I can definitely see what you’re saying, and you seem to be hoping for the best and planning for the worst. Which is reasonable. I don’t disagree with you but I’d add to the conversation:
You are right that Trump/Musk are destroying America. You are wrong that they are unopposed because they certainly are in Canada, in many other parts of the world, and yes, inside the US. Re: the stakes - the USA is not taking over Canada, period. They are causing a lot of economic harm, but telling Americans they’re trash people that need to fuck off en masse does absolutely nothing to repair that damage. No matter what Trump tries to tell you and everyone else, this trade war is not popular among almost anyone. So what we do is keep on telling Trump to go fuck himself along with all those people, just as our nation is doing now.
If Americans do disappear and stop having a relationship with Canada as you suggest a HUGE number of Canadians are going to suffer. The only way to prevent that is to fight back as much as necessary and then work to restore the engine that keeps all those Canadians and Americans afloat. Basically as Canadians we need to stay the course, punish the US for it’s betrayal, strengthen ties elsewhere, but then also be open to reconciliation. Being toxic and vengeful is not going to help citizens of either country.
As another Canadian: I hate the US government, oligarchs, the loss of separation between church and state, and fascists. The US government has had terrible and negligent policies for much longer than the last 2 months. It’s just now there’s not even attempts to mask it and not nearly enough official resistance to it. America is being gutted beyond recognition as the same entity it was. I can empathize with what is, frankly, a rant from in4apenny even as I downvoted their post.
However I have many American friends I do NOT hate, and who do not hate me or covet my country. I do NOT agree with the “fuck everyone, you’re all a blight” position. I could write many arguments why, but the most important one is for many decades our countries have been stronger for being allies. If I want Canada to be the greatest nation it can be I have to recognize the contribution of a friendly USA that existed basically uninterrupted until two months ago. I 100% support the “elbows up, fight back hard” movement that is sweeping my nation, but with an eye for historical context of shared success. I hope for a return to that friendship when/if you folks manage to restore sanity. But that restoration is either going to be very messy or not happen at all, so we’ll see if the elbows ever get to come down again.
As a Canadian - I don’t want to fight the US indefinitely. Our countries are much better off together than apart and everyone with any economic training knows it. I really like a lot of Americans, and they like me. I have had multiple Americans apologize and insult the Trump administration in the strongest language possible. I absolutely know this trade war and abuse from Trump et al. is not what my friends even remotely want.
But your government right now is intolerable. So I’m very much in support of this wave of Canadian national pride and FAFO but I hope it doesn’t last for long. As long as it takes, but the quicker our two countries return to cooperation the better for citizens of both nations. Even if everyone wanted to, decades of steadfast alliance cannot be undone cleanly and would likely leave our two nations weaker for it.