Το εύδαιμον το ελεύθερον, το δ’ ελεύθερον το εύψυχον. – Ευτυχισμένοι είναι οι ελεύθεροι και ελεύθεροι είναι οι γενναίοι. // // Happy are the free and free are the brave.
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| Canada’s Sovereignty in Jeopardy: “51st State”, Déjà Vu |
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research
January 25, 2025
Last December at Trump’s luxury Mar a – Lago residence, President Elect Donald Trump intimated that Prime Minister Trudeau should become Governor of the 51st state of the United States of America.
This was no joking matter. Canada described as the 51st State of the USA signifies the outright Annexation of Canada.
In his Inauguration speech on January 20, President Trump, referred to the deportation of illegal immigrants on the USA’s southern border with Mexico. Not a word was mentioned regarding America’s northern border with Canada.
Jean Chrétien’s Letter to Donald. “From One Old Guy to Another”
A few days prior to Trump’s inauguration, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien sent an open letter to Trump pointing to “The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump”.
“I have two very clear and simple messages. To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world … to join the United States?
I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country.
We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq. [March 2003]
But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence.
All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.
Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.
And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.
Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good.
But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States.
We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.
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Jean Chretien’s above statement regarding Canada’s Northwest Passage is but the tip of the Iceberg.
The Creation of the 51st State is “Déjà Vu“. It Was Announced by Donald Rumsfeld in 2002
Following the creation of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) in April 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced unilaterally (without consulting the government of Canada) that NORTHCOM’s territorial jurisdiction (land, sea, air) extended from the Caribbean basin to the Canadian arctic territories and the North Pole. What this means is that the U.S. gave itself the right to deploy its military by air, land and sea throughout Canada, including it internal waterways. (see maps below)
“The new command was given responsibility for the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, portions of the Caribbean and the contiguous waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans up to 500 miles off the North American coastline.
NorthCom’s mandate is to “provide a necessary focus for [continental] aerospace, land and sea defenses, and critical support for [the] nation’s civil authorities in times of national need.”
(Canada-US Relations – Defense Partnership – July 2003, Canadian American Strategic Review (CASR),
Announced by Donald Rumsfeld, Northern Command US sovereignty regarding the deployment of the US military (land, waterways, air) encompasses Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, from the Caribbean up to North Pole.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld boasted that:
“the NORTHCOM – with all of North America as its geographic command – ‘is part of the greatest transformation of the Unified Command Plan [UCP] since its inception in 1947.’” (See Journal Canada Defense Forces)
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U.S Regional Commands in Six Regions of the World,
USNORTHCOM, USSOUTHCOM, USAFRICOM, USEUCOM, USPACOM, USCENTCOM
NORTHCOM’s stated mandate was to:
“provide a necessary focus for [continental] aerospace, land and sea defenses, and critical support for [the] nation’s [US] civil authorities in times of national need.” (Canada-US Relations – Defense Partnership – July 2003, Canadian American Strategic Review (CASR),
Canada and US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
In December 2002, following the refusal of (former) Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to join US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) –which was announced unilaterally by the Bush Administration, –, an interim bi-national military authority entitled the Binational Planning Group (BPG) was established.
Canadian membership in NORTHCOM would have implied the integration of Canada’s military command structures with those of the US. That option had been temporarily deferred by the Chrétien government, through the creation of the Binational Planning Group (BPG).
The BPG’s formal mandate in 2002 was to extend the jurisdiction of the US-Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to cover sea, land and “civil forces”,
“to improve current Canada–United States arrangements to defend against primarily maritime threats to the continent and respond to land-based attacks, should they occur.”
Although never acknowledged in official documents, the BPG was in fact established to prepare for the merger of NORAD and NORTHCOM, thereby creating de facto conditions for Canada to join US Northern Command.
The “Group” described as an “independent” military authority was integrated from the outset in December 2002 into the command structures of NORAD and NORTHCOM, both operating out the same headquarters at the Peterson Air Force base in Colorado. In practice, the “Group” functioned under the jurisdiction of US Northern Command, which is controlled by the US Department of Defense.
Jean Chrétien abruptly resigned in December 2003. Paul Martin, –who painted Jean Chrétien with disdain– took over the position of Prime Minister, with a firm commitment to the Bush Administration’s’ USNORTHCOM project.
