Conversations with Canadians

I am a Michigan resident. Canada is an hour away from my east and south. I have been to Canada more times than I can count. Today I had a conversation with a person from Canada. They expressed how worried they were about the USA invading them. I chuckled as if the very thought was impossible. CANADA. Our friendly neighbor. My teenage hangout spot. The quick getaway trip to Toronto, Windsor, Sioux St. Marie, Niagara Falls? I cannot even grasp that Canada would be worried about us…the US. But the world is watching and this is no laughing matter.

The person preceded to tell me that they were a Canadian veteran and by associating with working to help an American company prosper, it could be interpreted as committing treason. With tears in their eyes, they told me the fear, gravity, and reality of what is now tense relations of the two countries.

I could have never imagined that Canada would fear the United States, but in 2026, here we are.

Living in Michigan I almost took for granted that Canada was actually another country. I have literally been to cities like Detroit, Port Huron, and Buffalo and could see “the other country of Canada” with my blind eyes. We share the Great Lakes.

Now that quiet alliance is gone. And I can’t understand how we got here.

Canada. Michigan’s Great Lakes neighbor is now preparing to defend themselves against us.

This has got to be some kind of nightmare.

The Sioux