Canada is now hostile territory
On re-entering the U.S. from Canada
I took a trip to Canada yesterday.
I’m now in relatively easy striking distance of Canada and Donald Trump’s tariffs have persuaded me to make larger purchases across the border. I had a little money left over from the move to Erie and decided to use it to get a pair of Airpods Max because I can’t keep the regular Airpods in my ears.
Everything went more or less as expected until I reached the border on the return trip.
No, I wasn’t detained. No, my car wasn’t searched. Nothing serious happened to me. But the tone was radically different from the last time I had been across the border.
A border guard was prowling about, selecting cars at random to search. When I got up to the booth, the guard there glowered: “What were you doing in Canada?” I told the truth. “What did you bring back?” I held up the Airpods Max. “Have a good day,” he said, raising the gate, still scarcely concealing his disdain for anyone who dared to cross the border.
On my previous journey, the border guards were all friendly. This time, entering Canada, the one I encountered still was. When I told him I was going to the Apple Store in Burlington (Ontario), he replied “Awesome!”
It was just on the return trip and the U.S. guards. They made it clear that, to them, Canada is now hostile territory.