I just hope they ’re all getting paid in USD , not CAD .
Canada and the US have always had a friendly rivalry, but the beef has reached new heights over the last month or so — ever sinceTrump’s tariffswent into effect. Now? We’re kinda like siblings whose friendly banter has turned into an actual, full-on rivalry.
But there’s one particular group of people I haven’t really considered until now: Canadians who work alongside Americans. What’s it REALLY like for a Canadian to work with people from a country we feel so hurt by?
We’re here to listen. Recently, Reddit useryabadassasked: “Canadians who are employed by US-based companies,how are you feeling?” and people posted some fascinating and honest stories. So here are some of the top responses!
1.“I work exclusively with Americans, and I’m the only Canadian on my team. I find it difficult to relate to them, so I feel invisible. They are mostly oblivious to everything going on. It’s quite unsettling, to be honest.”
— RazerRadion
2.“Boss asked me how I was doing. I was like, ‘Uh, well, not great.’ And he (truly, and honestly, with care) asked me why not. Like, ‘Oh, no! What’s going on?’ I was like, ‘Wait, seriously? I mean…threats to our sovereignty…’ and he replied, ‘Oh, yeah, that…yeah, that’s kinda weird.'”
" He ’s an awesome man … competent , well-disposed … possibly the best honcho I ’ve ever had . And it did n’t even occur to him that I ’d be on edge as his government threatened mine . "
— Weak_Leek_3364
3.“I am the only Canadian on my team. One colleague joked early on about being the 51st State, and I let him know it was not a joke. Our CEO stated in our town hall there will be no tolerance for joking about it company-wide.”
" It ’s been pretty OK , but I ’m headed to the US shortly for an internal conference . We ’ll see how it goes . "
— d0esth1smakeanysense
4.“My VP said, ‘Tell your guys to stop poking the bear.’ Oblivious, and don’t watch anything but Fox News.”
" Recently on a tripper in Mexico , there were US citizens there who were totally humiliated by their current admin … "
— Fun_Ad_883
5.“I feel about the same level of job security, which probably says more about the state of employment practices in North America than anything else.”
" Pretty much any major company would shed an entire building of the great unwashed if they could report a slightly better quarter as a trade - off . "
— ARunOfTheMillPerson
6.“It’s not looking good at our company. Layoffs have already begun. I have many years of seniority, so my job is mostly safe, but I feel for the guys who are new or even been with the company for a few years.”
— MightyHydro88
7.“I’d quit immediately once I get enough money, or if any local companies offer competitive pay. However, unfortunately, local companies can’t even match one third of my current salary.”
— A_Skyer
8.“I work overseas in Europe for a large US-based aerospace company. All of my colleagues are European, which is cool; however, I always have a weird feeling when talking to the Yanks.”
" We have a convention coming up , and alternatively of having the European faculty the kiosk , mostly uni - lingual Americans are to be there . I may have been only invited since I speak four languages . I will ward off political word at all costs . "
— slash_n_hairy
9.“I work for a large multinational company headquartered in the US. Talk to Americans all day, and for the most part, they are aware of what’s going on and sympathetic. But today, I had a meeting with my boss four levels above me. I was making jokes about Trump with another Canadian on the call, and I could see my boss start to get agitated and not appreciate the humour. That was the first time I’ve run into someone at work who is clearly a Trumper.”
" approximate I ’m lucky I do n’t see it more often . "
— One_Entertainer648
10.“I work for an American company. I am currently in America on a work trip. I tried to cancel but I could not. I feel like I’m cheating on my wife. I feel dirty.”
— Garden - of - Eden10
11.“My direct boss (CEO) is a huge Musk and Trump fan, as it turns out. Thing is, he’s a (legal) immigrant who employs illegal immigrants in the company.”
I asked about a persistence of business plan should we get ICE’d , and he was very confounded . ' That only happens to the bad immigrant , ' he said . ' We ’re the good ones . ' "
— Barley_Mowat
12.“None of my American co-workers have brought up anything about what’s happening, and it’s really strange to me. When I told them I wasn’t travelling (to a red state) for an onsite and would Zoom in instead due to the political climate, they just shrugged it off — didn’t acknowledge anything. I also have to push down the thought:Some of my coworkers support what’s happening and/or voted for this.”
" The ship’s company itself , which is American , has not sent one communication acknowledge what ’s happening , even though there ’s a sizable Canadian squad . We also have a large event every year , and I do n’t imagine the Canadian employees or customer are gon na come . "
— I_havean_Idea
13.“My company has let me know the following: If I have a crossing border issue, they will not help me at all, and I will likely lose my job instantly if there happens to be a random issue one day. I will not get help from my supervisors or the immigration lawyers or my company in any substantial way, I am sure.”
