Two things:
1. I see this consistently brought up, and while there’s something to be said about the idea that an identity can’t be purely negative—it must be affirmative—it ignores the historical process of how nations form. For all intents and purposes, the nation of Scotland did not exist until the invasion of Edward Longshanks, even if the people who made up its constituent parts had been there for thousands of years. Scotland was divided among Brythonic, Gael, Saxon, and Norse-Gael groups before unifying under a common banner. The same process occurred in Germany, when Otto von Bismarck tricked the French into attacking, giving the German states common cause to unite under a single flag—though, in fairness, they were already quite close to unification. A similar pattern emerged in Italy, which used Austria as an external “Other” to rally against. Lastly, the United States, while having an affirmative identity, was originally defined in direct opposition to the old world—a distinct form of Western civilization in the New World, closely aligned with liberal Enlightenment ideals. The U.S. was born in opposition to Britain.
2. The anti-American streak in Canadians is primordial, epigenetic, and isn’t going anywhere, though its intensity fluctuates. Canada was born in reaction to the United States—a desire to maintain the traditional values of Old World Europe, infused with a distinct New World character. Its two major groups—Anglo- and French-Canadians—each rejected both the American and French Revolutions. For its first 50 years, Ontario was a militarized total state, living in perpetual existential fear of American conquest. Some of its earliest industries were dedicated to war manufacturing, producing guns, ammunition, and cannons. This total-war mindset was shared by French Canadians, who had spent the previous century and a half defending their underpopulated settlements from genocidal Indigenous tribes like the Iroquois, engaging in pitched battles and precision strikes against the Thirteen Colonies. Vastly outnumbered and under-equipped, they fought to the death to preserve their sovereignty and existence. They then had to contend with an influx of Anglo-Loyalist refugees into the same limited territory, and after some conflict, arrived at a relatively mutual respect and reciprocity.
The true and legitimate reasons for their deep opposition to the U.S. have been largely lost to time—their “software” has been updated with post-WWII left-wing liberalism—but the brain stem, the lizard brain, the basal instincts remain. This needs to be redirected toward legitimate reasons for opposing the U.S.—like its innate liberal beliefs—rather than superficial cultural grievances, like opposing gender ideology for children or concerns over immigration policies.