[ The original version of this article is incorrect, so I’m substituting its content with this gem from business pundit Scott Galloway on the tariffs being levied by the U.S. on products from Canada. I’ve preserved the original article at the end. ]
Scott Galloway appeared on Amanpour & Co. yesterday, and tells this story about Canada that includes a Holocaust survivor’s definition of “friend”:
Think about Canada, Hari. It’s the largest undefended border in the world. What does that tell you about our relationship to this point with Canada?They joined us in World War I, they were in World War II before us, training Allied Pilots, they were side by side with us in Kosovo in our fights against the Taliban, amazing economic Prosperity — we have NBA and NHL teams in America and in Canada respectively.And I love that question, Hari, that was presented by a holocaust Survivor around evaluating who are your real friends, and that is it comes down to one question for her: “Who would hide me?”And that’s a really puncturing kind of rattling question to evaluate your friends by, but by that standard Canada is one of our best friends.In the Iran hostage crisis, they hid American diplomats and under great personal risk, ensured their safe escape from Iran, and they stayed behind —and had they been caught, there was a good chance they would have been hanged from from cranes. So Canada has hid us. They are real friends, and for us to recklessly, irrationally, and inexplicably try to hurt them in exchange for what might be some “big beautiful deal” — the damage here to unwind and repair will take the better part of the 80 years it took to make these amazing prosperous relationships that quite frankly, the administration, in my view, is
irrationally taken for granted.
Here’s Galloway’s interview on Amanpour & Co., with the video set to start at the part about tariffs and Canada:
As a Canadian living in the U.S. and married to an American, I hope it won’t take decades to repair the damage that the Trump administration has done to the relationship in mere weeks, but their capacity, willingness, and maniacal enthusiasm for doing that isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
The original version of this article
Once again, the material below is not correct — I’m leaving it here to help spread the fact that this popular argument is, in fact, not true.
Here’s a photo of U.S. Customs (yes, you clear U.S. Customs on the Canadian side, meaning you don’t have to do it when you land in the U.S.!) at Toronto’s Pearson Airport from spring break 2024:
…and here’s a photo from spring break 2025:
That’s what happens when you betray, slander, and threaten to annex a long-standing good neighbor, trading partner, stalwart ally, and friend.