In December 2004, in the context of President George W. Bush’s visit to Ottawa, it was agreed that the mandate of the BPG would be extended to May 2006. It was understood that this extension was intended to set the stage for Canada’s “subordinate membership” in USNORTHCOM.
In March 2006, two months before the end of its mandate, the BPG published a task force document on North American security issues:
“‘A continental approach’ to defense and security could facilitate binational maritime domain awareness and a combined response to potential threats, ‘which transcends Canadian and U.S. borders, domains, defense and security departments and agencies,’ (quoted in Homeland Defense watch, 20 July 2006)
The BPG task force report called for the establishment of a “maritime mission” for NORAD including a maritime warning system. The report acted as a blueprint for the renegotiation of NORAD, which was implemented immediately following the release of the report.
On April 28, 2006, an agreement negotiated behind closed doors was signed between the US and Canada.
The renewed NORAD agreement was signed in Ottawa by the US ambassador and the Canadian Minister of Defense Gordon O’Connor, without prior debate in the Canadian Parliament. The House of Commons was allowed to rubberstamp a fait accompli, an agreement which had already been signed by the two governments.
“‘A continental approach to defense and security could facilitate binational maritime domain awareness and a combined response to potential threats, “which transcends Canadian and U.S. borders, domains, defense and security departments and agencies,’ the report says.” (Homeland Defense Watch, May 8, 2006)
While NORAD still exists in name, its organizational structure coincides with that of NORTHCOM. Following the April 28, 2006 agreement, in practical terms, NORAD has been merged into USNORTHCOM.
\With the exception of a token Canadian General, who occupied the position of Deputy Commander of NORAD, the leadership of NORAD coincided with that of NORTHCOM.
These two military authorities are identical in structure, they occupy the same facilities at the Peterson Air Force base in Colorado.
There was no official announcement of the renewed NORAD agreement, which hands over control of Canada’s territorial waters to the US, nor was there media coverage of this far-reaching decision.
The Deployment of US Troops on Canadian Soil
At the outset of US Northern Command in April 2002, Canada accepted the right of the US to deploy US troops on Canadian soil.
“U.S. troops could be deployed to Canada and Canadian troops could cross the border into the United States if the continent was attacked by terrorists who do not respect borders, according to an agreement announced by U.S. and Canadian officials.” (Edmunton Sun, 11 September 2002)
With the creation of the BPG in December 2002, a binational “Civil Assistance Plan” was established. The latter described the precise “conditions for deploying U.S. troops in Canada, or vice versa, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack or natural disaster.” (quoted in Inside the Army, 5 September 2005).
The Demise of Canadian Sovereignty
In August 2006, the US State Department confirmed that a new NORAD Agreement had entered into force, while emphasizing that “the maritime domain awareness component was of ‘indefinite duration,’ albeit subject to periodic review.” (US Federal News, 1 August 2006).
In March 2007, the US Senate Armed Services Committee confirmed that the NORAD Agreement had been formally renewed, to include a maritime warning system. In Canada, in contrast, there has been a deafening silence.
In Canada, the renewed NORAD agreement went virtually unnoticed. There was no official pronouncement by the Canadian government of Stephen Harper. There was no analysis or commentary of its significance and implications for Canadian territorial sovereignty. The agreement was barely reported by the Canadian media.
Operating under a “North American” emblem (i.e. a North American Command), the US military would have jurisdiction over Canadian territory from coast to coast; extending from the St Laurence Valley to the Queen Elizabeth archipelago in the Canadian Arctic.
The agreement would allow for the establishment of “North American” military bases on Canadian territory. From an economic standpoint, it would also integrate the Canadian North, with its vast resources in energy and raw materials, with Alaska.
Nanasivik Naval Facility at Resolute Bay
Ottawa’s July 2007 decision to establish a military facility at Resolute Bay in the Northwest Passage was not intended to reassert “Canadian sovereignty”. Quite the opposite. It was established in consultation with Washington and Northern Command.
A deep-water port at Nanisivik on the northern tip of Baffin Island was completed in mid-2024. It is expected to open up in early 2025 (see map below).
