The United States is constantly influencing Canadian society, and our attention must shift back to it for our own good.
As a student on campus, I’ve noticed a handful of political topics that commonly draw student attention. Just on my daily route to class, I’ll see “Free Palestine” drawn in chalk all the way up to the front door of my lecture hall. I’ll notice posters all around campus sparking interest in joining the communist movement while making claims like capitalism can’t exist without racism.
I understand why people are so adamant about these issues. I understand the desire to advocate for those living in war-torn countries. I can empathize with the frustration felt by those who identify racial inequality or injustices and want to advocate for a better system.
However, attention is a finite resource. We must know what’s most important so we can allocate our attention to the issues that need it most. In 2025, we’ve been watching the collapse of American democracy. This is the greatest threat to Canadian freedom, and this is where all our attention needs to be.
I think a part of the reason why this issue isn’t getting a lot of attention on campus is that it hasn’t yet risen to widespread violence. America isn’t a war-torn country. The day-to-day life of the average American likely wouldn’t even indicate there’s anything wrong. This issue still exists as a macro-level political threat. It’s an issue of unprecedented Supreme Court rulings, abuse of Executive Orders, and election denial. It hasn’t yet led to widespread war and violence as seen in Israel-Palestine, so I understand the desire to prioritize that issue.
However, I think we must respond proactively to America’s political climate before widespread violence starts to occur. America is Canada’s largest trading partner; we rely on them for military protection and will likely inherit many of their political issues as the situation escalates. The actions of the Trump administration are unprecedented in American politics and are a direct threat to everyone in North America.
Never has a president of the United States been convicted on 34 felony counts and then granted absolute criminal immunity by a Republican majority Supreme Court. Neither has an American president denied the results of an election he lost, advocated for his followers to “Fight like hell”, and watched on as they stormed the Capitol Building to overturn the election on Jan. 6. Never has a United States president escalated political violence to the degree Trump has.
Immediately after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Trump laid the blame on the ‘radical left’ before the FBI even knew who the shooter was. He doesn’t care about turning down the temperature. Trump strives to demonize his political opponents and instill fear into his followers. Once people feel like they’re at risk from an existential threat, it unites them as an oppressed group fighting back in retaliation. At Kirk’s memorial, Trump proclaimed: “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry.” Trump advocates for hate because he knows the power of it. The more his followers despise his political enemies, the easier it will be to incite riots, just as he did on Jan. 6.
Until Donald Trump disavows violence, the political tensions in the United States will only escalate. It’s difficult to make definitive predictions for what will happen exactly, although I have considered what I think is likely if the political climate doesn’t improve.
I worry most about the Christian nationalist bent of the Trump administration. Russell Vought, who is a co-author for the biblically motivated, right-wing initiative Project 2025, has a policy position in government. This project seeks to replace tens of thousands of government employees with Trump loyalists to take control of key government agencies. Much of what we’ve seen the Trump administration doing is mirrored in Project 2025, from the mass deportation of illegal immigrants to the layoffs of over 200,000 federal workers.
This is the path that America is on. I don’t think Trump has total authoritarian control of the government yet. There’s still a separation of powers through institutions; however, this gap has been shrinking at an alarming rate. If Project 2025 is ultimately successful, I worry about all governmental control being shifted to the executive branch.
If this ever happens, there is no telling what will happen to Canada. The economic impact could lead to massive layoffs if America’s economy destabilizes. Over 75 per cent of Canadian exports go to the United States, which creates over 1.8 million jobs and 8.8 per cent of our total workforce.
There is also a very high likelihood of cultural spillover. Historically, Canada has mimicked the more extreme right-wing beliefs in the United States, as seen in protests like the Freedom Convoy, where protestors stood in opposition to vaccine mandates. This event was defended by Trump, with him saying the participants are “doing more to defend American freedom than our own leaders.” Some more fringe protestors flew the very same flags as seen during Jan. 6, from Trump flags to Confederate flags to swastikas. The Conservative Party leader at the time, Erin O’Toole, met with some of the protestors. We may not be where the United States is at now, but Canada isn’t exempt from extremism.
