By Scott Taylor
Last week I attended the 93rd annual Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) at the landmark Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa.
Having personally attended three dozen of these events, they are predictably a well-worn routine of senior military brass, politicians and military academics convincing each other of the importance of national defence in Canada.
Those allied military delegations that attend are like-minded and the agreed upon mutual threats are Russia, China and Islamic extremists in a rotating order. There is always a presentation from a senior ranking US general, following which their Canadian counter-parts heap praise upon our "closest ally".
During his first term US President Donald Trump verbally denounced NATO member states that failed to spend two per cent of their Gross Domestic Product on defence. Trump repeatedly singled out Canada as being a 'laggard' in this regard and he controversially stated that he would not bring America's military might to defend a NATO member that was not spending their fair share.
As offensive as those remarks may seem, the average attendee at the CDA annual conferences welcomed Trump's threats believing it would help to force Canadian politicians to spend more on the military. That was then.
Things have changed rapidly and dramatically since Trump won re-election last November.
For starters, Trump began his drumbeat rhetoric about annexing Canada into becoming the 51st US State, and repeatedly referred to Prime Minster Justin Trudeau as the 'governor'. Trump explained that unlike the Panama Canal, which he intends to seize through military force, he would bring about the annexation of Canada through 'economic measures'.
In early February, just days after his inauguration, President Trump levied 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports. He promptly lifted them then re-imposed them in early March, only to suspend them again until April 2. While it is off to a topsy-turvy start, the trade war has begun.
Then on Friday, Feb. 28, Trump hosted Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. It was supposed to be a pre-arranged deal to exchange US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, for a US security guarantee to protect Ukraine. However the photo-op devolved into a public berating of Zelenskyy and his abrupt expulsion from the Oval Office.
Trump subsequently cancelled all US military aid to Ukraine, stopped the provision of military intelligence to Ukraine and called upon the UK to do the same.
On Sunday, March 2, Trudeau joined European leaders and Zelenskyy at a hastily convened meeting in the UK to try and find a way to keep Ukraine in the fight against Russia, without the aid of the US.
It was against this backdrop of uncertain allegiance among the key NATO allies that the stage was set for some emotional fireworks at this year's CDA conference. None were forthcoming.
In a room packed with self-professed warriors, the collective agreement was seemingly to avoid mentioning the elephant in the room.
Even when US General Gregory Guillot, the Commander of NORAD and North Command took to the CDA stage, the gloves remained in place. General Guillot is the very individual who would lead any armed annexation of Canada, and he was politely spared any question which might prove mildly discomforting.
No mention was made of the logistics of such an annexation and the subsequent absorption of our military forces into the US defence apparatus. Instead the conference's threat focus remained that of Russia and China operating in the Arctic.
Even as the CDA conference was still in session, Trump once again publicly cast doubt on his willingness to defend Washington’s NATO allies, saying that he would not do so if they are not paying enough for their own defence.
“It’s common sense, right,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them. No, I’m not going to defend them.” This time however, Trump also cast baseless aspersions on NATO's reliability as an alliance.
“You know the biggest problem I have with NATO? I really, I mean, I know the guys very well. They’re friends of mine. But if the United States was in trouble, and we called them, we said, ‘We got a problem, France. We got a problem, couple of others I won’t mention. Do you think they’re going to come and protect us?’ They’re supposed to. I’m not so sure.”
For the record, this is not a hypothetical question. The USA was attacked on 9-11, 2001 and NATO did collectively come to the defence of our American ally. Canada may not spend two per cent of GDP on defence but for more than a decade, we punched above our weight in the war in Afghanistan, which was a direct response to the 9-11 terror attack.
For Trump to question Canada's resolve, or any other NATO member's resolve is an insult to the sacrifices which were made supporting the US. To threaten to annex us out of existence as a country is unconscionable.
