TORONTO — It took about three minutes for our casual conversation about the efficiency of flying with only a large backpack to turn into a commentary on international relations, but that’s the nature of the mounting tension that can be felt across the border.

“So are you returning home or visiting?” asked Keith, the gray skullcap-wearing Torontonian.

Maybe I should’ve lied, put some extra emphasis when pronouncing an O word or professed my love for Tim Hortons. Instead: “I’m visiting. From the D.C. area.”

“You should’ve led with the fact you’re American,” Keith quipped, “so I could lower my expectations for you immediately.”

You’ve gotta give it to him. That was a good zinger. And, even with the brief foray into tariffs, Keith and I had a great conversation about many other things, including soccer and baseball. But there’s an undercurrent to this Orioles-Blue Jays series that was evident immediately on arrival, taking the 504B streetcar, heading east through downtown.

And, at Rogers Centre on Thursday, there was a smattering of boos for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” although it was more tame than during the national anthem at the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament last month.

Ahead of the singing of the anthem, the public address announcer reminded the crowd that baseball is a place to come together.

“We ask that you please be respectful of the day, and the moment,” he said.

The fans largely heeded him.

There’s ample pride in being Canadian, and if anything, the tariffs levied on the country seem to have only tightened the resolve of the populace.

“We’ve communicated that with our players and everybody, and we understand all that,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Our PR and communications team did a great job preparing our players for that, and we’ll be out there.”

The reception for the national anthem comes after President Donald Trump applied 25% tariffs on multiple Canadian products, such as steel and aluminum. Canada has responded with 25% tariffs of its own. Trump has remarked Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, a move new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney soundly rejected in his victory speech this month.

“America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” Carney said.

On Wednesday night, while I was enjoying a Canadian lager at the Artful Dodger Pub in the Church-Wellesley neighborhood of Toronto, a conversation at a nearby table caught my attention. There sat two young men, Chris and Ariel, and I pulled up a seat and invited myself in — with their permission — to pick their brains for this story.

They had already been discussing the U.S. So what is their view on this situation?

“He’s [Trump is] just generally a terrible person, and the world is kind of laughing at America, but also he has so much power and is just f------ over other countries,” said Ariel, who munched on fries with his beer. “It’s kind of 50-50 on whether he decides to really f--- Canada or if he’s like, ‘Eh, I’m going to focus on something else for a little while.’ … Or he could just make this a thing for his whole term, where Canada just suffers and millions of people have worse economic conditions because he wants to have some good deal.”

Chris was more optimistic that Trump is using the tariffs as a negotiation tactic based on intimidation. The economies of the two nations are heavily linked. According to the Canadian government, the U.S. sells more goods to Canada than any other country. It goes both ways, though. Canada is the largest source of U.S. energy imports, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“I think the trade relations are going to be strained,” Chris said. “We can look at this like, the U.S. used to be a really reliable trade partner, and now that they’re not, we need to diversify our resources elsewhere, like Asia, for example. Sort of like, that relationship won’t be as strong and we’ll share our resources elsewhere. I think that’s what we’re going to do now that this relationship is strained. You risk losing a reliable trade partner. There is a cost to alienating your partner.”

Ariel agreed: “Negotiating-wise, there’s an ability to extract more. Whether that leads to an outcome that is better for the United States is very up in the air to me. We will see. But certainly, if you look at the big picture, beyond just Canada, if you alienate all your allies, basically create a global consensus against you, that you’re a dick, what’s the effect of that? Is that good for America?”

They personally haven’t changed much of their buying habits but, in group chats with friends, they’ve seen momentum in that direction. There are even apps, Chris said, that allow someone to determine a product’s country of origin based on where ingredients or materials are sourced.

Ariel said he had a couple of trips planned to the U.S. this summer. Now he’s debating whether to cancel, to avoid spending his vacation money in America.

It’s part of a rising national identity. Canadians don’t intend to become the 51st state of America. And, with boos at Rogers Centre as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, that opinion was on full display on opening day.