<
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/18/canada-britain-usa-stand-up-donald-trump>
"David Lammy thought he was reassuring Canadians. During his visit to Canada –
for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers– he was asked about Donald Trump’s claims
that the country should become the 51st state of the US. The UK foreign
secretary stressed that Canada is a “proud [and] sovereign nation”, and – in
his view – would remain so. When pressed further, he invoked Canada’s shared
history and monarch with the UK, and our work together during the second world
war.
Canadians are already well aware of that shared history, and how Britain has
long benefited from its Commonwealth. My 96-year-old father just missed the age
of enlistment in support of Britain in the 1940s but his two brothers, young
boys from the Canadian prairies, lost their lives as RAF bombers. One of them
is buried in the beautiful Commonwealth war cemetery in Harrogate.
King Charles retains a role. Constitutionally, he remains head of state. So was
it too much to ask that Mr Lammy might add a few words – something like “we
support Canada in its efforts to remain a strong, sovereign country”? Or,
leaning in a bit further, a hint that the UK is “concerned” (a nice diplomatic
word) about efforts to undermine our territorial integrity?
It’s commonly said that politics is too often about words and not deeds. And
yet words matter too, especially in the era of President Trump. Over recent
years, we have seen his utterances initially dismissed as crazy – nothing to
worry about, mere provocations or opening gambits in a negotiation. But over
time, with every reiteration of the provocation – Barack Obama may not be
American, Trump really won the 2020 election, the EU was set up to “screw” the
US – those currying favour with Trump repeat the charge, diffuse it to various
audiences (a process described as “sanewashing”), and ultimately enable him to
act on the underlying logic of his words.
So it is with Trump’s suggestion that Canada “only works” as a US state, and
that Canada and the US are divided by an artificial line. How beautiful the
geography would be if that border disappeared!
Here in Canada, Trump’s first mention of annexing our country was thought to be
a joke. Once upon a time, Canada’s G7 allies might have been forgiven for the
same reaction. But no longer. If Trump is to be taken seriously but not
literally, then the underpinnings of his predatory approach to international
affairs need be acknowledged and factored into the foreign policy of all nation
states."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
