US-Canada trade tensions escalate through symbolic imagery

The White House has utilized imagery of a bald eagle attacking a Canada goose as a symbolic tool amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada. The use of the photo on social media coincided with administration statements regarding the end of Canada’s “free ride” following Canada’s withdrawal from trade negotiations and the imposition of tariffs.

While the White House imagery implies American dominance, photographers have provided context regarding the actual encounters. One widely used image of an eagle with talons on a goose was taken in New York in 2022. Another series of photographs by Mervyn Sequeira, taken in Burlington, Ontario, depicts a 20-minute battle on frozen Lake Ontario where the goose successfully defended itself and survived after the eagle retreated.

These symbolic hostilities have extended to geographic naming; President Trump recently signed an order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in retaliation for Canada’s trade decisions.