'Feels like a betrayal:' Canadians just over the Detroit River react to Trump tariffs

USA Today

10-03-2025

'Feels like a betrayal:' Canadians just over the Detroit River react to Trump tariffs
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Donald Trump claims again Canada is 'a good candidate for 51st state' during tariff press conference
President Donald Trump repeated his push to economically push Canada into becoming the 51st state during is press conference announce 25% tariffs.
WINDSOR, Ontario — Business was brisk last weekend at Gina's Café.
Some customers might have come for the espresso or a chicken parm panini, but Gina Korva mentioned something else.
The owner of the restaurant on Erie Street in Windsor's Little Italy was serving lots of U.S. residents, who had come, she said, to show their love for Canadians. One customer, she recalled, said, 'We're mad at our country.'
'It's sad to see what's going on,' she said from behind the counter Thursday morning, referencing recent tensions between the two countries.
'We're the same people, just divided by a border,' Korva said, noting that she goes to the United States 'all the time' to shop for her business. 'We're the same brand of people.'
One of her regulars, Orlando Nalli, 85, offered a note of optimism.
'I think they'll come around and get an agreement,' he said of the trade dispute. 'I wouldn't worry (but) people, they are worried about it.'
Nalli, who lives in Windsor but is originally from Italy, used to have a clothing store on Congress in Detroit, and he mentioned other issues as he spoke — Canadian politics and taxes, which he said are too high.
Trade war 'feels like a betrayal'
Korva herself didn't want to talk politics with a reporter who had come to Windsor to gauge the mood in the city, but her comments shared one of the sentiments that was heard throughout the day: that people in the Windsor and Detroit areas are close, like family. Consternation at recent events was another.
The connections between the two cities on either side of the Detroit River have been strained by events over the years, with tighter restrictions at the border following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic almost five years ago. Downtown Windsor today lacks the more vibrant streets many remember.
But President Donald Trump's decision to launch a trade war and his comments about absorbing Canada as the 51st state have left many Canadians to ponder the future of a relationship once seen as rock-solid.
Canada announced its own tariffs on U.S. products in response to Trump's 25% tariffs levied Tuesday before some were apparently pulled back.
Trump had also given a 30-day reprieve to the auto industry, but threats of additional tariffs and the imposition and reversal of those announced cast one of the closest trade relationships on the globe into a maelstrom of uncertainty.
'It feels like a betrayal,' said Ainslee Winter, pausing to answer questions, along with Jessica Filippakis, as they pushed strollers inside Devonshire Mall, each with a child in tow.
Why Canadians booed the U.S. national anthem
'What did we do?' asked Filippakis, of Belle River, east of Windsor.
Her family usually heads to Florida each year, as they had planned to do this April, but she's '90%' certain that's not going to happen this year. Instead, Vancouver, British Columbia, is the likely destination.
'It's sad. Obviously, we never had to think about that,' Filippakis said. 'I think Trump's insane. I hope that everything will get dropped.'
Winter said she expects things to get worse before they get better, but she hopes 'it makes people realize they need each other.'
Asked about reports of Canadians booing the U.S. national anthem at hockey games, Winter noted that 'anyone who's hurt is going to react. … It's like a friend stabbing you in the back.'
Earlier, in the mall parking lot, a woman who gave her name only as Amy said she has been seeing little Canadian flags popping up on grocery store shelves to spotlight Canadian products.
'It's not that we don't support the American people. We just don't appreciate what your government is doing,' she said.
US booze no longer available
In a plaza on the opposite side of Howard Avenue from the mall, twin flyers, one in English and one in French, announced a new policy of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario:
'For the good of Ontario. For the good of Canada. In response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods, products produced in the U.S. are no longer available until further notice. Looking for an alternative? Ask our team about our extensive range of Ontario- and Canada-made products.'
Customers streamed in and out of one of many retail stores run by the LCBO.
More: Trump: Detroit automakers get 30-day reprieve from Canada, Mexico tariffs
More: Experts: Auto industry can only tolerate Trump tariffs on Mexico, Canada for a few weeks
Inside, the rows and shelves were filled with spirits, but U.S. brands, as the signs indicated, didn't appear to be anywhere.
Tara, who didn't want to give her last name, said she hopes the trade war doesn't last long, but scanning the shelves of Canadian whisky, it's clear she has some options, and J.P. Wiser's Deluxe Canadian Whisky, which she mentioned, just happens to be a product of Windsor.
'I'm trying my best to buy Canadian,' she said, noting there would always be American products in the mix, even if she has to pay more for them.
'I hope they can come to a solution that helps both the U.S. and Canada,' she said.
Tara said she has always vacationed in the United States (she was in Florida in December), but 'I don't want to be an American citizen. I'm proud to be Canadian.'
