The reality of a Trumpian America could, as Chrétien suggests, drive Canadian leaders to break down interprovincial trade barriers, expand east-west electricity ties and reinforce the Canadian military’s presence in the Arctic. And it could be motivation to strengthen the institutions and values that set Canada apart from its neighbour — including Canada’s parliamentary democracy.
Cela pourrait-il aussi amener les Canadiens à revenir davantage, ou plutôt, à l’influence économique ou culturelle américaine ?
In an essay in the New York Times in 1974 — entitled « Canada wants out (of the United States) » — Robert Fulford explained to Americans that « resistance to American domination, and assertion of a Canadian identity, » had « become crucial elements in the life of Canada. » Those feelings or worries have arguably dissipated over the last 30 years — Environics has found that support for the North American Free Trade Agreement has actually increased over time.
But could Trump revive that spirit? Perhaps Ontario Premier Doug Ford showing up to Wednesday’s first ministers’ meeting in a « Canada is not for sale » hat is a sign of things to come.
Nationalism is a fraught philosophy. It can curdle into isolationism, jingoism and exclusion. In Canada’s case, aspiring to be merely better or more righteous than the United States could also breed complacency.
In Canada Alone, published in 2023, Kim Nossal, the foreign policy scholar at Queen’s University, speculated that Canada could have to worry about a further increase in the cross-border movement of Trumpism’s ideas. In response to events in the United States, Nossal added, Canada could also see a rise in anti-Americanism, which could further complicate relations between the two countries.
But if American democracy continues down a dark path, not being American might be more than an argument against annexation. In that case, as Rob Goodman, an author and professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, has written, « Canadian distinctiveness » might be not a « vanity object, » but an « essential safeguard of Canadian democracy. »
Rédactrice principale
Aaron Wherry has covered Parliament Hill since 2007 and has written for Maclean’s, the National Post and the Globe and Mail. He is the author of Promise & Peril, a book about Justin Trudeau’s years in power.
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