U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have made more negative comments about Canada, and one Canadian premier isn’t taking it lightly.
B.C. Premier David Eby clapped back at the Trump administration after it made comments about the behaviour of Canadians who are pausing American travel and choosing to buy local.
This time, the verbal spat was sparked by comments made by U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra during a summit in Bellevue, Washington.
We’ve covered several stories on how travel to Washington State has declined in numbers since tensions between Canada and the United States began rising, stoked by President Trump. This time, Hoekstra sparked some of those flames.
Hoekstra, speaking on behalf of Trump, said that the U.S. president thinks Canadians who choose to buy local and avoid U.S. travel are “mean and nasty.”
Those comments, which have now been widely shared on social media, were made during a section of the summit where the FIFA World Cup was being discussed. Both Washington State and British Columbia will be hosting games for the event.
As Eby has done in the past, he made sure to let the Trump administration know his feelings about comments like those of Hoekstra. Eby shared his reaction on X, which included a portion of a CBC interview.
“The ambassador specifically said that Canadians were ‘mean and nasty’ for not buying American alcohol and for boycotting the U.S. in terms of travel,” Eby recounted.
Eby then rhetorically wondered whether the American administration believes that Canadians wouldn’t respond to suggestions of turning Canada into a 51st State or assertions that Canadians should bow to America.
“We’re taking a stand against Trump’s threats to our sovereignty and standing on our own two feet,” Eby’s X post added.
Eby encouraged Canadians to hold the line in their actions.
This isn’t the first time that the British Columbia premier has fired back at the Trump administration. B.C. was one of the first provinces to suggest pulling American alcohol off the shelves of local liquor stores earlier in the year in response to Trump’s tariffs.
Despite his efforts to defend Canada, the comments in response to his tweet are a mess, with many Americans chiming in. Many also attacked Eby for choosing China as the next builder for BC Ferries.
“So, about those ferries…” one person commented.
On the West Coast, many Americans are still warm to Canadians, and some even miss the Canadian presence in places like Washington State, despite the sentiments of some American politicians.
This is very likely not the last we hear from Trump on Canada.