Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the deteriorating relationship between Canada and the United States as “strange” and “very dangerous” during an exclusive interview with CBC’s chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault at the end of his visit to Canada last week. Zelenskyy urged Ottawa and Washington to keep dialogue going to work out their differences, but three times referred to the ongoing trade war and associated rhetoric as “dangerous.”
Zelenskyy drew a direct comparison between Canada’s situation and Ukraine’s experience with Russia, saying, “We are the example.” He noted that while the United States has not threatened Canada militarily, no American divisions are assembling at the border, and no Canadian territory has been annexed, the rhetoric and economic pressure echo patterns seen in Ukraine’s relationship with Russia.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has alluded to the stakes, saying U.S. President Donald Trump “wants to break us, so he can own us.” Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who remains an economic adviser to Zelenskyy, has described the Trump administration as an “existential threat” to Canada’s future. Retired vice-admiral Mark Norman, former vice-chief of the defence staff, posed the question: “Are we as Canadians any different than Ukraine is to Russia or Taiwan to China?”
The comparison has been made more explicitly outside Canada. A March 2025 Washington Post analysis asked, “As Putin sees Ukraine … Trump sees Canada?” arguing that Trump’s rhetoric toward Canada parallels Putin’s attitude toward Ukraine. A subsequent Post commentary said Trump talks about Canada as though it were a wayward province rather than a fully separate country. An article in The Atlantic in September 2026 described Trump’s approach to Canada as reflecting a worldview in which sovereign countries can be treated almost as properties to be controlled, explicitly drawing a parallel between Trump’s apparent disregard for Canadian sovereignty and Putin’s attitude toward Ukraine.
Dominique Arel, chair of Ukrainian studies at the University of Ottawa, noted that Ukraine was extraordinarily dependent on Russia for energy after the Soviet Union’s collapse and has been “with a gun at its head” since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. He said parallels can be drawn to Canada’s deep integration with the United States, including supply chains, energy, defence production, intelligence, and continental security.
Canada is set to co-host a conference with Norway on returning Ukrainian children and detainees, according to Global News. The conference follows Canada and Ukraine forging a 100-year pact built on drones and defence, as reported by CBC.
Sources: Global News Canada · CBC Politics