Canada Day turns into grande fête and rebuke of Trump's call for becoming 51st state

USA Today

16 hours ago

Canada Day has taken on new significance to many Canadians this year, given Trump's unwelcome suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state
MONTREAL ― Canadians didn't take Donald Trump seriously at first when he suggested Canada should become the 51st state.
'They thought, 'He's just fooling around. He's just joking. He's just being provocative,'' said Daniel Béland, director of McGill University's Institute for the Study of Canada.
Not anymore.
So hundreds of Canadians flocked to Montreal's Place d'Armes, a square in the city's Old Montreal neighborhood across from the Notre-Dame Basilica, on July 1 to kick off Canada Day, a time to celebrate the 158th anniversary of their country's birth and all things Canadian.
Volunteers wandered through the crowd and handed out miniature Canadian flags, which people waved while posing for selfies. Others affixed the red-and-white drapeaux to shirts, shorts and hats, turning them into a fashion statement as much as a political one.
From a park bench, Filippa Contarini watched the flag-waving crowd and counted all the things she loves about being Canadian.
'Our beautiful country, our very open, very free, liberal country – I love it,' said Contarini, a small Canadian flag tucked into the back strap of her hat. 'I love the French. I love the English. I love it all.'
One thing she doesn't love? Donald Trump.
'He's like a big bully – that's how I see him. And he's very ignorant,' she said. 'He keeps saying Canada should be the 51st state. No, no, no. That's never going to happen. This is him being an idiotic child.'
Across the Great White North, Canadians marked Canada Day with parades, festivals, pledges of national unity and uncharacteristic displays of patriotism. Canadians are usually known more for their friendliness and hospitality than for showy demonstrations of pride. That is associated more with their bigger, boisterous neighbors to the south.
But Canada Day has taken on new significance to many Canadians this year, given Trump's unwelcome suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state, his threat to slap punitive tariffs on Canadian products and his dismissive attitude toward their leaders, especially former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he repeatedly mocked as 'governor.'
'The world is changing. Old friendships are fraying,' Trudeau's successor, Prime Minister Mark Carney, said in a Canada Day message posted on social media.
Carney never mentioned Trump by name, but there was little doubt who he was talking about when he said Canada's economy has been impacted 'by a trade war we didn't start.' But 'as the world becomes more divided and dangerous,' he said, 'Canadians are uniting.'
More: Canada scraps digital services tax to advance stalled US trade talks
Swell of Canadian pride
Recent polls back him up.
Canadian pride surged after Trump took office in January and opened his war of words and tariffs.
A survey in March by the Harris Poll Canada, in partnership with Petro-Canda, reported a major shift across the country and noted that Canadians were rallying together with a renewed sense of unity and pride that seemed to be growing every week.
Seven in 10 Canadians said they were proud to be Canadian, up from 63% a month earlier. Eight in 10 said it is important to buy Canadian products and support Canadian companies. Ninety-two percent said regardless of what happens with Trump's tariffs, they intend to give more support to Canadian companies in the future.
Patriotism surged even in Quebec, where for decades a separatist movement has pushed for independence from Canada. Flag makers have reported a boost in sales of the Canadian Maple Leaf. Businesses have embraced a 'Buy Canada' movement and removed U.S.-made products from their shelves. T-shirts warning that Canada is not for sale have appeared in souvenir shop windows.
A poll taken in May by the Association for Canadian Studies suggested that Canadian pride dipped in Quebec after the federal elections in April, when Carney was chosen to succeed Trudeau as prime minister. Even so, 76% of people in Quebec said they were proud to be Canadian.
Timeline: A look at key moments in Trump's feud with Canada
There's no real mystery what's behind the swell of patriotism, Béland said.
'The timing of this is quite clearly in sync with the rhetoric about the 51st state and the return of Donald Trump to the White House,' he said.
Canada Day celebrations across Montreal
From Place d'Armes, the Canada Day crowd marched through the streets of Old Montreal, a brass band leading the way. Elderly couples held hands. Parents pushed strollers down the streets and hoisted young children on their shoulders so they would get a better view. A woman in a wheelchair rolled through the crowd, a Maple Leaf windmill attached to the back of her chair, twirling furiously in the breeze.
Down brick streets, past art galleries, souvenir shops and restaurants, the procession marched for nearly a mile to the Old Port of Montreal, along the St. Lawrence River. There, thousands of people attended the official festival, which kicked off with a 21-gun salute, followed by the raising of the Canadian flag and a swearing-in ceremony for two dozen new Canadian citizens. Dozens of booths offered family-friendly activities, such as drawing and face painting.
Shirley Desserud, a high school teacher who was born in Niagara Falls, Canada, but is spending the summer in Montreal, wore a white T-shirt that announced, 'I Am Canadian.' It's no longer enough for Canadians just to be proud of their heritage, she said. Because of Trump, they have to stand up and proclaim it.
'We're friendly, we're polite,' she said, 'but we're really pissed off at your president.'
Canada is larger than the United States in terms of total land area, but the U.S. has a lot more people and power. Desserud recalled former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, father of Justin Trudeau, once saying that being neighbors with the United States is like sleeping next to an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast might be, Trudeau said, everyone is affected by its every twitch and grunt.
'Now,' Desserud said, 'the elephant is on crack.'
Kirk Anderson from Denver, who was visiting Montreal with his family, said he decided to attend the Canada Day festivities to show solidarity with America's northern neighbors. 'I would like to tell Canadians that there are a lot of us in the United States who do not want Trump to be president and who love Canada as it is,' he said.
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Ida Degano, who was with her husband Benny, said Trump's suggestion that Canada become part of the United States is offensive. 'It hurts my heart,' she said, adding that Trump should watch his mouth 'because he cannot rule the world.'
Degano, who lives outside of Toronto, came to Canada from Italy in 1953, her husband came four years later, and together they have been able to build a good life in their adopted country, she said.
To Americans whose views about Canada may be shaped by Trump's remarks, Degano offers a suggestion.
'Come and visit Canada and see how we live,' she said.
Follow Michael Collins on X @mcollinsNEWS.