CHARBONNEAU – Add America to the countries that threaten our democracy

SO FAR, FIVE NATIONS globally have been identified as being a threat to Canada’s democracy. Now we need to add our former ally.

Trump intends to cajole and pressure Canadian politicians running for office with the aim of subverting elections towards his sinister ends.

And he will use his substantial propaganda machine to influence all Canadians.

We got a chuckle when President-elect Trump called PM Trudeau “governor” of the “Great State of Canada” during their dinner at Mar-a-Lago last December.

But no, President Trump has repeated the threat to take over Canada a number of times.

When asked by Fox News before the Super Bowl whether his intention to annex Canada is a “real thing,” Trump replied: “Yeah it is,” and added:

“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen. Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”

Trump’s real interest in the “Great State of Canada” is our resources, especially water as the parts of the southern U.S. dry up.

Trump’s hostile takeover of Canada will include misinformation.

The plan is relatively simple: soften us up with tariffs and use his propaganda machine to convince us that abandonment of our nation and loss of Canadian identity is for our own good.

In her final report on foreign interference, Justice Marie-Josée Hogue identified Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iran as using social media to sow misinformation within Canada.

We need to add America to that list, says Rob Huebert Professor and interim director of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

 “There had been an understanding that the Five Eyes countries do not spy on each other and take no steps to undermine one another,” says Huebert. “The Canadian-American security relationship has always been built on trust; we need them and they need us, therefore it made little sense to undermine each other through acts of betrayal (Globe and Mail, Feb 13, 2025.)”

That trust is being eroded by Trump. He is determined to undermine the foundations of North American security co-operation that have existed since an agreement between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1940.

That agreement ensured that Canada and the United States would work to defend one another.

“Now we are facing a President whose first step is to tear up all those years of economic co-operation to either intimidate Canada or even turn it into a vassal state of the U.S.,” says Huebert.

Trump has an effective collection of social media sites in his misinformation campaign.

There is X, reshaped by the warped mind of Elon Musk. And Truth Social, Trump’s megaphone for misinformation.

Add Kick for hate speech.

YouTube’s “manosphere” appeals to insecure thugs and was effective in getting white men under 30 to support Trump.

On Rumble, where Donald Trump Jr. is a fixture, pseudo-science doctors shill dubious health devices and deep dives into conspiracy theories.

Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.