American conservatives—the MAGA crowd—hate Canada for a simple reason.

We look like them. Most of us speak the same language. We share the same religions. We eat similar food. And yet, we are not them. We don’t want to be them.

We looked at everything the USA is and simply said: That’s not us.

Sure, you have Wall Street and Hollywood. A massive GDP. Lots of guns. A big-ass military. Flags everywhere. Fireworks every Fourth of July. And here in Canada? So many of us—white, English-speaking, churchgoing—look at that and say: Nope. Nope. And we’ve been saying nope for a long time.

Since 1775, in fact.

In 1775, we watched your American Revolution and said no. In 1812, when you tried to invade us, we said no—then burned down your White House to make the point clear. You tried again in 1837. Nope, we said. You tried with the Fenian Raids in 1866 and 1871. Still no. It will always be no.

Now, I’m not saying Canada is a saint. We have our own history of colonization. We have very real flaws. But we’ve said no.

Even as we offered our hand in friendship—fighting alongside you in two world wars, trusting your word that the bad times were over and we would be allies from now on—we still said: Thank you, USA. We’ll be friends. But we are not Americans. No, we do not want to join you.

Now, you might think I’m just some rah-rah nationalist, waving a maple leaf, chugging maple syrup. No. This is about something simple: No. A strong no. A crisp no that rolls off the tongue. Because so much of what Canada is—who we are—is defined by saying no.

And American conservatives don’t like no. They have bullied their entire country into believing the lie that everything Trump does is done with consent. Legally, perhaps it is. Institutionally, the deck is stacked against American progressives, and I do feel bad for them.

But I am not American.

I am Canadian. I do not pay U.S. taxes. I do not vote for the American president. I do not follow American laws. I do not use American healthcare. I do not call American police when I need help. I do not hire an American lawyer if I need legal advice.

And that—that right there—is what pisses off American conservatives.

Because I look like them. I speak their language. I eat a burger every now and then.

And yet, I do not live by their rules nor share their values.

I—*we*—have said no.