The US administration was firmly behind the Canadian government’s decision. The latter does not “reassert Canadian sovereignty”. Quite the opposite. It is a means to establishing US territorial control over Canada’s entire Arctic region, its internal waterways including the strategic North West Passage, which de facto under the jurisdiction of US Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
There is an unspoken U.S. strategic and geopolitical objective behind the deep water port at Nanisivik, It’s the threat of Russia and China, largely in the sphere of “commercial traffic”:
With the signing of a memorandum of understanding [in November 2024], the United States, Canada and Finland are moving ahead on what military analysts see as a belated but much-needed answer to a mounting Russian and Chinese threat in the Arctic Ocean.
While the retreat of the polar icecap is steadily opening the region for commercial traffic and mineral exploration, the ICE Pact is largely driven by concerns over the Arctic capabilities of an increasingly hostile Russia and the rapidly growing presence of China.
Donald Trump’s intent to “buy Greenland” is related to Nanisivik plan to control strategic water ways, through the Baffin Bay and the North West Passage, which in words of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien belongs to Canada:
“We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway”.
“Integration” or “Annexation” of Canada?
Canada is contiguous to “the center of the empire”. Territorial control over Canada is part of the US geopolitical and military agenda. It is worth recalling in this regard, that throughout history, the “conquering nation” has expanded on its immediate borders, acquiring control over contiguous territories and maritime rights. In regards to the U.S., this concept of “contiguous territories” relates to Canada, Mexico and part of the Caribbean.(See the USNORTHCOM above which also includes Cuba and the Bahamas)
Military integration is intimately related to the ongoing process of integration in the spheres of trade, finance and investment. Needless to say, a large part of the Canadian economy is already in the hands of US corporate interests. In turn, the interests of Big Business in Canada tend to coincide with those of the US.
Canada is already a de facto economic protectorate of the USA. NAFTA had not only opened up new avenues for US corporate expansion, it had laid the groundwork under the existing North American umbrella for the post 9/11 integration of military command structures, public security, intelligence and law enforcement.
Canada’s entry into US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) was barely covered by Canada’s media. USNORTHCOM was presented to public opinion as part of Canada-US “cooperation”, as something which was “in the national interest”, which “will create jobs for Canadians”, and “will make Canada more secure” (sounds a bit like “Trump rhetoric”)
Ultimately what is at stake is that beneath the rhetoric, Canada will cease to function as a sovereign Nation:
-Its borders will be controlled by US officials and confidential information on Canadians will be shared with Homeland Security.
-US troops and Special Forces will be able to enter Canada as a result of a binational arrangement.
-Canadian citizens can be arrested by US officials, acting on behalf of their Canadian counterparts and vice versa.
But there is something perhaps even more fundamental in defining and understanding where Canada and Canadians stand as a nation.
By endorsing a Canada-US “integration” in the spheres of defense, homeland security, police and intelligence, Canada –which refused wage war on Iraq in 2003– has also become a full fledged member of what George W. Bush’ called the “Coalition of the Willing”, namely direct participation, through integrated military command structures, in the US-NATO war agenda in Ukraine, Central Asia, the Middle East and East Asia.
Canada has no longer an independent foreign policy.
Under an integrated US North American Command,. Canada has been obliged to embrace Washington’s pre-emptive military doctrine, its bogus “global war on terrorism” which has been used as a pretext for waging war in the Middle East, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.Lynne McTaggartBest Price: $8.46Buy New $43.88(as of 02:31 UTC - Details)
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Jean Chrétien
This article is dedicated to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, whom I had the opportunity of meeting in the context of an interview pertaining to the Canadian Economy on behalf of a TV Ontario Educational Programme with the support of the University of Ottawa.
He received our team at his office at the House of Commons, with smiles, hospitality and a wonderful sense of humour.
He is a man of the people, committed to peace and social justice, serving the interests of Canadians from his heart and his mind.
Censorship
An earlier version first published in 2005 under the title: Is the Annexation of Canada part of Bush’s Military Agenda? by Michel Chossudovsky was granted a 2005 Project Censored Award (Sonoma State University California)
A short version of the above article (2005) was submitted to the Toronto Star, It was accepted and confirmed for publication three consecutive times in the Opinion section. It was never published.
The original source of this article is Global Research.
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/01/no_author/canadas-sovereignty-in-jeopardy-51st-state-deja-vu/.
LewRockwell.com
Το εύδαιμον το ελεύθερον, το δ’ ελεύθερον το εύψυχον. – Ευτυχισμένοι είναι οι ελεύθεροι και ελεύθεροι είναι οι γενναίοι. // // Happy are the free and free are the brave.