Only On The Walters Post

Now, I’m not here to tell folks what to think, I’m just sharing what life has shown me. Take from it what makes sense, leave the rest, but maybe let it sit with you a while.

There’s been a new poll making the rounds, done by the Pew Research Center, saying more Canadians these days see the United States as a threat. They found that 59 percent of Canadians now think of the U.S. as their biggest threat, up from just 20 percent back in 2019.

But even with that, the same poll says 55 percent of Canadians still see the U.S. as our most important ally. So it’s a strange mix, as folks see them as both a friend and a danger.

Now, here’s how I look at it. I’ve lived here in Canada all my life, over seventy years, and my father before me did too. Folks like us, who’ve been here for generations, are the ones whose say is slowly losing ground. It seems to me it’s not so much long-time Canadians feeling this way, but more the result of having a growing number of people coming in from other parts of the world, bringing different views with them.

Don’t get me wrong, I welcome most folks making a new life here, but it changes how these surveys come out. It’s like our voices, the people who built this country and lived side by side with the U.S. through thick and thin, are getting a bit drowned out.

As for Trump, well, sure, he was abrupt and a some didn’t care for his way of speaking. But to me, he was just calling a spade a spade, telling it like it is. That kind of straight talk may rub some folks the wrong way, yet it’s the kind of honesty I’ve always appreciated.

So when I read that Canada now sees the U.S. as more of a threat, I take it with a grain of salt. From where I sit, most folks I know still see the United States as our best friend and strongest ally. We might not agree on everything, but that’s family for you.

Until the next time: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW