'Trump anxiety': Canadians report 'huge spike' in fear, anger about U.S. president

Campbell MacDiarmid · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Steve Whitwill is losing sleep, Louisa Fenner is disquieted astir her finances and Crysta Balis is fearful for her children's future.

The root of their anxiousness is U.S. President Donald Trump, and the 3 were among those who gathered extracurricular the U.S. Embassy successful Ottawa this week to protestation and explicit those fears. But it's not conscionable radical astatine protests who are worried.

During his archetypal term, Trump provoked a wave of anxiousness among galore Americans. In the archetypal 45 days of his 2nd term, the 47th president has dispersed fearfulness northbound of the border.

Trump's tariff threats, halting of enactment to Ukraine, and hostile rhetoric are making Canadians anxious, fearful and angry. CBC heard from six psychologists who described a signifier of accrued anxiousness related to the existent governmental climate, based connected their conversations with clients and colleagues. 

There has been a "huge spike" successful clients experiencing anxiousness related to the Trump administration, according to Heather Anderson, a objective scientist and proprietor of Grounded Psychology successful Ottawa.

"There's a batch of anxiety, a batch of fear and a batch of choler successful narration to what's happening successful the States and the politics," she said. 

Anderson said the 12 therapists who work in her signifier have reported proceeding akin concerns from clients. "This is not the occasional idiosyncratic that is experiencing this," she said. "This is crossed the board." 

She said she was besides fielding calls from American therapists asking astir coming to enactment successful Canada.

"They don't consciousness harmless moving successful the States," Anderson said. "I've really had American therapists scope retired to spot if they tin travel and enactment successful Canada ... It's not lone clients, but therapists arsenic good who are feeling this strain." 

'Keeps maine awake astatine night'

Speaking extracurricular the U.S. Embassy successful Ottawa earlier this week, Steve Whitwill, 72, said watching Trump connected tv made his humor unit spike.

He fears that if Trump does not bring Canada to its knees economically, the United States would usage subject unit against its bluish neighbour.

"[It] keeps maine awake astatine night," helium said. "I perceive to euphony if I can't get to sleep."

Ottawa scientist Julie Beaulac advises those experiencing anxiousness implicit the governmental clime to cheque successful with themselves earlier checking the news.

"Create a signifier to cheque successful with yourself," she told CBC. "Whether it beryllium immoderate benignant of mindfulness, oregon enactment work, oregon exercise, oregon spending clip successful quality with loved ones oregon a favored — to commencement your time by laying the instauration for getting funny alternatively than judgmental."

'Anxiety for my kids' future'

Outside the U.S. Embassy this week, Crysta Balis held a motion reading, "We service poutine not Putin." But she was superior erstwhile talking astir her fears for her children's future. 

"They've lived the best, freest years of their beingness truthful far," she said.

Protesting was a factual enactment she could instrumentality to code her anxiety, Balis said. 

"I needed to bash something. I needed to consciousness similar I was portion of something," she said. "And I'm showing my kids that we combat for freedom."

What to archer children astir the governmental concern is simply a situation for parents, according to Jessica Kurta, a objective scientist and proprietor of Sherwood Psychology successful Ottawa. Some of her clients have mentioned their children feeling much anxious than usual. 

"We truly privation to conscionable them wherever they're astatine and say, 'What person you heard?'," she advises parents. "You privation to support it age-appropriate, right? You don't privation to springiness unnecessary accusation oregon benignant of delve profoundly into topics that they're conscionable not acceptable for."

'What bash I do?'

While Trump said connected Thursday he's pausing astir tariffs until April 2, many Canadians are inactive disquieted astir the economical impacts.

"I'm wrong 10 years of status and I'm watching my RSP [Retirement Savings Plan] autumn due to the fact that of the tariff threats," said Louisa Fenner. 

Fenner said she's present seeking to bounds her vulnerability to hazard and is looking into investing successful Canadian businesses. "I wrote to my broker astatine the precise opening of each of this and said, 'What bash I do?'"

David McGruer, a fiscal advisor with Investia Financial Services successful Ottawa, has besides heard from clients who are disquieted astir their investments. He said his occupation was to program astir governmental uncertainty and supply reassurance to spooked clients.

"The therapy that we provide," helium said, "is: 'Yes, you volition beryllium OK. We've seen this before. ... It isn't going to interruption your fiscal plan.'"

'The world of the moment' 

Whether Canadians anxious astir Trump question fiscal proposal oregon psychotherapy, they are apt to person partial solutions. 

"It's borderline unethical to effort to person idiosyncratic to beryllium OK erstwhile the things astir them are not OK," Ottawa scientist Jordan Ali told CBC.

"Psychotherapy has to beryllium integrated with a designation of the world astatine the moment."

While helium did not ever person answers, Ali said for his clients, conscionable sharing their experiences could beryllium beneficial. 

"Just to cognize that they're not unsocial successful experiencing those things and not needfully disconnected the people for experiencing those fears," Ali said.