Ohio is a microcosm of growing American angst over Trump’s trade war with Canada

In April of 2025, Ohio-born musician Gary Louris sang a stirring duet with his Canadian pal Jim Cuddy to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s reckless trade war and his repeated attacks on Canada’s sovereignty.

Mr. Louris, a founding member of alt-country band the Jayhawks, was performing at a Toronto concert hall when Mr. Cuddy of Blue Rodeo fame joined him for a special rendition of We Used to Be the Best of Friends. The version of Mr. Cuddy’s song they performed that night featured supplementary verses from Mr. Louris.

“Apologies from the USA. Canada’s a country, not a U.S. state,” Mr. Louris sang. “It’s hard for me to comprehend ’cos we used to be the best of friends.”

These days, that sentiment resonates on both sides of the border. Mr. Louris’s birth state, for one, exemplifies increasing American angst over Mr. Trump’s escalating economic aggression against Canada through punishing tariffs that target everything from automobiles to metals.

Ohio handed Mr. Trump a decisive victory in the 2024 presidential election. But now, the Buckeye State is collateral damage in his pernicious trade war.

Canada is Ohio’s largest trading partner, the destination for 31 per cent of the state’s total outbound shipments of goods. Ohio shipped US$17.5-billion worth of exports to Canada in 2025, according to data from the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Mexico, another signatory of the now-imperilled United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, is Ohio’s second-largest export market, bringing in US$8.6-billion in goods last year. China, meanwhile, ranked third with purchases of Ohio goods totalling US$3-billion.

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All told, Mr. Trump’s global tariffs have cost Ohio roughly US$11-billion since he returned to the Oval Office in January of 2025, according to an estimate published by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation. That figure, which reflects data through the second quarter of 2026, indicates that Ohio is the ninth most affected state in the country.

The foundation pegs the cost per household at US$2,274, noting the majority of the President’s tariffs drove up the cost of raw materials, parts and equipment imported by Ohio’s manufacturers. The state’s most affected economic sector was auto parts, followed by metals and apparel.

“An estimated 75 per cent of executive tariffs on imports into Ohio applied to raw materials, parts, and equipment – the inputs Ohio manufacturers rely on to produce goods and compete,” states the foundation’s report.

A separate report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland stresses that Canada was not only the largest destination for Ohio’s exports from 2008 to 2024, but also a leading source of its imports over that period.

That suggests that Ohio is now being hit by a one-two punch of higher costs for Canadian inputs and sluggish demand for its manufactured goods from long-time buyers north of the border.

Even the state’s brand – “Ohio, The Heart of it All” – reflects its proximity to and economic integration with Canada.

That is why a group of U.S. lawmakers – led in part by congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who represents Ohio’s 9th district – recently told Mr. Trump that his trade war is jeopardizing good-paying American jobs by treating Canada like an adversary instead of an ally.

“Your Administration’s escalating and chaotic use of trade barriers against Canada is putting this relationship at serious risk,” reads their letter dated Aug. 31.

“Recent tariffs, continued threats of additional trade restrictions, and increasingly adversarial rhetoric are creating uncertainty for businesses, workers, farmers, and consumers on both sides of the border.”

The letter highlights the auto industry’s integrated supply chains as an example. It also rightly argues that by waging a trade war with Canada, Mr. Trump is actually undermining his administration’s efforts to keep China in check.

“If our shared goal is to reduce dependence on China and other bad actors, treating Canada increasingly like an adversary is both counterproductive and dangerous,” states the letter.

“We should instead deepen economic co-operation with allies like Canada to increase domestic production and ensure critical goods and resources come from trusted partners.”

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Mr. Trump, however, seems increasingly uninterested in logic.

That brings us back to Mr. Louris’s message of support for Canadians. More than 16 months after that Toronto concert, his verses still capture the sense of betrayal felt across Canada – a country he now calls home.

“America is split in two. One side’s red and the other blue,” Mr. Louris sang. “And how could you trust us again? We used to be the best of friends.”

Deep sigh.