Canadians rally near Peace Bridge to voice concerns over Trump’s tariffs

More than 100 people braved the pouring rain on Wednesday evening to take part in a rally near the Peace Bridge to share their dismay about how Canadians have been treated by President Donald Trump since he took office in January.

At the top of the president’s priority list has been imposing tariffs on goods from Canada and other countries.

On Wednesday, Trump said he will enact a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S. that aren’t compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

According to CBC, Canada and Mexico are spared from what Trump is calling “reciprocal” tariffs, but other levies that were already announced remain in play.

Trump said a separate 25 per cent auto tariff will take effect at midnight, and a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, announced weeks ago, is also still in effect.

Wednesday’s rally, dubbed ‘Elbows Up for Canada,’ was organized by a group of concerned Americans in Buffalo, who gathered on their side of the border near the Peace Bridge to show solidarity with their Canadian neighbours.

On the Niagara Parkway near the breakwall, people gathered with umbrellas and rain gear, many of them waving flags and wearing red and white apparel with Canadian insignia.

“I think what this administration is doing is just wrong,” said Marg Opatovsky, a local resident, who said the last time she protested something publicly, it was to do with the Vietnam War.

She believes Trump’s tariffs will have negative impacts on both sides of the border.

“It’s going to hurt Canadians and it’s going to hurt Americans, too,” she told Fort Erie Radio in an interview.

Opatovsky said she wouldn’t be surprised if Trump supporters start changing their tune, once they start feeling the affects of the tariffs.

“Once it hits them personally, they’re all going to wonder,” she said.

Lisa Allegra and her husband John made the trip from Niagara Falls to take part in the rally.

“We have lots of friends and family across the river, and it’s important we stay together,” she said.

Tereza Rae, a longtime Fort Erie resident who was born in Brazil, said she couldn’t be more proud to be a Canadian standing up for where she has called home for many years.

“It’s my country, and I want it to continue to be the great country it is,” she told Fort Erie Radio.

Like many others at the event, she is not a fan of Trump.

The current president is “nuts,” in her opinion.

“He’s ruining this country and he’s ruining the whole planet,” she said. “We have to fight against it.”

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