"The threat of import taxes, plus Trump's remarks that Canada could become the 51st US state, "have made something snap in us all," said one Canadian. It remains to be seen if this will lead to widespread anti-American sentiment but it has led to a wave of patriotic fervor in the country. Or as another woman put it, "I love America and Americans. But I don't want to be one."

Source: Canada Press

His gesture was one example of what observers say has been a growing wave of patriotic sentiment among Canadians since Trump took office and ratcheted up his anti-Canadian rhetoric, repeatedly saying the nation should become the 51st American state. Online, people are sharing lists of products made in Canada and posting about cancelling trips to the United States. Pro-Canadian, anti-Trump memes are flooding social media. And at professional hockey and basketball games on the weekend, the American national anthem was booed.

“If you look at people booing the Star Spangled Banner at sporting events, circulating information about how to boycott American-made products, generally, voicing their frustration at the Trump administration, it’s pretty unmistakable that there’s been a rise in patriotic sentiment,” said Edward Schatz, political science professor at the University of Toronto. And although Trump agreed Monday to a month-long tariff reprieve after discussions with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Schatz does not expect the patriotic flame to die away.

Trump's comments are generally taken as a gross insult by most Canadians.

“With the 51st state statement, I find that profoundly insulting,” Miksha said. “Canada has a unique cultural history and a unique heritage … we have things like universal health care, which I think is a great triumph of Canadian society.”

A Leger online poll that surveyed 1,520 Canadians between Dec. 6 and 9, found just 13 per cent wanted Canada to become part of the United States, compared with 82 per cent who rejected the notion.

Whether Trump's antics translate into widespread anti-Americanism in Canada remains to be seen. It has spawned a widespread "Buy Canadian" movement though, and in some cases, American products are being taken off the shelves.

The issue has made way for a surge of patriotism in Canada - notably uniting people from all political stripes at a time when the country had been deeply divided over the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his policies.

A "Buy Canadian" sentiment has been pushed by politicians and the general public, with shoppers wanting to support local businesses and avoid purchasing US-made products in protest over the potential tariffs.

Carole Chandler, a 67-year-old retired public school teacher from Halifax, said that she, like Ms Morelli, had cancelled an upcoming holiday to Florida.

"I love America and Americans," she tells the BBC. "But I don't want to be one."