WHO WON THE WAR ANYWAY?

Did America really impose tariffs on Canada because of the war of 1812? asks Tristin Hopper

SECURITY THREAT

The U.S. has said that the imposition of tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum is justified on national security grounds. During a phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in late May, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly cited the War of 1812 in order to justify that threat. Trudeau was apparently arguing Canada’s loyalty directly to the U.S. president when Trump fired back about the Burning of Washington. “Didn’t you guys burn down the White House?” he told Trudeau, according to sources cited by CNN. Sources say he was joking.

IT WASN’T US

In August of 1814, the U.S. federal capital was indeed invaded and burned by troops based in what is now Canada. Facing little or no resistance, the soldiers destroyed both the U.S. Capitol and the presidential mansion in one day of looting and destruction. The current-day White House, from which Trump was likely taking Trudeau’s call, had to be mostly rebuilt as a result of the fire. However, the soldiers who sacked Washington were not Canadians.

IT WAS THE BRITS

Granted, at the time Canada was still a British colony and any resident there would have been considered British. However, the soldiers who burned down Washington were all expeditionary troops sent directly from Great Britain, unlike the local militias and Indigenous warriors who had done much of the fighting during earlier U.S. attempts to invade what is now Ontario. And, of course, the nation of Canada that Trudeau represents would not officially come into being until 53 years after the events of that war.

DIVIDED OPINION

Nevertheless, the War of 1812 remains the last full-scale conflict that pitted Canadian against American, and it remains a point of contention between both countries. Notably, the citizenship guide for both the United States and Canada each claims that their country won the war.