Canada has been the United States’ friendly upstairs neighbor for so many generations that we almost feel like family. We’ve enjoyed an amicable relationship marked by mutual respect, quick border crossings, and some good-hearted teasing about one another’s stereotypes. If you ask people elsewhere in the world the cultural difference between Canadians and Americans, you’ll usually hear something like, “Canadians are like Americans, but calmer and more polite.”
In other words, picking a fight with Canada is absurd. It’s like kicking a Golden Retriever—who would do that? And yet, here we are, trying to be good neighbors with our volatile granddad banging on the ceiling in the back bedroom, ranting about tariffs and changing lake names.
Mercifully, one of our Canadian neighbors has come knocking to check on us. Comedian Simon King shared “A Message from Canada,” in which he explains how Canadians, like Americans, come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
‘We know it’s not all of you’
“I’m just kinda reaching out to let you know that, like, we know it’s not all of you,” he says. “We’re fully aware that it’s not all of you. I don’t want you to think that every Canadian’s walking around thinking every American is somehow out to get us. We know it’s not all of you.”
In fact, he points out, only about a third of Americans seem okay with how our government has been managing U.S.-Canada relations, which means those folks are significantly outnumbered by Americans who are utterly mortified by it.
“So we were all kind of wondering, just us and mostly the rest of the world, if you could kind of maybe do something about it, you know?” King says. “I mean, trade war and tariff war and stuff, we’re going to be fine. Canada will motor along. You know, we’re just genuinely worried about you… “
Aww. That’s so sweet. Truly. It would be so much easier for Canadians to just complain about the old man downstairs and forget that there’s a whole family living here too, completely at a loss for what to do.
The U.S. could use a wellness check, honestly
“Think of this video as a bit of a wellness check,” King continues. “Are you guys okay? Are you guys doin’ all right? Cause we’d like to be friends again. We really would. I mean, you guys got some pretty cool stuff. Got that Grand Canyon. Got some cool monuments. Got some really great people. And we got some cool stuff, too. We got, um…do you like wheat? (Just kidding, we got really cool stuff up here, too.)
“So we’d like to come back down there, and we’d like you to come back up here, and we’d like to be friends again,” he repeated. “So we’re just wondering if you guys could maybe deal with…this. Anyway, so that’s it. Just wanted to reach out and let you know that we’re thinking about you, and we’re pulling for you.”
So many Americans are grateful for the reach-out
Americans across the nation deeply appreciate the sentiment, with thousands of comments along the lines of “We’re not really okay,” “We’re trying, truly,” and “Yes, we want to be friends again, too!”
“Most of us have never stopped appreciating Canada and Canadians,” wrote one commenter. “Thank you for always being such a steadfast neighbor.”
“We are not okay,” said another. “Thanks for checking in and reminding us that 2/3 of the United States has some power to return our country to honor.”
But this comment sums up how so many Americans are feeling as well as the reality we’ve found ourselves in:
“O our Canadian friends, thank you for caring enough to ask if we’re okay. That kindness lands here. Many of us miss you too and value this long friendship. And when you wonder why Americans don’t just do something, there’s an important difference in our systems. The U.S. doesn’t have a vote of no confidence. Our Constitution sets out elections, Congress, and the courts, which can feel slow, but that’s the path we have. Please don’t mistake the loudest voices for all of America. They represent a small minority of Americans. We are a much bigger and more complicated country. Please don’t give up on us. We still care about Canada and about a friendship deeper than any one moment. We miss you too.”
Thank you, Simon King, for checking in. We’d very much like to go back to being friends and allies like we’ve always been.
(You can find more from Simon King, including his tour dates and social media channels, here.)
