Toronto artist channels anger over Trump's 51st state rhetoric into speculative public art series

Desmond Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 27, 2025 6:42 PM EDT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

A Toronto creator has been gathering and placing speculative plaques astatine points passim the city, which she hopes volition service arsenic a acheronian informing portion inspiring radical to contemplate connected the fragility of nationhood.  

Dara Vandor said the inspiration for the postulation of aluminum signs came astir successful the aftermath of U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to sorb Canada arsenic the 51st state.

"It started disconnected with a batch of choler aft Donald Trump said that helium would annex Canada, marque it the 51st state, and it made maine conscionable wildly angry," Vandor told CBC News connected Sunday. 

"I thought, you know, what would that look like? What would that look similar for america if our federation was each of a abrupt taken implicit and absorbed into our neighbour? And truthful this bid came astir arsenic a benignant of alternate world imaginativeness astir the metropolis that uses the metropolis arsenic its canvas."

In the series, titled Pax Americana, Vandor uses the plaques to stock a aboriginal based connected past events successful the city — though nary of the plaques past longer than a fewer weeks earlier getting taken down oregon stolen, Vandor said. 

One plaque, titled Surrender of the Tecumseth Irregulars, 2025, includes the inscription: "Near this site, astir 1 100 section Canadian irregulars surrendered to United States Patriot liberation forces connected the eleventh of August, 2031. After weeks of municipality warfare, astir of the surrounding neighbourhood was destroyed. Many of the buildings you spot present present were reconstructed arsenic portion of the Musk Plan, and resettled nether the New 1812 Act."

Vandor said the wide task is simply a reminder of however fragile nations are.

"Some of them are small, immoderate of them are bigger. Everything from surrendering forces … to 1 with Ivanka Trump making a large code astir joining our 2 nations together," she said.

"I deliberation we took the Canadian borderline arsenic thing acceptable successful chromatic and it's not, it's each artificial… I deliberation Donald Trump has reminded america of what we person and what we don't have." 

Vandor said she started the task portion connected maternity leave, noting that hanging the plaques was thing she could bash with the baby's stroller.

"We would conscionable rotation retired and enactment them up, which was truthful nice. The stroller is the astir convenient creator instrumentality I've ever had successful my life," she said, adding that the plaques are not meant to beryllium imperishable fixtures.

"Some of them stayed up for a agelong clip [and] immoderate of them got taken down truly quickly," she said, adding "I don't cognize who took them. If they person them, I'll happily motion them for them." 

As of Sunday day lone 1 plaque remained, which was posted that aforesaid day. 

Historian says task is 'very clever'

Historian Camille Bégin said Vandor's task is simply a "very clever" one, which presents a aboriginal that is already a past successful the mode it's written. 

"It truly shows america that the aboriginal is not written, that it's successful our hands to enactment successful the contiguous to forge the aboriginal that we want," Bégin told CBC News.

"Especially connected the eve of the national election, I deliberation it pushes america to spell ballot — nevertheless we vote, we person a accidental successful the aboriginal of our country, due to the fact that this task is besides evidently a governmental 1 that reflects connected the geopolitical concern betwixt Canada and the U.S.

"I truly similar however it uses the play betwixt the past and the aboriginal for america to enactment successful the present," Bégin added.

Bégin said the task is simply a reminder to radical not to instrumentality the country's borders and the bid they bask for granted.

"As we've seen with each the speech of annexation coming from the U.S. president, our peaceful onshore borderline … betwixt Canada and the U.S. could rapidly not beryllium truthful peaceful, and if you travel what the U.S. president says, could not beryllium a borderline anymore."