Canada flying in lockstep with the United States |
An F-35B Lightning II fighter jet prepares to take off from the flight deck of the USS America in the South China Sea. Photo courtesy the United States Pacific Fleet/Flickr.
During his campaign for prime minister, Mark Carney vowed that the era of “deepening integration” between the Canadian and US militaries was “over.” US President Donald Trump’s open disrespect for Canadians—and his promise to annex Canada through economic force—united the majority of the country against the US and drove Carney’s victory over far-right Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
The Carney government’s recent actions, however, including the near certain purchase of US-made F-35s, reveal his campaign promises for what they were: a calculated political rug pull.
Carney’s record as an orthodox neoliberal—and his hands-on role in US-led destabilization efforts against Venezuela while serving as governor of the Bank of England—should have tempered expectations that he would seek to reshape Canadian foreign policy or challenge American business elites. After the election, in fact, Carney released a list of his assets, showing investments in 567 organizations, 92 percent of them based in the US.
Rather than insulating Canada from an increasingly unpredictable White House, Carney’s policies appear to have reinforced Canadian alignment with the US in military, economic, and foreign policy........