His immigration rhetoric and nationalism are luring some “far-right” conservatives in Canada.
While getting my Ontario driver’s license in 2023, I was asked to write a description of the vehicle and then wait in my car for the examiner to find me. I had to use my mother’s car, so, red-faced, I wrote “Chevy SUV, ‘WWG1WGA’ bumper sticker.” The acronym stood for “Where We Go One, We Go All,” the far-right, QAnon-inspired slogan that became a battle cry of the Jan. 6, 2021, riots.
In mainstream Canada, these slogans were virtually unheard of, and the examiner didn’t seem to notice the sticker’s connotations. My mother and other conservative pro-Donald Trump Canadians, however, were parroting these slogans from online conspiracy-fueled echo chambers and what they saw as enviable nationalism. With a brewing trade war between the United States and Canada, pro-Trump Canadians, like my family, are now being forced to choose between the president or their country — and, disturbingly, some are choosing Trump. In his latest volley, the president on Friday abruptly ended trade talks with Canada, saying he would issue new tariffs soon.