'It's going to hit every single person'
Outside, a man stopped on the way to his car, explaining that he's primarily a rum drinker and that the decision to remove U.S. liquor from store shelves had only affected one brand he likes. His father's worries about being able to find Southern Comfort turned out not to be an issue, he said.
The man said he's an electrician with friends in the auto industry, and how the trade dispute affects that industry is his biggest worry.
'I'm disappointed to see a rift,' he said, noting the long-standing trade relationship. 'I'm not a big fan of what's going on.'
For Raj Kamal, the worries about a trade war's impact on the auto industry strike even closer to home. Leaving Stellantis' Windsor Assembly Plant, Kamal said he doesn't like what's happening.
'The costs will be so high. It's going to hit every single person,' he said.
He has been in Windsor about two years after working in Brampton, outside Toronto, home of a different Stellantis facility. He's an engineer at the plant that produces the Dodge Charger Daytona, currently available as an electric vehicle but with gas-powered versions planned, and the Chrysler Pacifica, both hybrid and gas-powered versions.
'I'm scared of layoffs, and … if it continues, we'll be losing jobs,' he said, noting, when asked about the 51st state comments, that 'Canada stays Canada.'
Later in the day on the University of Windsor campus, Jake Racicot, a political science student, suggested a trade war would 'destroy the auto industry.'
Racicot, who lives in LaSalle, which is south of Windsor, used the word, 'stupid,' to describe what he thinks of Canada as the 51st state before heading to a waiting vehicle.
'Canadian born and raised'
Across town at the VIA Rail station Thursday afternoon, Chris Balumisa, a 30-year-old who works in construction, explained his concerns about the impact tariffs would have, as a train to Toronto waited to depart.
'I work with drywall, siding,' he said. 'If anything gets imported, it's going to get affected.' If an extra 25% gets tacked on, it'll drive up the costs, he said.
'Let's have free trading,' Balumisa said.
Balumisa, who was at the station with a friend, has been in Windsor for 13 years. He had come from Congo, and he wanted a reporter to be aware of the ongoing war in his homeland, with thousands killed.
He noted that he's not sure of any impact from tariffs on his preferred food choices, mostly traditional African varieties.
But Balumisa was clear on what he thinks of those 51st state suggestions, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly warned he believes are serious:
'It's a no. I love being Canadian.'
Cindy Meloche was even more adamant.
'Oh, hell no. I'm Canadian born and raised, and I will die Canadian,' she said.
Meloche was standing outside one of Canada's ubiquitous Tim Hortons restaurants, a short distance from the train station, with a line of cars waiting at the drive-through. She works there as a supervisor and grew up a short distance away.
Her reaction to the recent tensions with the United States?
'They're our neighbors, and neighbors are supposed to be helpful and have each other's backs,' she said.
Meloche said she doesn't hear a lot of people talking politics in the restaurant, but she clearly has her own opinions about U.S. presidential politics.
'Donald Trump shouldn't be president. He's a criminal. It shocks me he's president,' she said.
At the Albanian Eagle, a coffee shop in Windsor's Little Italy, Nuri Lelaj wanted to be clear. He loves the United States.
The USA and Canada, he said, are not different.
'Same, same, same. Same house,' said Lelaj, who has been in Windsor 27 years.
Windsor is the best, he said, but there used to be many more customers in the area from the United States.
The tariffs, he predicted, would make things worse.
'Trump, I don't know. Twenty-five percent. Kills every business,' he said, offering that if it was 2%, no one would care.
'I lose business. Stupid, but I don't know,' he said.
So close to the United States
In a notable storefront on Oullette Avenue in Windsor's downtown, the "open" sign was turned off late Thursday afternoon, but a few lights inside prompted a reporter to knock on the door, and he was welcomed in.
Sitting behind the counter, Clarita Estabalaya, who described herself as the shop's bookkeeper, talked about some recent customers who had been in from the United States, where so many of the shop's customers live. Texas stands out, she said.
One customer told her Trump is a businessman, and he's going to make America great again.
The shop is a landmark of sorts. Shanfields-Meyers Jewellery and China Shop has been at the same location, according to its website, since 1936, and it's packed with figurines, crystal, dinnerware and collectible plates. Even chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and names like Royal Doulton, Aynsley and Wedgwood highlight the international origins of the products.
Estabalaya talked about her own trips to Traverse City and Indiana, and how she usually goes shopping in the United States every couple of weeks.
'We feel sad because we're so close to the U.S. We have some family there. We go back and forth,' she said.
But Estabalaya suggested that the impact of tariffs and an unfavorable exchange rate would have an adverse effect on future trips.
She said she has also been struck by what she has seen in local stores, with U.S. liquor and wine being pulled from the shelves, and some fruit from the United States sitting untouched.
'I said, 'Is this really happening?' … Canadians are taking it really seriously,' she said.
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