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OTTAWA — Michael J. Fox says the state of the Canada-U.S. relationship is “sad” and “pointless” but he believes ties between Americans and Canadians on the “human level” remain strong.
“It’s really sad. It’s so pointless. And I have to tell you, it doesn’t reflect the opinions or the attitudes of virtually any Americans I meet outside of this little cabal of political reactionaries,” Fox told The Canadian Press.
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“Americans and Canadians still have the same relationship they’ve always had, no matter how much you try to ratchet it up with the trade war and stuff. It’s not filtering down to the human level.”
The actor and activist joined 50 other people in Ottawa on Friday for an Order of Canada ceremony. Fox, who was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2010, was promoted to the companion level.
Actor Michael J. Fox is invested as a companion of the Order of Canada by Governor General Louise Arbour during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Patrick Doyle)
Fox said he felt both “pride” and “humility” while receiving the promotion.
Spectators stood and applauded Fox at Rideau Hall as Gov. Gen. Louise Arbour officially named him to the companion level of the Order of Canada.
Rideau Hall says Fox was elevated to the companion level to honour his “powerful global advocacy and unflinching honesty about Parkinson’s.”
“It’s so many things. But mostly it’s just growing up in Canada, loving this country, loving what it stands for and how it’s progressed and corrected course when it needed to, and stayed the course when it needed to,” Fox told The Canadian Press following the ceremony.
“I picked all that up growing up. I love Canadian music, I love that Canadian content thing. At the end, you have a 65-year-old guy who’s uniquely Canadian because of all those things.”
Parkinson’s is a progressive nervous system disorder that causes tremors, stiffness and slowness, and is linked to depression and memory problems.
Fox, who went public with his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 1998, has raised $2.5 billion for research into the disease and has shared candid experiences about the challenges faced by those living with its symptoms.
“Canada was one of the early proving grounds for (deep brain stimulation),” Fox said, pointing to advances in Parkinson’s research in Canada.
“You could have used your talents solely to further your own success. Instead, you have chosen to use your skills, influence and energy to help others,” Arbour said in French.
“Because talent, as exceptional as it may be, is not sufficient on its own. It also takes the will to get involved and to take action to improve one’s community and contribute to the common good.”
Arbour said Fox is a “shining example of this.”
“Your example reminds us of something that’s very fundamental: sustainable progress requires that we move forward with courage, imagination and determination,” she said.
“After all, back to the future has always been a much better idea than forward to the past.”
The comment was in reference to Fox’s iconic roles in the Back to the Future trilogy of movies.
In an interview following the ceremony, Fox was asked for his thoughts on Canada-U.S. relations.
Fox, who maintains dual citizenship, was born and raised in Canada but moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to pursue his acting career. He received U.S. citizenship in 2000 and continues to live in the United States.
Canada and the United States have been locked in a bitter trade war since shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House almost two years ago.
The tensions escalated in August when attempts to solve some outstanding trade irritants broke down before a Trump-imposed deadline to impose a new round of tariffs targeting $28 billion in Canadian goods.
Fox said people need to distinguish between the Trump administration’s actions and the attitudes of ordinary Americans.
“It’s really important that we realize where it’s generated from. And it’s not the guy who you used to buy bourbon from across the line,” he said.
“It hasn’t risen to the level of animus, or contention. It’s purely this guy throwing mud at the wall and seeing if it slides or sticks. And it’s sliding mostly, now.”
Fox said he hasn’t paid close attention to Ottawa’s actions in the trade war but appreciates the “reaction, fighting back and standing firm,” Fox said.
“Like I said, from a distance … it’s frustrating. It’s saddening. But I think a lot of change will come in the next couple of years. I think there will be some selective backtracking.”
Asked whether the Canada-U.S. relationship comes up in his social circles, Fox said, “People are aware of it.”
“People just come up and they say, ‘You believe this guy?’ That’s all it is. It’s just bashing of the president, which doesn’t do any good either,” he said.
“People that know me and know my attitude about being Canadian and my attitude about being American — they both mean a lot to me. So they’ll bring it up to me, but they don’t take you to a certain level. At a certain level you don’t take it that seriously. I don’t want to pick a fight, but I mean, come on.
“To the extent that it doesn’t take anything out of my plate, I might go along with it for a while. But people get tired of it after a while.”
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