Amid trade fight, Canada returns to its roots in opposition to US
Thomas Jefferson, in drumming up support for war against the British Empire in 1812, boasted that capturing the territory that is now Canada would be a “mere matter of marching.”
That sense of American superiority was voiced 206 years ago. But it feels uncomfortably familiar to modern-day Canadians like Eugene Oatley, a descendant of a United Empire Loyalist – American colonists who fled north at the Revolutionary War and sought refuge under the British Crown.
As President Trump threatens the “ruination” of Canada in renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadians are not only surprised, but angered. Old complexes about the Canadian-American relationship, one that has been among the most peaceful in the world for two bordering countries, are resurfacing.
“Trump is using the same old bullying tactics, it is like 200 years all over again,” says Mr. Oatley, who on a blustery day is standing at Lundy’s Lane in Niagara Falls, site of one of the fiercest battles of the the War of 1812. No side could declare outright victory, not unlike the
Formed in opposition to the USCanadians 'not intimidated'Testing the limits of US-Canadian friendship?You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
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