Canada game plans for U.S. “authoritarian shift”

Created
Sun, 20/08/2023 - 00:30
Updated
Sun, 20/08/2023 - 00:30
A scourge on democracy Seems as if our northern neighbors are better prepared. We’re still hoping for the best in November 2024. Global News: Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Canada has been considering a “game plan” for how it would respond if the United States takes a far-right, authoritarian shift after next year’s presidential elections. “We are certainly working on scenarios,” Joly said in French during an interview with a Montreal radio station Wednesday. Joly added that Ottawa’s close political and economic ties to the U.S. means that “we must certainly prepare several scenarios.” She suggested Canada has a game plan in mind but wouldn’t get into details. I wouldn’t. But it’s nice to know someone in charge is thinking ahead. Too bad it’s not happening south of the 49th parallel. Just warning speeches from scholars but no preparations. The U.S. embassy in Ottawa declined comment. “What would have been extremely far-fetched scenarios maybe 10 years ago, today are not impossible anymore,” Thomas Juneau, a national security professor at the University of Ottawa, said in an understatement. NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said it’s only logical that Ottawa plan for an aggressive Washington. She said Canada would benefit from stronger ties with other allies, even if it ends up remaining on good terms with the U.S. “Donald Trump is a scourge on democracy across the world,” she said. “Frankly, Canada better have a plan for a decline in American democracy.” Trump 2024: A Scourge on Democracy Fitting campaign slogan. If only it fit on a ball cap.…