" The only matter they indicated is that there is a danger of go and I should turn back ' all non - essential change of location ' ( whatever the hell that mean ) , which fundamentally means they are going to lave off their hands like above anything that occur to me even if I just want to confabulate home plate ( Toronto ) to see my family .
They are altogether incognizant of annexation threats , and do not hash out any political science at all with myself or each other , or how it could affect every single company in the US in a annihilative way .
That state , my genuine friends here are capable of discussing the topics at hand , yet only a select few in reality admit how dangerous what is going on for them ( green card - holders and US citizen ) and for me ( work Visa - bearer ) . "
— hypespud
14.“I’m disgusted by how they think we are pissed about the tariffs and not the threat of annexation/invasion. They cannot comprehend that we don’t want to join their country.”
" Over the years , they have constantly assay to take away our vacation and sick day to ' match the US workers ' and can not comprehend how a pregnancy leave would demand rent a replacement because in their world gestation farewell is for a few weeks , not a year or more ! "
— Diastrophus
15.“I recently retired after 30 years of working in the US. My long-time girlfriend and I are preparing to leave after visiting family in Canada this summer. Most people around here are fairly oblivious, and those that aren’t think it’s kind of funny or disgusting. When someone laughs about it, I tell them with a straight face, it simply isn’t funny. At all. Not even in an ironic kind of way. They get the point.”
" I ’m disgusted , overturned , worried , and ca n’t wait to impart before they come after me for being a double citizen . I ’m gravely considering renouncing my US citizenship after we cipher out where to reconcile , and how doing that might affect my societal security payments . "
— fumblerooskee
16.“I work for a global corporation based in the USA, and after the years of slowly chiseling benefits away to match their current US workforce levels by violating Canadian labour laws (as well as a couple Canadian Charter violations), they’ve been silent for months. I can see them reducing the Canadian workforce in the future due to their bullshit management model that’s not well-received here in Canada.”
— UnavailableEye
17.“No lie: 15 minutes of my 30-minute performance review was what I could learn from Elon Musk — how he gets things done.”
" I ’m a project coach , and he lives in Texas . "
— Eastofyonge
18.“I feel conflicted. My job is generally secure as far as them being happy with my performance. The people I work directly with are nice and there has been zero political talk. The company health seems OK so far. However, we manufacture a somewhat luxury consumer/builder product out of steel, aluminum, and a lot of foreign parts, so…yeah. They could shut down the Canadian part of the business in the near future if it made fiscal sense.”
" I ’m a single householder , so have been thinking through all the eventuality . Currently looking for a outback Canadian / European position that will give tractability in my location . Also taking on some international clients to hike income . If asshole goes completely sideways , I will be able to work from anywhere . "
— miata90na
19.“Nervous. Not a word from management to try and address the situation with the Canadian employees (and there are a lot of us). Upper management don’t even have us on their radar. At all. Disappointed, really.”
— ApprehensiveMoose926
20.“It’s kind of…weird. Granted, most tech employees are in Canada, so I don’t day-to-day with Americans. However, I’ve been here a long time, and when there were bad things happening with MAGA-lites in Poland and Hungary (where we have offices), the company was vocal about protecting employees, commitment to diversity, support, etc. Now it’s F-all.”
— JCMS99
21.“I’m an American, living in Canada, working for a US game company. I have absolutely no idea how I feel. I mostly just try to avoid thinking about it. Nobody on the company Slack talks about politics or what the fallout will be.”
" right on now I ’m make a really dependable salary . I have no idea what it ’ll be like in a year ’s time . "
— RightSideBlind
22.“I’m a migrant here, and I feel guilty on occasion. Mostly disconnected from my American colleagues. Thankfully, we have people from other countries I can bond with so that helps. But I literally subconsciously started to avoid the Americans as the Canada trade war picked up, and I have mixed feelings about all of them now. Rationally, I know it’s not all Americans, but I don’t think that’s a legit excuse.”
" I think they ’ve caused so much end in so many countries by now that one would desire they ’d stop doing it . They ’ve had enough time to learn their object lesson .
So I move between guilt , fad , sadness , and impassivity . "
— DesiLadkiInPardes
23.“I work at the Canadian branch of an American company. We are functionally autonomous, but we have an American brand name. The air is tense. No one really knows what is happening. We’re trying to continue business as usual for now, but no one knows what’s going to happen.”
— EmoPumpkin
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Note : Some response have been edited for length and/or clarity .
