We’ve all heard the stereotype that Canadians are friendly people. It’s a narrative that has pervaded the mainstream. Our country is not only rated as the friendliest in the world by World Population Review, but we are also ranked first in global reputation by RepCore Nations in 2025. The United States-based non-profit Freedom House even rates Canada as the fifth freest country in the world. Canada also has a history of being portrayed as the final safe haven amidst the chaos of authoritarian regimes in pop culture, such as in Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (2011).
This reputation is something many Canadians may pride themselves on, and it is often contrasted with the public image of our neighbours in the United States.
I have a unique perspective on social and political issues in both countries, having family and friends on both sides of the border. On one side, Americans are waking up to systemic issues within their current political and economic structures and the injustices enacted by their current administration. On the other hand, a sentiment I frequently hear from Canadians about our current social and political climate is the dismissal of any comparison we may have with the U.S. — glancing at the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and breathing a metaphorical sigh of relief that we are not them. However, there has been a disturbing recent trend that suggests we may not be as different from our Southern neighbours as we would like to think.
We are more than one year into U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s second term. Since his inauguration in early 2025, he has wasted no time in enacting a wave of reactionary policies that have devastated the lives and safety of many residing in the United States, regardless of citizenship or status. It is a situation that hits close to home for me, and not only because I am a dual U.S./Canadian citizen. Just a few weeks ago, on Jan. 16, 2025, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a seven-year-old girl and her parents from Oregon’s Adventist Health Portland medical centre — the hospital where I was born.
This political turmoil has largely stemmed from anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been continually pushed by Trump and other right-wing figures since the president’s first term back in 2016. Now, the goalpost seems to have expanded to include anyone from any marginalized demographic.
Canadian media often portrays Canada as multicultural, open, and accepting of immigrants. This exterior is quickly called into question when comparing Canada’s representation of its acceptance of immigrants to actual public opinion. I have noticed that anti-South Asian sentiments specifically are becoming more and more common in Canadian online spaces.
In a CBC article, Josiah Sinanan reports on online hatred targeting South Asians, exposing several young Indian students’ experiences with online harassment and hostility. They witnessed social media posts with hundreds, if not thousands of interactions that claim immigration from India is somehow to blame for problems in Canada regarding housing and employment.
This online rhetoric is not only widely racist, but it also has devastating real-world consequences. A 2023 study by Focus Canada reported that an increasing number of Canadians believe that we have “too much immigration.” This hostility is not only evidenced by thoughts and opinions alone. According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes against Canada’s South Asian population have risen by 143 per cent from 2019 to 2022.
We can use all the inclusive language and multicultural imagery that we want — but do words and pictures truly mean anything if not followed by action? That is where I think the problem truly lies. I believe that there is a difference between being kind and being good. Without goodness and humanity to support it, kindness is simply a facade.
Despite our outward appearance, in my eyes, a growing number of Canadians seem to be making the same mistakes as Americans — scapegoating an entire demographic of people due to social and political instability. I believe that can, and will, grow like it has in America unless we speak up now.
I do not write this in an attempt to discourage readers. Rather, I hope this will be a call to action. To call out injustice where you see it. Like any form of radicalism, what we are seeing in the U.S. did not come from nowhere, and does not exist in a vacuum. Our proximity to this hate seems to be bleeding into our own social perceptions. If not addressed and challenged, I fear that we are on the same pathway to fascism as the United States.
