Canadians don’t usually wear our patriotism on our sleeves. We like to keep it classy, subtle, sophisticated. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. We keep it neatly tucked away in our unconscious mind, just like we tend to keep our flags folded up somewhere until July 1st. But when the spectre of American annexation rises, everything changes.
I have never seen so many Canada flags in my life – fluttering from decks, from cars, from pickup trucks, strung across hedges and fences. One household presumably impacted by the 2025 Maple Leaf Flag Shortage has printed out an image of the flag and taped it to the inside of a window – resourceful! One local grocery store is bedecked with nationalist dazzle like never before, and shoppers are scrutinizing product labels with laser focus.
The woke folk have for the most part gone silent with their usual campaign to topple statues of great Canadians, rename every school and street in sight, and vilify our history in school curriculum. All of this nonsense was a luxury we could afford to tolerate in peacetime. When our sovereignty is threatened, Canadians toss the self-flagellation aside like an old glove.
Our sovereignty is under siege by the Idiocracy presently governing the United States, a country which has since before its founding in the late 1700s believed that it is endowed by God with a Manifest Destiny to overspread its limits and absorb North and South America (this whimsical vision now apparently includes Greenland).
In 1775, nine months before the Declaration of Independence, Colonel Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery led an unprovoked assault against Quebec and were soundly defeated. In 1812, the U.S. launched another invasion, which Thomas Jefferson claimed would be a “mere matter of marching”. The British, French Canadian, and Native defenders fought valiantly and drove back the invaders. One British force put the White House to the torch, and over dinner that evening extinguished their candles so as to dine by the light of the flames.
The U.S. turned to other means. Instead of congratulating Canada, Congress passed a unanimous resolution condemning our Confederation. The U.S. allowed Irish Fenians to use America as a base from which to launch violent cross-border raids. American agents tried to co-opt Louis Riel’s first rebellion by bribing him to support annexation (Riel refused). American designs to seize what is now Canada’s west coast were frustrated by patriots like Amor De Cosmos, who founded the Times Colonist and pushed for B.C. to join Canada – there’s a man who truly deserves a statue!
In the 1891 and 1911 elections, free trade with the U.S. was put to the ballot and rejected by Canadians – in both cases, the U.S. government saw economic union as a path to eventual political union. In the 1988 free trade election…but that’s a story that deserves its own column.
By no means do I hate Americans, but history shows there has always been an element in the U.S. that supports annexation. That is why we remain vigilant, buy Canadian, and fly our flag.
Editor’s note: My 500-word Counter Current column is published once every two weeks in the Islands Marketplace paper on Salt Spring Island. This piece will appear in the February 21st, 2025 issue.
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Hi Riley:
I wish animosities between Canada and the United States hadn’t spilled over into the general populations, and could just go away.
We have Family living (very happily) in Boise Idaho. Friends, wonderful friends all along the route we take to get down there -minimum twice yearly.
Because I’m a “car guy” I joined a car club (Idaho Chariots) based in Boise, mainly to meet folks. When I’m there I participate in an active program., at one time founding and serving as editor of the club newsletter/ad magazine. Membership exceeds 1000 members.
Riley, I kid you not these folks are an absolutely wonderful bunch to be associated with. However, some sure are curious and cautious around a Canuck. I have spent a good deal of time chatting it learning plenty. The average age of these people I would have to say is well beyond 65, so many (most) are vets of the great one, and the Korean slaughter too.
As a consequence, some of these old guys will never forget or forgive Canada’s government for offering asylum for draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. And after all these years I still feel the draft of an open fridge door when in the presence, of a couple of them.
Some folks, are hard as hell, and do not forget easily.
I was a wee lad when America was covering the jungles over there with agent Orange and played no part, I was busy building model cars . I actually have about twice as many “real friends” in the US, than I do in Canada. If we were to be taken over ( never going to happen in my lifetime) and we engage in A it will be a struggle involving WEF, Bilderbergs types, Natives, Muslims, Chinese, and the Yanks. Could be a colossal mess.
I’m curious. If the current administration in America is thought of as an Idiocracy, would the same label apply to the Biden syndicate or the Clinton’s? I have approx 15 books covering Billy and Hilarious’s “exploits in my library. Near the top of the heap is Barbara Olsens ” The Final Days”.
Politics does not (IMO) get any rougher than what Barb tells us about.
FYI, 2 days before “Final Days” was released, Barbie along with a plane load of other innocents disappeared into that impossible little hole in the Pentagon – a building once said to be among the worlds most impenetrable structures!
An amazing coincidence – or was it?
I’ve been following your column for some time and have found myself agreeing with you more often than not, but I’m afraid with this latest analysis you kinda lost me.
Our sovereignty is not being threatened by the US or Donald Trump. Our country is run by WEF globalists and threatened by communist China. Our sovereignty was ceded when we handed over the country to the globalists.
Trump is the leading figure in humanity’s fight against these twin forces of evil. He is a natural ally of all freedom loving Canadians who just want want their country back.
Technically, one could say that we were never sovereign to begin with. We are, as you have often pointed out, a dominion – self-governing but, by definition, not sovereign. The US, by contrast, is a constitutional republic and, by definition, sovereign (at least in principle).
To be fair, Donald Trump can be difficult to read and the incessant trolling is both annoying and insulting. But while I won’t pretend to know what kind of game he is really playing, it is fair to say that Trump has zero interest in actually annexing Canada and making us the 51st state. It is a giant distraction from the historic geo-politic negotiations that are happening in the background.
We are the United States’ closest neighbour, but under Trudeau we are not an ally. Consider just one example – the war in Ukraine. Trump and Putin are working hard to bring this conflict to an end. Meanwhile we continue to finance the war. We are aligned with the European globalists (who instigated this war in the first place) to undermine Trump’s efforts to bring about peace and to perpetuate relentless senseless warfare.
The problem is not Trump – the problem is Trudeau and his insipid “team Canada”. The problems are Chrystia Freeland, Mark Carney etc…
Imagine for a moment what the world could look like if Canada were truly aligned with our closest friend and neighbour – how quickly would the threat of tariffs disappear?