Trump's Canada-bashing echoed by supporters at Dallas convention

Thousands of U.S. President Donald Trump's most ardent followers have gathered in Dallas for "Trump-a-palooza" this week — and many are parroting the president's constant bashing of Canada.

Lona Heins from Tennessee said Canada is now "communist" and no longer shares the same values as the United States.

"It's contentious. I think Canada is socialist. It’s much, much more socialist," she said. "And I’m not even going to say that word anymore. It’s communist. We share different values now."

Like many Trump supporters at the unusual two-day Republican midterm convention, Heins spoke highly of Canadians and said she knows many people north of the border.

Heins, 58, said she was raised in South Dakota with family in North Dakota and Canadians were like family back then.

"What I see in Canada is not the Canada I remember growing up," she said.

She said her change in opinion didn't come from bilateral tensions over trade, which she wants to see resolved. She said she needed more information before speaking about the trade dispute.

"I wish that there was a way for them to fix it but I stand with my president," she said. "I'm here for Donald J. Trump. It makes me sad but I hope there's a way they can come to an agreement."

Trump on Tuesday escalated the trade war with Canada, signing executive orders to ban a range of Canadian exports and shuffle tariffs on others. Most imports of Canadian-made liquor and a handful of dairy products will be banned from the United States at the end of September.

Tensions between the countries have been riding high since trade talks broke down last month. In response, Trump hit an array of Canadian goods with 50 per cent duties and Canada responded with its retaliatory tariffs earlier this week.

While headlining the midterm convention on Wednesday, Trump talked about his move to change the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" and claimed Canada is desperate for a trade deal.

The president was more subdued than usual in his comments about the United States' northern neighbour, which he's threatened to annex for nearly two years.

That could be because polling shows Trump's tariffs and his move to rename Lake Ontario are widely unpopular ahead of the critical November midterm elections.

But Trump's anti-Canada rhetoric seems to be seeping down to his followers.

Gallup polling published in March shows Canada's favourable rating among Republicans has fallen 23 points, from 85 per cent in 2025 to 62 per cent this year.

Matthew Lebo, a political-science professor at Western University in London, Ont., said that in an increasingly polarized United States, voters are more likely to look to their political leaders and adopt their opinions, even if they go against their own interests.

"When the leader of a political party, and somebody that 20 to 30 per cent of people are totally devoted to, says that Canada plays dirty and that they are unfair and they've been taking advantage of us for ages and all that, then the people who listen to them are going to believe that," Lebo said.

On the flip side, Lebo said Trump's overt hostility toward Canada also shores up the opinions of people who don't like him. Gallup polling shows around 95 per cent of Democrats continue to rate Canada positively.

Lebo said the shifting opinions about Canada among Republicans stem from Trump's most faithful supporters putting their complete trust in what the president says. It doesn't necessarily come from an understanding of current issues between Canada and the United States, he added.

When asked about Canada-U.S. trade tensions, rally attendee MaryAnn Miron said Canadians ought to get rid of Justin Trudeau — who announced his resignation in January 2025 and was replaced by Mark Carney as prime minister in March of that year.

"I feel sorry for you all with Trudeau," she said.

"I think you guys are in a crappy situation and he needs to be outted. And I think a lot of that is going to help solve the problem between the countries, but I wish you guys the best."

When informed that Trudeau is no longer the prime minister, Miron said, "I haven't been watching the news."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2026.

By Kelly Geraldine Malone | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.