I understand why many people don’t want to think about this issue. Threats like this are so large that it’s easier to simply ignore. As individuals, we feel powerless in the face of grand political structures, and the thought of changing them feels daunting. However, even simple changes in attention can be incredibly powerful.
For those who aren’t comfortable participating in protests, you should familiarize yourself with the specifics of what is going on. It’s easy to turn the volume down on this topic, but that’s not going to make it go away on its own. We should have conversations about this topic far more frequently. It should feel normal to discuss this threat in class, or in clubs, or with friends.
For those who are more politically active on campus, I ask that you advocate for American issues. Protest the actions of the Trump administration and call out Canadian politicians who sympathize with the fringe, pro-Trump side of the Canadian right-wing.
Walking through campus, students should see just as many posters and chalk advocating for American freedom and rejecting the ideas of the Trump administration. Our attention is a crucial resource, and if we want to protect Canada, America is where our focus needs to be.
Alec Reilly is a Second-Year Computer Science student.
Tags
Canada, donald trump, Political Extremism, Project 2025, United States
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Kyle
It’s ridiculous to assert that we should just allow the Palestinians to be ethnically cleansed because Donald Trump is a threat to Canada. We can deal with multiple things at once, the issue is Canada consistently fails to do the bare minimum in either regard. Canada had a warship in the Mediterranean Sea, and there was quite the public backing in a petition for us to send our warship to guard the Flotilla. We couldn’t even do that. Palestinians aren’t just in a “war torn country” they are being genocided, their homes occupied and stolen, their schools and hospitals bombed, their people raped, 80% of Gaza city is flattened to the ground these people have no where to go, and our country won’t even advocate to bring sibling of Palestinians currently here
Attention is a finite resource, however, our government isn’t giving the issue any attention whatsoever while we are watching the worst crime of our life time unfold under our very eyes. You know what’s a threat the democracy? The disillusion people feel with our government for not even being able to the bare minimum in numerous cases, taking 2+ years to even recognize a Palestinian state. Voters were forced to vote liberal as the conservatives were going to sell our country to Trump, but Carney is saying he isn’t willing to represent Canadian. Canadian’s are pro Palestine and want something ANYTHING done, and nothing’s getting done. This tells voters that their problems don’t matter and pushes people away. We haven’t sanctioned Israel, something that requires very little attention or effort, the government lied about its arms embargo and still continued to send military aid to Israel anyways…
It’s honestly disgusting that you think no energy should be dedicated towards the issue, and that you’d rather just let 2 million people die because Trump is a threat to Canada
A.T.
Well-written piece. I do agree that ignoring big shifts in U.S. politics won’t make them vanish, and it’s worth paying attention to what’s happening across the border.
That said, I think the call-to-action side of your article risks overdoing it. Suggesting that students and faculty should discuss this threat in classes or clubs could make people feel like politics is being forced into spaces where it doesn’t belong. Some students simply don’t want constant political talk, and that’s fine; there are already dedicated spaces for those conversations (clubs, approved forums, events).
On the “chalk/poster” messages, technically, chalking and unapproved posters aren’t allowed on campus and are considered to be vandalism. Only AMS & University-approved posters go up on designated pinboards, so the examples you mentioned are already against policy and shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Personally, I’m skeptical of politics as a whole. Left or right, both extremes rely on control — whether it’s fear or belief. I don’t think the collapse of democracy suddenly started in 2025 because of one party; it’s been a slow decline for decades, long before Trump. To me, democracy itself often functions more like a managed tool of deception than a system of genuine choice. Selective media exposures, polarizations, division, and endless work keep people too tired to push back against control.
Education and awareness are good, but panic or nonstop discussion rarely changes much unless you have serious money and influence to back you up. As Orwell put it: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” Worth keeping in mind when we look at the whole system, not just one administration.
Nothing but respect to Mr. Reilly for putting in the effort to write his perspective; I simply wanted to share my own angle on deeper-rooted issues than the surface-level “in-the-moment” events.