Dear 77,301,997 Americans who voted for Trump (and to a few of our own MAGA-loving Canadians),

Let's take a moment to reflect on who we Canadians actually are, as you may have been misled lately.

We are compassionate. We are polite. We value education and children, our elders and the vulnerable.

We are proud, we are strong, we are free.

We quietly (sometimes not so quietly) go about our business.

See, being Canadian has never been about shouting the loudest or demanding attention. That鈥檚 not who we are. We鈥檙e the quiet ones 鈥� the ones who shovel our neighbour鈥檚 driveway without being asked, who hold the door open, who say 鈥渟orry鈥� when you bump into us, and who believe that getting along is better than shouting each other down.

We believe in fairness, decency, and looking out for each other 鈥� not just here at home, but around the world.

It鈥檚 part of why we鈥檝e always been proud to be your greatest neighbour. 

We鈥檝e always shown up for you 鈥� time and time again.

From the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Korea, from the fields of Flanders to the streets of Kandahar, Canadians have stood beside you, fought beside you, and yes, died beside you during your darkest hours.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, we were there. When California burned, we sent our finest firefighters and water bombers. And on September 11, 2001, when the world stood still, we opened our homes and airports to thousands of your citizens, because that鈥檚 what good neighbours do.

It would certainly never occur to us to ask for expressions of gratitude, let alone demand it. Who does that?

To be frank, it鈥檚 hard 鈥� really hard 鈥� to watch your president, a convicted criminal who built his entire persona on insults, cruelty and division, turn that hostility on us.

We鈥檝e been your friend, your ally, your partner, and now we鈥檙e treated like an inconvenient commodity at best, an enemy at worst.

Now, to the Canadian MAGA cheerleaders telling me to 鈥渕ind my own broken country鈥� 鈥� let's take a moment and clear a few things up.

Canada isn鈥檛 broken. Do we have problems? Of course we do 鈥� name a country that doesn鈥檛. But we鈥檙e not on the verge of civil war because we can鈥檛 even agree on basic facts. We don鈥檛 rally to round up immigrants or people who don鈥檛 look like us, or cheer when our leaders mock the disabled and vulnerable.

We don鈥檛 vote convicted criminals into office 鈥� we vote them out.

We don鈥檛 cling to political labels like they鈥檙e our whole identity. We鈥檙e Canadian first 鈥� not Liberal or Conservative first. 

We actually understand how tariffs work.

We know that affordable health care for all isn鈥檛 some radical fantasy 鈥� it鈥檚 basic human decency.

We don鈥檛 fantasize about dragging society back to the 1940s. And we certainly don鈥檛 believe the most morally corrupt person on the planet was handpicked by God. Who does that? 

We didn鈥檛 gut essential health care for millions of people with the stroke of a pen. We don鈥檛 think lower taxes magically cover cancer treatments or emergency surgeries when you鈥檝e lost your job.

We believe a country is only as strong as the way it treats its most vulnerable 鈥� not how much it worships billionaires. That's morally reprehensible. What the actual what? Who even does something like that? 

We didn鈥檛 hand over the keys to our government to a bunch of unelected corporate tycoons and media personalities.

We don鈥檛 cling to a 250-year-old gun law while innocent children are slaughtered in their classrooms, pretending nothing can be done.

Canada is respected around the world 鈥� not pitied or laughed at. We believe in upholding all of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, not picking and choosing which rights apply based on political convenience. That's illegal, and morally reprehensible. What the actual what? Who even does something like that? 

Mind my own business? Oh, I would love to 鈥� but here鈥檚 the thing: when your neighbour is a country of over 300 million people, and they鈥檝e put a conspiracy-loving anti-science addict in charge of public health, that鈥檚 my business.

When your president tears down the economic, military and trade alliances that keep the world stable, that鈥檚 my business. When your leader openly talks about invading sovereign countries 鈥� including ours 鈥� that鈥檚 my business. Oh, that is very definitely my business.

Dear ones, south of the border. We鈥檙e your friend, your ally, and your neighbour 鈥� but we鈥檙e not blind, and we are definitely not fools. We鈥檙e polite. We鈥檙e fair. But we鈥檙e not pushovers. And right now? We鈥檙e watching. Closely.

Warmly, with kindness 鈥� and a whole lot of concern,

Canada

Elbows up.

Mary Adams,

Salmon Arm