat their country as a dependable partner.

We can be civil without being credulous. Nobody needs to be rude to an American visitor or turn a family conversation into a border dispute.

But neither should Canadians feel obliged to resume American holidays, abandon Canadian alternatives or put their spending back on autopilot. Those are choices, not friendship dues.

Whether you are weighing a winter holiday or deciding which brand gets your next online order, the question is the same: what has actually changed? A welcome election result can be a reason for hope without becoming an instruction to open your wallet. Canadians are entitled to take their time, and to set their own conditions.

What would change my mind? Meaningful tariff relief, respectful treatment and a sustained commitment to a stable relationship with traditional allies would be a start. Better yet, impeach that creep and get him out of our collective lives. The world would thank you, trust me.

Until then, welcome the result, but keep the expectations firmly in place. It will take a lot more than one election to make us friends again.