Defending North America

By James Fergusson

Dr. James Fergusson is a Professor in the Department of Political Studies, Director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba. He teaches a range of courses in the fields of international relations, strategic studies, Canada-US defence relations, and Canadian Foreign and Defence Policy. His recent publications include Left of Bang: NORAD's Maritime Warning Mission, and NORAD in Perpetuity with Andrea Charron.

The Canada-U.S. defence relationship is unique in the world of international politics. Its foundation is premised on the shared principle that the defence of North America is indivisible. From this premise, Canada and the U.S. further share the belief that threats to North America should be met overseas. As such, this relationship is largely immune to the vagaries of specific governments on either side of the border. Certainly there have been, and will be, times at which Canadian and American policy diverge, as occurred over Iraq in 2003. Nonetheless, the depth and breadth of the relationship ensures that such divergences have little, if any, lasting effect on the relationship.

There is an expectation that the relationship between the liberal government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the new Trump Administration will be a difficult one, especially on the trade/NAFTA front. This expectation is a function of the negative views of Donald Trump held by most Canadians, historical evidence of difficulties due to the ideological divide between liberal prime ministers and Republican presidents, and sharply contrasting personalities, even though both are populists.

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Subscriber+

Categorized as:InternationalTagged with:

Related Articles

How Safe Would We Be Without Section 702?

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — A provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that has generated controversy around fears of the potential for abuse has proven to be crucial […] More

Search

Close