Celebrated Canadian author Louise Penny announced Friday that she will be boycotting the U.S. due to President Donald Trump’s plan to put tariffs on all goods from Canada.
In a statement posted to her official Facebook account, the murder mystery novelist called Trump’s actions “an unprovoked trade war against Canada,” and said she does not feel she can enter the U.S. “until that economic sword, that could throw hundreds of thousands of Canadians (as well as Americans) into poverty, is removed completely.”
Trump imposed tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico Tuesday, before walking some of them back two days later. The president is now threatening to implement tariffs on Canadian dairy and lumber as early as Friday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday slammed Trump’s tariffs as “a very dumb thing to do.”
The novelist called her decision not to travel to the U.S. “painful,” adding that she has made many personal and professional friends stateside.
“But…enough,” she wrote. “What is happening is not just a potential economic catastrophe for Canada and so many other nations, it is a moral wound.”
Penny also announced that she will no longer do in-person events in the U.S., ending a 20-year stint of touring the country. The creator of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels was planning a launch event for the 20th installation of the series, “The Black Wolf,” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., but will now be hosting it in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre on Oct. 28.
“Please understand this decision is not meant to punish Americans,” she wrote in her statement. “This is about standing shoulder-to-shoulder with my fellow Canadians.”
The author said she hopes Americans will still attend her Canadian events, where they “will be welcomed with open arms.”
Penny is best known for her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, which was turned into the 2022 Amazon Prime miniseries “Three Pines.” The eight-episode series featured British-American actor Alfred Molina as Gamache, a charismatic and talented inspector solving crimes in Quebec.
The author also co-wrote the 2021 political mystery thriller “State of Terror” with Hillary Clinton. The book kicks off with a new U.S. president choosing a political enemy as secretary of state and avalanches into a series of terrorist attacks from political adversaries that the administration must address.
A representative for Louise Penny did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
