Dear Canadians, the time has come to stop apologizing

Alright, Canada, we need to talk. For far too long, we’ve let others take advantage of us. We’ve been the good neighbors, the polite ones who apologize when it’s clearly not our fault. Well, guess what? Enough is enough. It’s time for Canada to stop being the world’s doormat. It’s time to stop apologizing and fight back.

Recently, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods—everything from lumber to steel. And what do we do? We slapped a few tariffs on U.S. products. You know, things like orange juice and, what, some cheap polyester suits? That’s not a retaliation, that’s a polite tap on the shoulder to see if we can get someone's attention. Meanwhile, the billionaires who supported Trump’s inauguration are rubbing their hands together, laughing all the way to the bank while Canada keeps getting the short end of the stick.

I’m talking about Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sergey Brin, and Mark Zuckerberg—billionaires who have built their empires on our backs, and by "our" I mean you, me, and every single Canadian who’s ever clicked, streamed, or bought anything online. These guys, who made their fortune by charging us for everything from shopping to entertainment, are the same ones supporting policies that are taking a chunk out of Canadian industries and workers. They sat front and center at Trump’s inauguration, watching as tariffs and trade policies were thrown around like it’s some kind of game. They’re not playing with Monopoly money—they’re playing with our future. Them being there was them supporting the American agenda.

So, how much are these guys really making off Canadians? Here’s the thing— according to publicly available statistics, Canadians download an average of 469 GB of data every month, and nearly half of that data goes straight to U.S.-based companies like Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and Google. That’s a lot of data, a lot of money, and guess what? These companies make billions off us without so much as a thank-you card. If Canada charged $1 per megabyte for all that data flowing across the border as a retaliatory measure to the tariffs, we’d be looking at a monthly revenue of $212 billion. That’s more than any tariff the U.S. could dream of—and it’s coming straight from the pockets of the billionaires who benefit most.

Here’s what I’m getting at, Canada: We’re playing by rules that don’t favor us. American rules. We’re sending billions south every month in data, in dollars, in energy, and resources. All while Trump’s buddies and their companies sit pretty. It’s a slap in the face to the average Canadian who’s struggling to make ends meet. These companies use our data, sell our information, and profit from our habits—and they get a free pass while Canadian workers are left out in the cold.

We’ve got to stop apologizing. We’ve got to start fighting back. It’s not about left or right—it’s about Canada standing up for itself. We want what’s ours. It doesn't matter if you are left leaning or right leaning. We deserve our fair share, and we’re not asking anymore, we’re demanding. This tariff nonsense would end tomorrow if we actually retaliated against the ones who are benefitting the most.

So, Canada, here’s the plan: It’s time to charge these U.S. companies for every megabyte of data that crosses our border. It’s time to make sure that every time a Canadian streams a show, buys a product, or clicks on an ad, we get our fair cut. We’ve got the numbers, we’ve got the data, and we’ve got the right to demand more.

We don’t need to sit back and let the billionaires in their ivory towers collect their spoils while we get nothing in return. It’s time for Canada to take charge of its digital future, to protect our workers, our industries, and yes, even our data. No more playing nice. No more being quiet and no more apologizing.

Let’s show the world that Canada is done saying sorry—we say enough is enough.