In Michigan, Trump’s trade war with Canada rankles both Democrats and Republicans
People vote in the primary election at Northwestern High School in Detroit, Aug. 4.Nic Antaya/The Associated Press
Donald Trump’s tariffs are hitting Joseph Tarver from two directions.
The 52-year-old, who works as a quality inspector in the paint shop of a Detroit auto assembly plant, has seen his hours cut back since the U.S. President started trade wars with Canada and scores of other countries last year, throwing international supply chains into disarray.
The levies, combined with Mr. Trump’s war on Iran, have also made it more expensive for Mr. Tarver to fuel his car and buy food. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, he worries he won’t be able to afford the cost of hosting holiday dinners at his home.
“Everything has gone up – except for the paycheque,” he told The Globe and Mail one recent morning as he left an advance polling station in the Detroit suburb of Roseville. He had just voted for the full slate of Democratic candidates in midterm elections, hoping they could rein in Mr. Trump and his Republicans.
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Mr. Tarver was particularly bemused that the President would pick a fight with one of America’s closest allies.
“They’re messing with our people in Canada. We’ve been partners with y’all forever. But this guy comes in and, all of a sudden, it’s a problem,” he said. “Us Michiganders are shoulder-to-shoulder with Canada.”
There may be no Americans more aware of their Canadian neighbours than the 10 million who call this state home.
Michigan does some US$67-billion in annual trade with Canada. According to calculations by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, the state has taken a US$23-billion hit from Mr. Trump’s tariffs since the start of last year, equal to US$5,619 per resident. Most affected is the auto industry, where a single car part can cross the border several times as factories in both countries work together to assemble a vehicle.
In July, after a delay forced by the Trump administration, the Canadian government opened the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit, a tangible reflection of the integrated economy.
The trade war is a central midterm issue in this perennial swing state, meaning control of Congress could turn – perhaps for the first time ever – on America’s relationship with the Great White North.
Supporters for Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed applaud during a speech by former president Barack Obama, at a campaign rally in Detroit, Oct. 24. At the rally, Mr. Obama took aim at the U.S. President’s tariffs on Canadians goods.Paul Sancya/The Associated Press
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for a Michigan Senate seat, hammers Mr. Trump on the issue at every campaign rally. In one oft-repeated stump speech line, he riffs on Canadians’ reputation for politeness: “If you’re starting a trade war with Canada, it’s ‘cause you’re the asshole.”
In a campaign video released after Mr. Trump imposed yet another round of tariffs on Canadian goods last month, Mr. El-Sayed hosted a parody game show called The Price is Wrong, in which he asked contestants to guess how much the cost of everyday items had climbed in the previous year.
Meanwhile, Mike Rogers, Mr. El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, is running away from one of his own President’s signature policies. In a television spot, Mr. Rogers sips a Labatt Blue − the famously Canadian beer that is also brewed in Rochester, N.Y. − and calls for an end to the trade turbulence.
“Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war – now,” he says.
Even Mr. Trump appears ready to cut a deal lowering tariffs before the Nov. 3 vote. According to three industry sources in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, secret talks between Ottawa and Washington have ramped up in recent days, with a particular focus on the President’s auto levies.
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The Globe is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to discuss the confidential negotiations.
Among Republican voters near the border here, there is a mix of outright opposition, befuddlement and attempts to downplay Mr. Trump’s actions.
Sitting on the front porch of their white and blue clapboard house on a golden autumn afternoon in Port Huron, Weston and Denise Weaver enumerated the reasons they support Mr. Trump. His crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border and opposition to abortion top the list.
But neither could quite understand why he had targeted Canada. “You’re such good neighbours all these years, I don’t see why there should be any tariffs,” said Ms. Weaver, a 74-year-old retired cosmetologist, as she gazed across the street to the St. Clair River and an Imperial Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ont., on the other side.
“He seems to feel like we’ve been cheated by a lot of countries, and I really haven’t seen all the proof of that yet,” said Mr. Weaver, 77, a retired factory maintenance man.
The couple have warm memories of regularly visiting a favourite fish-and-chips spot in Sarnia early in their marriage. During her youth, Ms. Weaver’s doctor was on the Canadian side of the river.
Ken Burchett, a self-described Trump supporter voting at the same suburban poll as Mr. Tarver, has also experienced the consequences of tariffs in his professional life. The electronics company he works for saw the price of equipment it imports jump last year.
“He should pick and choose his battles a little more wisely. I don’t want any turf wars with our neighbours,” said Mr. Burchett, 56.
A Canadian flag flies in downtown Windsor as the skyline of Detroit is seen in the background, April, 2025.Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
Picking up a campaign sign at the local Republican Party office in Bloomfield Hills, Frank Reagan insisted that Mr. Trump wasn’t serious when he threatened to annex Canada. Such a move, he pointed out, would give the U.S. another state with the population of California and a populace just as opposed to the President’s agenda.
“Trump never, ever meant for Canada to be the 51st state. It was an illustration. It would be like having another California. There’s just no way. It wasn’t even an option,” said Mr. Reagan, 70, who added that he enjoys holidaying in Fort Erie, Ont.
Beyond the economic connections, Michigan and Canada share deep social and familial bonds.
Canadians descend on Detroit for Red Wings, Pistons, Lions and Tigers games. Crowds move in the other direction to frequent the bars and restaurants of Windsor’s Ouellette Avenue and Erie Street. Many people live on one side of the border and work on the other.
Pat Diaz, 84, lunching on tamales in a Port Huron food court, recalled walking across the nearby Bluewater Bridge as a child to buy peaches on the Canadian side. When she worked at a Kroger supermarket, she would allow Canadian truckers to stay overnight in the parking lot and sometimes bought them meals. “Canada and us were always friends.”
Dave Ivers, 84, was born in the U.S. to Canadian parents. During his time on a Navy submarine in the early 1960s, he recalled, he developed a close camaraderie with Canadian compatriots during NATO exercises.
“We had a good rapport with people because we recognized that we’re not alone in the world. We’ve got people leading our country now that want to be alone in the world,” he said as he strolled through a mall in Roseville.
In a Port Huron campaign rally this past weekend, Mr. Trump vacillated between accusing Canada of “ripping off” the U.S. and assuring the audience that the trade war would be “settled” shortly.
A day earlier, former president Barack Obama, at a Detroit rally for Mr. El-Sayed, held up the tariffs as an example of Mr. Trump’s foreign policy ineptitude.
“He’s toughest when it comes to tariffs and trade wars on that well-known evil empire: Canada,” Mr. Obama said to raucous laughter. “These are the people who gave us Martin Short and maple syrup. They are the nicest people.”