On the road: Boycott the USA!
Canadians symbolically give Donald Trump the finger.
Since Donald Trump announced that he wanted to make Canada the 51st US state, Canadians have been up in arms. While the government wrangles with its powerful neighbor over tariffs, people are practicing civil disobedience.
It's been a long, long time since my last story on this blog. To be precise, almost two months have passed since then. And that's just when, after years of good intentions, I finally crossed the US-Canadian border and fulfilled a big travel dream of mine in Canada. More on that in the next few posts.
But in principle, this much: I won't keep you waiting that long for the next story. From now on, I'll keep you regularly updated. And also, coming soon... but I'll save that news for when the time comes.Today, August 4, is British Columbia Day in Canada. Since 1974, the first Monday in August has been an official holiday in British Columbia. The province on the Pacific Ocean is the fourth largest of the ten “provinces,” as the federal states in Canada are called. In addition, there are three so-called territories. The total area of the country is more than double the size of California and about the same size as Germany and France combined, but is home to only five million people.
“Beautiful British Columbia” is written on the license plates of cars. And indeed, although according to various sources around 90 percent of the old-growth forest or ancient forest or primary forest in the province has been cleared—millions of hectares of trees, hundreds of years old—British Columbia still has extensive forests as far as the eye can see, many lakes, and wildlife. On the coast, you can observe various species of whales, hike in the mountains, and go skiing and snowmobiling in winter. The standard of living is generally high. While the official minimum wage in the US is currently US$7.25, in British Columbia it is C$17.85 (about US$13.00), almost twice as much. This residential and vacation paradise is correspondingly expensive.
As a reminder, Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia and almost as large as the US or Europe. However, instead of 350 million / 800 million people, Canada has “only” around 40 million inhabitants, most of whom live in urban areas on the east coast. This is where the first settlers landed and encountered the Iroquois on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. In their language, the word kanata means “settlement.” It is most likely that the name “Canada” is derived from this, which then spread with the settlers to the west coast, today's British Columbia, and to the north. Nominally, Canada is a democratic parliamentary monarchy and belongs to the Commonwealth, whose head of state, King Charles III, is represented by the Governor General of Canada. The prime minister is the head of government.
Canada also has the longest coastline in the world. In the south and northwest, it also has the world's longest land border with the United States. Another neighbor is the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland, which is separated from Canada's northernmost island by a strait not even 20 miles wide. So, from a purely geographical point of view, it made sense when US President Donald Trump announced that he wanted to annex both Greenland and Canada. And that Canada should become the 51st US state. This proposal angered Canadians – even more so than the tariffs that Trump “negotiated” with Mark Carney, who was appointed Canadian prime minister in March 2025.
I get a real sense of how big the outrage is on July 1, Canada Day. I'm spending it in Nanaimo, a small town on Vancouver Island. The island is over 280 miles long and 60 miles wide, making it the largest North American Pacific island. On the east coast, towards the mainland, a busy highway runs north to south. Nanaimo is located roughly in the middle of the route and has a small harbor where ferries from the metropolis of Vancouver and the surrounding smaller islands dock. The state-run ferry from Vancouver takes about two hours to get here. The privately operated Hullo ferry makes it in just over an hour.
Like Americans on July 4, most Canadians celebrate their national holiday outdoors in bright sunshine. In Nanaimo, celebrations take place in Maffeo Sutton Park, which is located next to the small idyllic harbor. I stroll along the quay. In the distance, I can see the chain of hills on the mainland near Vancouver. That's where the water taxi comes from, which has just landed at the pier in the harbor
A narrow, slightly curved bridge with white railings connects the two halves of the park. Many revelers have made themselves comfortable on the grass, and many have brought their camping chairs with them. Dance groups and music bands perform on two stages. All around, there is a sea of red and white: dresses, pants, T-shirts, and hats in the Canadian national colors. Many have pinned small cardboard flags with the red maple leaf in the center to their hats, while others proudly carry a national flag in their hands or drape it around their shoulders.
“Due to the circumstances, this is the most passionate, nationalistic Canada Day I have ever experienced,” says my companion, who lives in Nanaimo. The “circumstances” have a name, of course: Donald Trump. Like many Canadians, my friend has been boycotting US products at the supermarket for several months and buying “Made in Canada” goods instead. All the Canadians I have met so far no longer want to travel to the neighboring country while the Republican is in power. “We're spending our tourist dollars in our own country now,” many tell me. Quite a few say they are angry not only at those who voted for Trump, but also at those who didn't vote, because if they had voted for Kamala Harris, they might have been able to avert the current state of affairs.. The Canadian government is doing its part to fuel the patriotic mood by waiving entrance fees to national parks for its citizens this year. Moreover, it is granting all retirees and pensioners a 25 percent discount on state campgrounds in addition to their senior bonus.
With so much love for one's homeland on display, I am moved when, amid all the red and white, I discover Monika from Frankfurt on the river Main selling “authentic German pretzels” at a stand. And what's more, she is serving them on a tablecloth and with napkins in the sky blue and white diamond pattern of the Bavarian flag. So much home away from home! It's almost too much to bear. LOL.
This text was first published in German on my website.