Trump’s imperialist ambitions threaten Canada

I’m glad that more people are waking up to the reality that Trump is prepared to use military force against Canada, but we should not kid ourselves – the threat of the United States using military force against Canada was apparent when Trump first said we should become the 51st state.

This terrifying threat became impossible to ignore when Trump started parroting the EXACT propaganda narratives Putin used against Ukraine to justify military invasion.

Trump told then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he wanted to “revise the boundary” between Canada and the US, calling it “an artificially drawn line” based on a treaty he claims is NOT valid.

Trump was channeling Putin here, making territorial claims against Canada.

“Artificial borders” is another direct echo of Russian propaganda narratives. “Artificial border” is a Russian lie used to attack Ukraine’s nationhood. It’s a tired and favoured Kremlin trope Russia used before invading Ukraine militarily (after having waged economic warfare for years).

Like Putin’s FAKE claims about the lack of legitimacy of Ukrainian statehood, Trump is making the same argument. If Canada is based on a treaty which is “not valid,” we are an illegitimate state. Trump will need to “right” this (totally fabricated) “historical wrong.”

In February 2025, my blood ran cold when Trump said “I spoke to Governor Trudeau … they don’t have military protection, and you take a look at what’s going on out there … people are in danger … they need our protection.”

Canadians “in danger” and “in need of [US] protection” is a direct copy of Putin’s false claims that Ukrainians needed Russian “protection” when Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin invaded Ukraine on the big fat lie that “Russian speakers needed protection.” Trump clearly has this in his arsenal for a reason.

The recent claim that the United States is “OUR Hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened,” smacks of Putin’s playbook of the “besieged fortress” as well. The “besieged fortress” sentiment is used to mobilize Americans against an external threat, to create a feeling of insecurity that can be used as a pretext for pre-emptive attacks. Putin adeptly created the false sense of a barrage of external threats to Russian national security as one of the means of whipping up support to attack Ukraine – a nation which posed absolutely zero threat to it. Canada can find itself similarly situated to Ukraine.

We must not ignore that Trump has been using the Russian playbook in setting pretext to annex Canada. This playbook is the playbook of MILITARY FORCE.

The US violation of the prohibition on the use of force – a fundamental principle of international law – shows that Trump has no regard for the modern international legal order. The non-use of force between States represents one of the core values of the international community. Trump showed total disregard for this universally accepted norm to exert and flaunt power, to intimidate, and to demonstrate that the US will do whatever it pleases in pursuit of Trump’s nefarious goals.

Trump’s America is a dangerous, increasingly authoritarian regime, with zero regard for laws and accepted norms. Trump’s imperialist ambitions and desire to carve the world into “spheres of influence” with Russia and China make the threat of US military force against Canada a reality.