“My faith in the US has been shaken to the core”: These Canadian and American protesters in Toronto have strong words for Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s administration is hurtling toward fascism—complete with annexation threats, a salvo of tariffs and what certainly seemed like a Nazi salute from Elon Musk, Trump’s right-hand man and chief government-service gutter. Last weekend, Canadians and Americans in Toronto came together—despite rain and tenuous international relations—outside the US Consulate to join a global demonstration against Trump and Musk. Here, Hands Off protesters tell us why they’re taking to the streets, how they’re sticking it to Trump and what they’d like to say to our neighbours to the south.

Federico Sanchez, 57, doctor

Canadian from Toronto

What Trumpian talking point worries you most right now? The annexation threats. Obviously we’re all dependent on the United States, but hopefully we’re going to establish trade and military relationships with other countries so this can never happen again. My faith in the United States has been shaken to the core. I don’t think that they’re a dependable ally or a dependable country anymore. If they want to mess up their own country, that’s one thing, but if they want to mess up our country, that’s where I draw the line—I can’t let that happen in Canada. Related: A Canada–US historian on Donald Trump’s 51st-state threats

What else are you doing to stop that from happening? I’m canvassing for the Liberal party and Mark Carney. I’m not a dedicated Liberal, but for this election I think we need a majority to be able to fight back. I think Carney is the best leader for it because he’s building alliances with European countries. I’ve also gotten rid of Netflix—CBC Gem has a lot of awesome movies. I have an electric vehicle from the States right now, but in the future, I’m looking at an Arrow 2.0, a new fully Canadian electric car. I’m flipping things upside down in the grocery store to check where they’re from. I’m all in.

Related: Meet the man behind the Arrow, the first all-Canadian zero-emissions car

Three words to describe Trump? Menace. Demented. Megalomaniac. His illegal executive orders are still being followed, so he’s effectively ruling as a king by decree—but I think he wants to be an emperor, and that’s a global problem.

What is your message to Americans? Get active. They’ve got to fight. My sister was in a demonstration in the States today, and her favourite sign said, “If you voted for this, revolt now, repent later.” I have tons of friends in the US, and all but one did not vote for the Democrats: they voted for independents or Trump, or they didn’t vote at all. They’re all to blame.

Susan Alksnis, 62, program manager at an environmental organization and volunteer with Democrats Abroad

Permanent resident from Connecticut

Why are you here today? What’s happening in the US is very scary. There’s the crackdowns on immigrants, the loss of rights for trans and non-binary people. I have a relative whose job in the federal government is at risk. I believe in human rights, environmental action, the rule of law, having access to government services. The United States has never had a perfect democracy, but what’s happening now is clearly already heading into a form of fascism. Related: This LGBTQ immigration lawyer has been inundated with inquiries from the US since Donald Trump’s election

Are you protesting in other ways? I’m not buying American to support the boycott, and I’m helping Americans living in Canada to vote. I want to make sure that everybody who’s in Canada with US citizenship knows they have the right to vote, and they can do it easily using VoteFromAbroad.org.

What do you want to say to your compatriots south of the border? I don’t want to ask them to risk their lives, but I think that might be what we need right now.

Julia Buchanan, 63, government agency worker and Toronto chapter leader of Democrats Abroad

Permanent resident and soon-to-be dual citizen from Alabama

Why did you organize this protest? Unfortunately, it’s not the first time we’ve done this. It’s the second go-round, and it’s so much bigger this time because we didn’t have a whole country hating Trump before. Hands Off is put together by a coalition of left-wing non-profits across the nation. We just hopped on board with them—we couldn’t let Toronto go without having one.

What’s at stake for you right now? As a person living abroad, it’s our votes. The SAVE Act is in Congress right now, and it requires people to show up in person to register to vote. It’s essentially taking our vote away—but we still have to pay taxes, so it’s taxation without representation. Tell every American to go to VoteFromAbroad.org and register to vote. Even if there’s not an election this year, that registration is a bit of protest.

What are you hearing from fellow Americans? The emotional spectrum is large: I’ve heard tears, anger, disbelief. Fear is a big one. At the border, they’re searching people’s phones. There’s fear of being targeted. There are people who wouldn’t sign up today because they didn’t want their name on the list. But we need to stay with it. Stand up. Speak out. Get the vote out.

Could you describe Trump in three words? Unbalanced. Tyrannical. Fascist.

Lisa Schumph, 57, retiree

Canadian from Hamilton
What brought you out in the rain today? I believe that we are at a critical moment in the world. All of us have to stand up for democracy. This is our way of saying that our votes and our democracy matters. We do not want to see our country become the 51st state. This is not the time to doomscroll—everybody has to be out marching.

Are you protesting elsewhere? I’m going to the Tesla Takedowns. I know it seems strange to go to a car dealership to protest, but I believe that Tesla is part of the bigger problem. I’m mobilizing my friends and family. Elbows up, nonstop. Related: Inside the Ontario years of Elon Musk

Sophie Worthington-Kirsch, 27, graduate student

Torontonian from Pennsylvania on a student visa

What are you hearing from your American friends and family? Everyone’s terrified. My sister is disabled, and her social security is being gutted. My trans friends aren’t sure that they can even get out of the country with their passports if they had their gender marker changed. The disappearances are the most terrifying. This is not what America should be. Other countries have slipped toward fascism before and recovered. Hopefully we can be one of them.

Have you cancelled travel plans? It’s complicated for me because my family is there. I usually go to the States two or three times a year to see them, but this year, maybe I can convince them to come up here. There’s a big international spectroscopy conference in the US that I go to annually for my job, and we’re taking a smaller group. My colleagues in France normally bring their entire lab, but this year only two people are going. I have a friend who’s a lawyer at a think tank in Toronto, and he’s not sure it’s safe for him to enter the United States because he’s published as an advocate for health equity. He’s flying to the Dominican Republic in a few weeks, and he’s worried that if something goes wrong with the plane, they’re going to have to land in the States. He doesn’t think it would go well if he were stopped at the border.

Do you have a few choice words to describe Trump? Egotistical, vain and stupid. Trump is willing to let people do anything as long as they make nice with him—and he’s unwilling to do things that are necessary if he feels they’re not. His attitude is very scary: the way he’s violating court orders, joking about a third term or about annexing places for their natural resources.

Genessa Radke, 45, unemployed

Canadian from Toronto

Why are you protesting? My best friend is American. She’s currently living on disability, and I’m absolutely terrified for her. She could lose her medical coverage, her ability to live on her own, her dignity. So I’m going to come out to any rallies I can. There’s only so much I can do from afar other than call and make sure she’s doing okay. I want to live in the US one day, but I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon.

What scares you most about the Trump administration? ICE. The disappearing of people. We don’t even know how many people have been disappeared, because they won’t release that information. Right now it’s immigrants, but it’s not going to stop there. I’m also concerned about the use of Signal among top officials, because there’s no record keeping. What are they chatting about? What would you like to say to Americans right now? You have friends north of the border who will stand with you as best we can. But we will not be pushed around. Elbows up.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.