Decoupling From the U.S. Is Awkward

Suddenly, Canada is in the middle of a defense boom.

Like other NATO countries that have skimped on their armed forces for decades, Canada is trying to quickly build up its military in the face of both rising international-security threats and a White House that regularly treats friends like foes.

In the absence of trustworthy American leadership, many allies are working to become more self-reliant.

But this is easier said than done, especially for Canada, which has enmeshed its own self-defense with the U.S. military more than any other American ally.

Since 1957, when Canada and the United States established the North American Aerospace Defense Command to jointly defend the continent during the Cold War, the Canadian military has grown closer to America’s.

The otherwise small and underfunded Canadian Armed Forces is structured to deploy alongside its U.S. counterparts and to interoperate seamlessly with them.

This has allowed Canada to make valuable military contributions in both countries’ interest at relatively low cost.

Until Donald Trump’s return to the White House, few in Canada were worried about how deeply intertwined the two militaries had become.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government had contracted for billions of dollars’ worth of American-made military capabilities, including new surveillance planes, the combat system on Canada’s new warships, and 88 F-35 fighter aircraft.

These investments have spared Canada the cost of developing cutting-edge equipment and allowed Canadian forces to operate interchangeably with the U.S. military.

As long as the United States remained a benign ally, Canada was getting a great deal. [ Vivian Salama: America’s allies are no longer waiting for Trump to leave ] Trump has shaken Canadian thinking.

His repeated talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state and his jokes about “Governor Trudeau” went from weird to worrisome, and his unprovoked trade war has hurt Canadian businesses and consumers.

Early last year, in one of his final speeches as prime minister, Trudeau warned that Trump wants “to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that’ll make it easier to annex us.” Canada’s longtime military and economic partner had suddenly become a threat.

Trudeau’s successor, Prime Minister Mark Carney, has responded in part by trying to appease Trump.