The people inside the house are Americans who moved to Calgary for work more than a decade ago.
Since photos of their home and its American flags and Trump banners circulated online, they've had eggs thrown at the house and bagged dog excrement thrown onto the property. Some people have posted online suggesting the place be torched.
Calgary police confirmed they received a report of vandalism on August 23, and that the homeowners raised concerns about online attacks. Police said there were not sufficient grounds to support criminal charges.
The homeowner spoke to The Canadian Press on condition of anonymity, saying police have become involved and that he and his wife fear for their safety.
We covered the photos when they first circulated.
What he said
"The position of some would be to say, 'Hey, this guy, he doesn't agree with what we agree in, politically, even though he goes to work, he pays his taxes, so let's run them out of town,'" he said.
"That's not a good look in my opinion, in any democratic society."
He said many people have also approached him positively since the attention started.
The flags predate the trade war
This is the detail that reframes the whole thing.
The homeowner says the pro-Trump flags were up long before the tariff war, which escalated just over a week ago when the United States imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about $28 billion in Canadian exports. Canada's response takes effect September 8.
One flag reads "Trump: Make America Great Again." The other reads "Trump 2028: Third Term and Beyond."
He says he supports the Trump administration's policies on taxes, immigration and spending, and that the 2028 reference is a joke, since presidents cannot serve a third term under the U.S. Constitution.
It also isn't the first time. He says a retaining wall on the property was defaced with graffiti during the 2024 presidential election.
Why there are no charges
Calgary police have explained the framework before, in a different case.
Hate-motivated crimes are recognized where a perpetrator was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on one of nine personal characteristics of a victim. Political affiliation is not among them.
That's why a house targeted over its politics is treated as ordinary property damage rather than as a hate-motivated offence, and why the threshold for charges on the online comments wasn't met.
Vandalism of private property remains an offence under the Criminal Code regardless. What's missing in this case, as in most, is identifying who did it.
The wider spillover
The house isn't the only place the trade dispute has landed on something unrelated to trade.
Last week Trump signed an order changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America," in response to criticism from Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The tariffs themselves take effect September 8, covering roughly 700 American products across steel and aluminum, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, plastics and electronics.
What actually happens next
Nothing, on the police file, unless someone is identified.
The counter-tariffs land September 8 regardless of what happens to anyone's lawn.
Sources
Calgary Police Service
Department of Finance Canada, counter-tariff announcement, August 25, 2026
Comments from the homeowner as reported by The Canadian Press. Calgary Police Service guidance on hate-motivated crime criteria as previously reported by Global News.
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