Over the last few days, I’ve received multiple requests to reach out to Canadians on behalf of Vermonters. This is likely due to the fact that my family roots are Canadian, I serve in the Vermont Senate, and I speak French. For these reasons, both television and radio news outlets have reached out to interview me. They understand that I don’t serve at the federal level, and they know I am not an economist, yet are desperate to understand what is motivating their long-time ally and neighbor to behave with such animosity toward them.
Our Canadian neighbors are heartbroken, outraged, and scared. Since the interviews, many in Québec have reached out via email and social media to share their angst and to thank me for speaking out against Trump’s tariffs and bizarre threats to weaken Canadians’ use of French and rename Lake Ontario. As Americans, we’ve grown used to Trump’s crass and often disgusting remarks. We are inured to his mockery and bullying. But for non-Americans living in smaller, less economically powerful countries, his threats hit a nerve and strike fear in those living along the border.
The brutal, cruel 50% tariffs on Canadian goods are harmful enough on their own. But what made last week’s trade-war escalation even worse is that Trump added mandates targeting French language and culture, demanding changes to Canadian laws protecting the use of French in daily life and promoting French-language movies and shows, as well as Canadian culture online. Trump later signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
The trade war has been harming Vermont for over a year, and that fire has just been stoked anew. Our small businesses, our tourism industry, and our economy will continue to suffer because of Trump’s illegal tariffs. Make no mistake, these tariffs are paid by American importers, raising American consumer costs and shrinking supply chains from Canada crucial to our American businesses.
As everyday Vermonters, we can’t fix this alone. But we can share our respect for Canada and Québec. The General Manager of Jay Peak recently penned an open letter to his Canadian friends and colleagues. In it, he wrote: “The border may feel different right now. We do not. You are our neighbors. You are our friends. You are part of this place.”
Please consider doing what Jay Peak’s General Manager did, and post on social media, write to local officials in Vermont and Québec. Write to our federal delegation, and pen an op-ed declaring your solidarity with Québec and Canada.
Canadians need to see that Vermonters stand by them and support them, in spite of the harm wrought by the federal government.