‘We’re so vulnerable’: How Canadians can cope with anxiety in the face of existential threats from the U.S.

U.S. Chair Donald ruff’s back full term has threatened Canada with appropriation and economic ruin and destabilized much of the international order that has governed the world since the Second World War, leaving many Canadians feeling anxious and concerned.

The barrage includes comments about Canada becoming the 51st state, warnings not to challenge Trump, job insecurity because of the existing trade war and threats of increased tariffs.

"Any talk of assaulting my country in any way, whether it's economic or territorially … I mean, I could cry right now," said Lili Wexu, a French Canadian originally from Montreal who’s living and working in Los Angeles as a bilingual voice actress.

"My Canadian heart just got ripped apart. I mean it was like somebody is assaulting me personally."

Wexu is not the only one struggling. A Jan. 28 Angus Reid poll found four out of five Canadians are feeling more fear than hope about the Canada-U.S. Relationship in the year ahead.

Canadians were asked if they felt Trump will pursue more "regime change" operations, such as the one in Venezuela or if they felt that was an isolated incident. Three-quarters say they expect the Trump administration to pursue more regime operations.

"We're in a world now where the superpowers are just trying to get more," Wexu said. 

"Russia is invading Ukraine. The U.S. Has their sight [set] on Canada and Greenland.… China's going for Taiwan. We just live in a world where I think none of us are going to be safe from that."

Those feelings of fear and anxiety are valid and normal reactions that can be exacerbated if someone has already experienced violation, disrespect and lack of consent, said Carolyn Klassen, a therapist at Wired for Connection in Winnipeg.

Rather than ignore those feelings, Klassen suggests we honour them, regulate them and figure out how to manage them.

"We feel like we're in a new territory and that's alarming because it's unfamiliar and we don't quite know what to do in this space."

Klassen also noted we share a border with the United States.

"They're literally down the road … and now it feels like the rules are changing and that is uncertain," she said.

"It feels really vulnerable."

The fear factor hanging over the Canada-U.S. Relationship

Retired environmental consultant Barry Lunseth agrees, pointing to American interventions that overthrew governments in Chile in 1973 and Iran in 1953.

"If you look at history ... The U.S. Has gotten involved in other countries over the past 70 years. They've gotten involved in Chile, they overthrew the government there, they got involved in Iran and they overthrown that democratic collective government there. So it's not the first time," the Calgary man said.

"So that's why we have to be very careful, cautious and not overreact, but at the same time, you know, stand on our own two feet."

For many Inuit, Trump’s obsession with Greenland has also been an ongoing concern.

"Inuit culture would be in jeopardy," Kaujja Qumangaapik said in Inuktitut, at the Iqaluit airport.

"Inuit in Canada would be impacted," Titus Alooloo said.

"If you look at Alaska, it's an American state and if Greenland were to become an American state, Canada is right in the middle and would be caught in the middle, and it's very uncertain times right now."

Klassen says it’s important to stay informed and understand how the threats and real impact of job loss are affecting people, but she recommends managing news and social media consumption because "being informed is different than being flooded."

And instead of hiding fear and concern, she also suggests finding people or a community who can support you.

"We are wired for connection and we need each other like we need food, water and oxygen," Klassen said. "When we share our distress, we are able to manage it better. It's just important that we not do this alone."

For Alooloo, that's a natural approach.

"Inuit have to stand together and support each other," he said.

Finding support can be especially important if someone is from a country where they have already experienced what happens when threats to sovereignty become reality, Klassen said. 

Yaroslav Zhovner, a Ukrainian, moved to Winnipeg from Poland in July 2022. His wife and three children joined him from Lviv three months later.

"When the war started, at that time I was working in Poland, but it's still too close to Ukraine," he said. "We have to move somewhere else to stay safe and keep kids in a safe area."

They chose Canada because it was safe, he said.

But now, he said he is hearing similarities between threats from the Trump administration and what Russian President Vladimir Putin was saying ahead of the invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and again in the weeks and months leading up to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"We had the same situation 2014 and 2022 … now we can see what's happened," Zhovner said.

"It’s too close.... The leader's words, but what everyone is talking, it's pretty close and pretty the same."

Zhovner and his wife still have family members and friends in Ukraine so "when bombs hit the city, it's terrible," he said.

"We call to our parents every day, check how they are."

His wife feels a lot of anxiety and his children, aged five, nine and 13, often have questions.

All he can do, he said, is tell them they’re safe. "Just keep working, keep living and try to make our life easy and better."

Lili Wexu says she’s practising self-care — eating well, doing yoga and limiting her screen time.

Still, she said she feels helpless and worried for loved ones in Canada, especially with Quebec and Alberta potentially facing referendums on sovereignty.

"I'm definitely concerned with people who want to separate from that right now because we need to come together as Canadians," she said.

"A lot of bad things can happen when a population is divided. So this is not the time to be divided.… We're so vulnerable as a soft power."

National reporter

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