The U.S. tariff threats against Canada may be on pause, but the reaction from many Canadians shows that the cross-border chaos struck a nerve. From an immediate pledge to boycott and ‘buy Canadian’, to political figures threatening to pull U.S. products from shelves, Canadians across the political spectrum decided to assert themselves against the might of the elephant south of the border.

Shannon Proudfoot, feature writer and columnist for The Globe, explores our collective Canadian identity and what the fallout from this week says about the nation’s psyche when we’re threatened by our closest ally.

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