Science for Peace
Donald Trump has declared that he wants to incorporate Canada as the 51st state of the United States, driven in part by his desire to control Canada’s critical resources. Canada must resist this encroachment with all nonviolent means.
The first example of the economic force that Trump wants to use against Canada is the threat of high tariffs on our exports to the USA in an attempt to severely weaken Canada’s economy and induce Canada to accept annexation. Even if the tariffs are not applied immediately, the mere threat of their use is hugely damaging, undermining economic predictability and shaking investor confidence.
The USA has a long history as an imperialistic power, but in the past few decades it has declared itself as defender of international law and of a “rules-based order”. However, with Trump and his oligarchy in power this proclamation has evaporated, replaced by the dictum that “might is right”. Certainly, Canada is not the only country under threat. Greenland, and the Panama Canal Zone have also been included in the territories the United States wants to absorb. More recently, Trump shocked the world by stating that the USA will take control of Gaza and resettle its population elsewhere. A territory that has been devastated by Israel’s genocidal war, and which belongs to the Palestinian people, would be turned into a Middle Eastern riviera.
Trump’s foreign policy is undermining the already weakened international security framework, encouraging predatory and aggressive behaviour on the part of other great powers.
Trump has also called for an expansive, next-generation missile defense shield for the mainland USA. Trump’s “iron Dome” has much in common with President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” misadventure. Presumably, this “peace-through-strength” policy is based on the idea that an impermeable shield against nuclear attack is both possible and desirable. In reality, neither is the case. The attempt to install such a system is destabilizing as it undermines the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction, which underpins deterrence. This initiative actually increases the risk of a nuclear war as opponents take costly counter-measures to build new generations of nuclear weapons capable of penetrating the Iron Dome.
Until recently, the USA was demanding that NATO members spend 2 percent of their GDP on defence. Now, Trump is asking NATO members to boost defence spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Any increase in defense spending should target Canada’s own priorities, not the priorities of the United States or NATO. Inasmuch as NATO’s largest member state is the main threat to Canada’s sovereignty, NATO has lost any relevance it ever had for Canada, all the more so that no other NATO member state has as yet publicly backed Canada’s position vis-à-vis the United States. As advocates of peace building and non-violence, we urge that defense expenditures be diverted to where they are really needed: to buttress Canada’s currently paltry peace-keeping role, to defend against the economic and social costs of climate change, to safeguard our sovereignty in the Arctic, and to guard against cyber-attacks.
Science for Peace believes that Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty, in the context of his grandiose goal of US territorial expansion and “greatness”, requires a strong response by Canadians and their government.
- If tariffs are imposed on our exports, Canada should proceed with calibrated tariffs on US imports, and the use of all available trade tools. Trump’s policies are threatening the sovereignty of other countries in addition to Canada, and they are jeopardizing the rule of law worldwide. Canada should promote a coordinated international response to US threats, involving Mexico (as our former NAFTA partner), the European Union, the United Kingdom and other like-minded countries.
- In the medium- and longer-term Canada should develop policies that will make our country less dependent on the USA. These policies should include the diversification of our exports, the consolidation of Canadian democratic institutions, and the defense of our society from disinformation and foreign interference. The consolidation of Canadian democracy should include the defense of human rights and indigenous sovereignty, and the rejection of policies that attempt to divide Canadians based on our ethnicities or religious beliefs. Other policies aimed at fortifying Canada’s sovereignty would include a renewed foreign policy based on conflict resolution rather than integration with the American weaponry system and endless armament stockpiling. We also advocate for nuclear disarmament and believe a truly independent Canada would become a signatory to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We also urge a determined domestic commitment to phase out our fossil-fuel dependence in the period ending in 2050.
- A rejection of the idea promoted by Corporate Canada and its political representatives, that the way to protect ourselves against Trump’s threats is to acquiesce to his demands. Instead, we re-affirm our efforts to create a strengthened Canada built on reducing social inequality, protecting inclusiveness, and intensifying our policies to fight climate change. We also envision a Canada, freed from American foreign relations priorities, that can become a global inspiration for peace-making and reconciliation.
The road to a more independent Canada will not be easy. We may all need to make sacrifices. But in the end we will strengthen our democracy, our unity, and the special privilege of living in this beautiful country, Canada.
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