Americans go online to support Canadian culture in trade dispute backlash

TORONTO — With diplomatic tensions between U.S. and Canada rocked by weekend comments about trade by president Donald Trump and his advisers, some Americans are finding ways to acknowledge Canada’s other exports in popular culture.

From Neil Young and Drake to poutine and northern hospitality, many of Canada’s global brands were social media fodder using the hashtags #ThankCanada and #ThanksCanada.

U.S. music critic David Wild reacted to the conflict on Sunday by encouraging others to consider what Canada has given its U.S. neighbours.

“My Fellow Americans, let’s all #ThankCanada for things we love they’ve brought to our lives,” he wrote, naming a number of people, including Celine Dion, Leonard Cohen and the comedy series SCTV. “Also, hockey is cool,” he added.

When Shaun Kelly saw the tweets he started thinking about how the conversation could be expanded into the physical world, and called on fellow Americans to plant a tiny flag on their lawn in support of Canada.

The English/history teacher from Greenwich, Conn. wanted to find a way to stand in unity with his northern neighbours. So he went to web retailer Amazon and searched for a Canadian flag.

“I thought, ‘Well, that would tick off Trump a lot, because he hates Jeff Bezos,’” Kelly said, pointing to another feud launched by the president against Amazon’s founder.

“I found a little $5 Canadian flag that’s very modest, sort of like Canadians are, that you could put by your front door — maybe in a garden.”

Kelly, whose wife is a Montreal native, said he’s enthused by how many people have responded positively to his suggestion.

“Almost everybody has said either they’re going to do it, or they support it.”

Kelly said he feels the reaction of others on social media speaks more symbolically about the relationship between the two countries. It’s an emotion he revisits each morning when he puts on Joni Mitchell’s music for his daily walk.

“She turned into this wonderful antecedent to Donald Trump — someone who’s in the same age range, but has so much more to say,” he said.

Others noted moments in history where the Canada-U. S. relationship was at its strongest, including when officials helped Americans escape during the Iran hostage crisis, or when planes were diverted to Gander, N.L., after U.S. air space was closed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Twitter user @GoogieBaba recalled a visit to Toronto in 2005 before gay marriage was legal in the U.S. “We had a lovely time, and I will never forget your friendly, stylish city.”

“No one likes to be stereotyped, even as ‘nice.’ But can you all export your manners?” tweeted a user named Karine Jegalian.