A Lockheed Martin F-35 with Canadian markings.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 with Canadian markings. Credit: Alain Rioux / Wikimedia Commons Credit: Alain Rioux / Wikimedia Commons

A contradiction: Donald Trump’s annexation threats have ever more Canadians fearful of the country to our south; simultaneously, those tasked with “defending” Canada seek to bolster the US military.

Polls show Canadian attitudes towards the US have declined precipitously in response to Trump’s insults, border musing and annexation threats. Thirty per cent of Canadians now see the US as an “enemy” nation. Attitudes towards the US are now on par with longstanding official enemies Russia and China.

But, as hostility to the US grows, the Canadian military leadership is deepening its support for the US. Last Friday the Ottawa Citizen reported, “Canada’s military leadership is pushing for yet another sole source deal for American equipment despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to economically damage this country and eventually annex it as the 51st state.”

The military leadership justifies its support for the US on the grounds they’ve previously assisted the US. In a recent column Alex McColl, author of CF-39 Arrow II: A Swedish Solution to the CF-18 Replacement Problem, highlights the self-perpetuating cycle of US dependence promotion. At the end of February, he writes, a “senior RCAF [Royal Canadian Air Force] officer argued that we had to keep the F-35 because it works with the Boeing P-8. The RCAF had previously argued that we had to sole source the Boeing P-8 because it works with the F-35.”

Fortunately, there’s a brewing pushback to the military’s promotion of the US empire. New Prime Minister Mark Carney recently said he would reevaluate purchasing 88 F-35s from Lockheed Martin. The Bloc Quebecois and Conservatives have basically echoed the government position on the fighter jet while the NDP said Canada should cancel the F-35 deal and its contract for 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon Multi-Mission Aircraft.

But if we take the Trump threats seriously, we should go further. All the Canadian military’s major procurement from the US should be reviewed.

Pro-military voices have made that point indirectly. In rejecting the NDP’s call to revisit the F-35 deal, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Professor Philippe Lagassé told CBC the US could “probably” prevent upgrades or new parts for Canada’s offensive fighter jets, but the “entire armed forces has this problem.” 

Former F-35 test pilot and retired lieutenant-colonel Billie Flynn echoed Lagassé. 

“There is nothing unique about the vulnerability of the F-35”, Flynn noted. “Remember that every missile that we own and fire on the CF-18s and all our frigates, all our offensive weapons are American and necessarily the United States government has control over what’s loaded into the latest version.”

Canada’s military is desperate to avoid this discussion. According to retired Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, “senior officers are likely terrified by the perceived abandonment of their USAF [United States Air Force] relationships” that’s been caused by questioning the F-35 purchase. The RCAF leadership is facing a “crisis of identity”, adds Norman, since they have “a cultural bias towards the USAF”.

About 10 per cent of Canadians say they support US annexation. It’s likely multiple times greater in the military, particularly among its largely US-trained leadership.

Which raises an important question. Is Canada’s military leadership so integrated with the US military that it should be considered a fifth column? (Any student of US foreign policy knows US-trained military officers have been involved in dozens of Washington friendly coups.)

While it may be unfair to question the loyalty of Canada’s military leadership, what we do know for certain is that the depth of the Canada-US military alliance is such that if US forces attacked this country it would be extremely difficult for the Canadian Forces to defend this country. In fact, given its entanglements with their southern counterparts the Canadian Forces would likely enable a US invasion. As with the 2003 invasion of Iraq — which Ottawa officially opposed — some Canadian troops on exchange in the US might march north and, as is the norm when the US invades another country, Canadian officers would likely operate NORAD systems aiding the aggression.

Another certainty is that the USA is the only nation that could realistically invade Canada. But the “defence” sector ignores US threats because it is not oriented towards protecting Canada from aggression. Rather, Canada’s “defence” community is aligned with the US Empire’s quest for global domination. From naval patrols to special forces deployments, research initiatives to wars, the Canadian Forces function largely as an appendage of their southern neighbour’s enormous killing machine.

Will the military leadership turn the ship around or should anti-Trump nationalists, push to defund/recreate Canada’s military?

Yves Engler

Dubbed “Canada’s version of Noam Chomsky” (Georgia Straight), “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left” (Briarpatch), “in the mould of I. F. Stone” (Globe and Mail), “part...