Southwestern Ontario town's signs send clear Donald Trump message
Most of us are thinking it. But we're not saying it quite as loudly.
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Most of us are thinking it. But we’re not saying it quite as loudly.
Frustration and anger over Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada is boiling over and has taken on a somewhat comedic tone in Strathroy, where two billboards mocking the U.S. President have started drawing laughs and eyeballs in the community of 23,000 west of London.
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The first of the signs, visible over the weekend on an electric billboard on Front Street, shows a dog defecating on top of the word “Trump.”
A second sign reading “Know your parasites” features a picture of Trump’s face with the words “Luna-Tick” below it, positioned next to images of a dog and deer ticks.
It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the signs. As of Monday morning, the Trump messages were not running on the electronic billboards.
But on social media, a post drew more than 1,200 interactions including many people laughing over the sign of the trade-war times.
“All right, Strathroy! Elbows up!” read one of the comments.
The signs come after the U.S. announced 25 per cent across-the-board tariffs against Canadian products last week.
Though the U.S. moved within two days to exempt goods covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement until April 2, Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products.
The war, however, escalated last week after the U.S. also imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all aluminum and steel entering the country, leading to additional retaliatory tariffs by Canada of 25 per cent on $29.8 billion worth of American goods.
As a whole, the London region and Southwestern Ontario are very reliant on the U.S. market, with more than 700 businesses in the city exporting about $7.8 billion worth of goods to America in 2023, mostly in automotive and manufacturing but also in food and agriculture, Statistics Canada figures show.
That’s also true in Strathroy, home to several auto parts and manufacturing plants that export their products to the U.S. Local officials recently launched a campaign to have Strathroy-Caradoc residents support area businesses amid the tariff threat to the community’s top industry – agriculture.
“When you spend money in your municipality, that money gets reinvested in your municipality several times as part of an economic impact,” Heather Lalonde, the local government’s development commissioner, said last week.
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