Canada and the United States were once inseparable; not just neighbors, but partners who built a life together. We shared dreams, intertwined economies, and a deep cultural kinship rooted in democracy, fairness, and mutual respect. For generations, we finished each other's sentences in diplomatic halls, mourned the same tragedies, and believed without question that this bond was unbreakable.

But something fundamental has shattered.

This isn't a policy disagreement or temporary friction. This is the slow, agonizing collapse of a relationship we thought would last forever. Like a marriage that dies through a thousand small betrayals, the bond between Canada and the US is coming undone; and we're left making excuses for behavior we'd never tolerate from anyone else.

The partner we thought we knew has become unrecognizable. Where there was reliability, there's chaos. Where there was trust, there's abuse. The country that once championed freedom now rolls back rights, worships division, and follows an orange demagogue into authoritarian fever dreams.

And what's most infuriating? Our own prime minister seems paralyzed, unable or unwilling to stand up to this bully who slaps tariffs on our steel, insults our sovereignty, and treats us like a subordinate rather than an equal. We watch, humiliated, as our leader offers polite objections while our neighbor dismantles everything the relationship once stood for. We've tried to wait it out, to believe this is temporary. But as the US spirals deeper into MAGA madness, we're forced to confront an unbearable truth: the America we appreciated may be gone, and our leadership lacks the spine to acknowledge it.

The time has come to stop pretending and start asking the hard questions: What does it mean to stand beside someone who no longer shares your values? And where does Canada go when both our neighbor and our own government refuse to face reality?

Watching Democracy Rot

The transformation of the United States feels both surreal and tragic, a nation that once stood as a beacon of democracy now teetering on the edge of paranoia. For Canadians, who once saw America as the guardian of liberty, the sight is both shocking and heartbreaking.

The Make America Great Again movement has morphed into an ideology that feeds on fear, resentment, and conspiracy. What began as populist rhetoric has evolved into a quasi-religious crusade against truth itself. The rise of nationalist militias, the erosion of institutional trust, and the glorification of "strongman politics" have left the United States barely recognizable to its friends and allies.

President Trump's administration didn't just disrupt norms, it dismantled them. Civil rights, once thought untouchable, were rolled back with alarming speed. Access to abortion, LGBTQ+ protections, and voting rights have all been targeted under a banner of "freedom" that feels anything but liberating. The deployment of troops to US cities during protests, the tear-gassing of journalists, and the intimidation of voters blurred the line between law enforcement and authoritarianism.

Culturally, the freefall has been just as steep. Conspiracy theories now drive mainstream policy debates, from election denialism to anti-science movements. And this leaves Canada and the world wondering how a democracy so powerful could become so fragile.

Schools in several states are banning books, whitewashing history, and treating education as a threat. Online hate speech, political violence, and attacks on minorities are now met with shrugs rather than outrage. Americans are dismantling the very institutions that once made their country admired. For Canadians, it feels like watching an older brother destroy the house you both grew up in each brick of reason, tolerance, and decency torn down in the name of "greatness."

Tariffs, Trade Wars, and Trust Lost

But the betrayal wasn't just ideological. When a partner turns on you emotionally, they usually come for your wallet next. In 2018, ...