Canadians Support Americans After ICE Deal Cancelled, Another Under Pressure

Canadian’s are, once again, coming in for the assist to average every day Americans after applying pressure to two companies.

These days, it’s hard to find any real good news to talk about when it comes to the US. Between the Trump fascist regime murdering American civilians on the city streets and arresting anyone even remotely seen as a political opponent, America really is devolving into a third world country hell hole that is also in the process of becoming a global security threat.

While the Trump regime has been busily issuing another volley of threats including both the empty threat of 100% tariffs and 50% tariffs on airplanes, that isn’t stopping Canadians from supporting Americans in times of need.

Famously, when 9/11 hit, there were Americans that were stranded in Canada after numerous planes were grounded. One such location was Gander, Newfoundland where citizens took Americans in. The moment was memorialized in multiple ways including through memorial pages and the musical, Come from Away.

That generosity and help has not stopped at that particular moment in time, either. It has continued to this day.

As some may know, a growing number of Americans are being detained in concentration camps in multiple locations in the US. People are being charges simple misdemeanours, but are being held for periods of time far exceeding 12 hours. At least one Democrat Congressman investigated this and confirmed that this is exactly what is happening. Last October, it was said that at least 170 Americans were detained at these concentration camps. Stories have surfaced about how those Americans have been beaten and tortured. It’s a frightening example of just how far along the fascist tyranny has gone in America.

Another building was slated to be another massive concentration camp in Ashland, Virginia. The building in question, however, is owned by Jim Pattison, a well known BC billionaire that owns a lot of property. If you live in BC, it’s almost impossible to not have heard about Pattison at some point. Anyway, the American government was seeking to buy up the property to turn it into another massive concentration camp. Jim Pattison supposedly (though I personally think that is surprising for such a big deal, but I’m not a real estate expert by any means) was slated to sell off the property without really knowing who was buying it. When it was discovered who was buying that property, news surfaced about what that building was going to be used for.

That led to considerable backlash not just in the US, but in Canada as well. Canadians were publicly pressuring Jim Pattison to cancel the sale, even threatening boycotts of other Jim Pattison companies such as Save On Foods. It seems that the pressure on both sides of the border worked. Recently, news surfaced that Jim Pattison has cancelled the sale. From the CBC:

Jim Pattison Developments has announced it will not sell an industrial building in Ashland, Va., that was set to be turned into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility.

The development company, owned by B.C. billionaire and philanthropist Jim Pattison, sent out a single-sentence statement Friday, saying, “The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding.”

The company said it will not provide any further comment.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Jan. 21, in a letter sent to Hanover County officials in Virginia, that it planned to purchase the 17.6-hectare (43.49-acre) warehouse property for ICE operations, which could have included “holding and processing spaces.”

(insert applause here)

Is that going to be a massive difference maker in turning the situation around? Not likely. It probably just means that ICE is just going to find another large building for the concentration camp that they are trying to get set up. Still, it sends a signal that Canadians aren’t going to sit idly by and allow the oppression to just continue on unimpeded.

Of course, this isn’t the only good news story we’ve seen. Another deal between ICE and Canadian company, Hootsuite, is now under pressure from protesting Canadians to cancel a multi-billion dollar deal to help with a massive surveillance apparatus. As we reported last year, the Trump regime is building a massive 24/7 social media surveillance apparatus. The purpose is to track down people who have committed thought crimes against dead leader. Canadians are picketing their offices in response to put pressure on the company to cancel that contract. From the CBC:

Around 250 people turned out in the pouring rain on Friday evening at the headquarters of Vancouver tech company Hootsuite, protesting a recently-publicized contract it has with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The department oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the U.S., which has come under heavy criticism for its actions during an ongoing immigration crackdown in the state of Minnesota.

While Hootsuite’s CEO recently posted a statement acknowledging the backlash, it did not commit to the end of the contract with the department — something protesters on Friday want to see happen.

“Shame on Hootsuite for their complicity [and] work with ICE,” said Mike Tan, who told the crowd he was Hootsuite’s first finance executive and has since left the company.

“I know as a child of immigrants, like, with ICE coming down on immigrant communities — it’s very emotional,” he added. “I see all the violence that’s taking place. So, shame on Hootsuite.”

The contract between Homeland Security and New York-based Seneca Strategic Partners is to provide “social media management platform Hootsuite and support services,” and is worth up to $2.8 million US, according to a U.S. government procurement website.

Reports indicate that while the deal is worth millions, the company was hoping to score billions worth of contracts as it supposedly tries to “build trust” with the US government. From the Globe and Mail:

Hootsuite has discussed monitoring conversations and sentiment on social media related to the agencies, including talk of ICE enforcement actions in specific cities and public perception of the CBP commissioner, according to materials obtained by The Globe.

One e-mail sent internally by a Hootsuite sales employee in September, 2025, described the project with ICE as a “Trojan Horse Deal” that could turn into a seven-figure contract. The author mentioned travelling to Washington with “Irina” – Hootsuite’s chief executive officer is Irina Novoselsky – to “brief ICE on how Hootsuite and Talkwalker can support their mission.”

Talkwalker is a company that Hootsuite bought in 2024 to expand its analytic capabilities. Talkwalker’s technology combs through social-media platforms such as Facebook, X and YouTube, along with websites, podcasts and forums for mentions of customers, and then analyzes the material for positive or negative sentiment and emotional tone. Hootsuite calls this “social listening.”

So, while the deal is still on, there’s definitely public pressure to have these deals cancelled. One can only hope that the public pressure eventually wins out, making it a second deal that would be cancelled. One can only hope at least.

Drew Wilson on Mastodon, Twitter and Facebook.