As anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of interacting with our neighbors to the north knows, Canadians are nice people. The nicest. One time, while visiting a record store in Windsor, I overheard the clerk politely say, “Well, which Nickelback albums don’t you own?” This would never happen in the U.S.
The point is that you have to fuck up pretty bad to piss Canadians off, and it seems President Donald Trump has done just that. His bizarre threats to make Canada the “51st state” or slap it with tariffs have riled our nation’s closest ally, with some Canadians even calling for a boycott of U.S. products.
This weekend, Americans and Canadians will set aside our differences for “Bridging Our Friendship,” an international gesture of solidarity. All across the U.S.-Canada border, people on both sides plan on gathering at 1 p.m. on Saturday to wave flags, sing each others’ national anthems (time to brush up on the lyrics to “O Canada,” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” for that matter), and show the world some of that famous Canadian kindness.
Detroit’s protest will take place at Hart Plaza, organized by the group We the People Dissent. Protests will also be held in Port Huron by Blue Water Indivisible and in Sault Ste. Marie by Yoopers Unite.
Hundreds of people showed up at the Detroit-Windsor border for a similar protest last month. Let’s see if we can top it.
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This article appears in Apr 16-22, 2025.
