Source: ICI Toronto
The American flag had been displayed alongside the Canadian flag in the arena of the West Lincoln Township Community Centre in Ontario, for years.
This is no longer the case. The canton council voted to withdraw it on Monday evening.
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on most imports from Canada starting next Tuesday, angering advisers.
Our neighbours to the south don’t really respect us
,” said William Reilly, a councillor for the community of Smithville, at the Township’s corporate services committee meeting on Feb. 18, where the motion was introduced.
“The American flag is permanently fixed in our community center, 365 days a year
,” he said. We do not even have the Ontario flag.
Councillor Reilly said the U.S. flag will be raised at games against U.S. teams.
However, this decision does not suit everyone.
“I don’t see why we should have the American flag here
,” said Ed Wrzosek, a West Lincoln resident. Canada is threatened economically and militarily, and we must be resilient
,” he added.
But for Sylvie Taylor, another resident of the canton, removing the flag is a disproportionate reaction: It symbolizes too much discontent, rivalry and censorship
, she argues.
Robert Lee thinks that this is an unnecessary gesture: It doesn’t matter to people. Most people here didn’t even know he was up there. So what’s the point?
Not anti-American
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said U.S. visitors generate 50 percent of the border city’s revenue. And so we are very careful to be pro-Canadian but not anti-American.
There are a lot of scenarios, and it’s hard to make assumptions
,” says the mayor of Niagara Falls, “but we’re preparing for worst-case scenarios.”
And for him, this means strengthening ties with their neighbours on the other side of the border.
I have a very warm relationship with the mayor of Niagara Falls in the United States, and with other mayors in the United States – from Miami and elsewhere – and I can tell you that many have reached out to me and said, “We’re sorry, it’s not the American people. It’s politics and politicians negotiating.”
Diodati also says he is proactively reaching out to people that President Trump is listening to
, such as the Governor of Kentucky, CEO large companies and other governors who are going to be affected by the tariffs
, while putting in place contingency funds and plans, and reviewing the Municipality’s sources of supply.
Solidarity between different actors in the region
For his part, George Spezza, director of economic development for the Niagara region, recalls the considerable impact that tariffs would have on American products.
About 72% of our production and exported products are directly destined for the United States
,” he points out.
“This would have an impact on nearly 30,000 jobs in our region.”
The organization recalls that in 2023, businesses in the Niagara region exported $6 billion worth of goods to the United States and conversely, the Niagara region imported $2 billion worth of goods from its neighbour, which accounted for 54% of total imports.
A Niagara team
– comprised of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce, the Southern Niagara Chamber of Commerce, Niagara Region Economic Development and the Niagara Industrial Association – has been meeting weekly for the past month to find ways to address the tariff threat.
We simply did not expect this from our closest ally.
But he does not say he is anti-American.
You know, a lot of us have family and loved ones on the other side of the border who work in Canada, and who go to the U.S. on a daily basis, and vice versa
,” Spezza said.
“I can’t say that I’m negative about our American counterparts
,” he added. They are an important ally for Canada.
Moderate concerns
Thierry Clément, who opened the Paris Crêpes Café restaurant in Niagara Falls more than 15 years ago, says the tariffs announced by President Trump cause him less concern than a pandemic.
It doesn’t scare me
,” he says. But we must not take it lightly, we must prepare for it.
And for the chef, that means rethinking the summer menu based on locally sourced produce and considering reducing the number of seasonal employees.
Its summer clientele is made up of 70% Americans, compared to 20% Canadians. While he expects a potential drop in customers due to economic uncertainty, he is confident in the resilience of his bistro.
An optimism that is echoed by the mayor of the city.
I think that’s part of the resilience that you develop in a border town,” says Diodati. As they say, when you’re a mouse and you’re sleeping near an elephant, you’re very aware of the elephant’s doings and gestures, because you don’t want to end up under it.
“We’re so used to dealing with this kind of situation that it doesn’t have a major emotional impact,” he adds. We take things logically, we are used to it, we have been there. We are prepared.
He points out that more Americans may visit Canada because of the value of the U.S. dollar.
Met on Clifton Hill Street, Terri and Barry Young, an American tourist couple from the state of Ohio, decided to spend the weekend on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls in support of their neighbors.
Being American right now is embarrassing.
“It seems like our administration is abandoning all of its allies, and we don’t want to condone that,” she said. So we’re here to support Canadians and Canada.