President Donald Trump is reportedly taking aim at Canada and raising alarm about the country’s “vulnerability” to foreign adversaries.
In recent weeks, Trump has griped that the Arctic reaches of the Great White North are exposed to Chinese and Russian encroachment, multiple unnamed officials told NBC News. U.S. officials are now reportedly looking into coordinating with Ottawa to strengthen Canada’s northern border.
“Trump is really worried about the U.S. continuing to drift in the Western Hemisphere and is focused on this,” one official told the outlet.
Trump’s recent focus on Canada follows a whirlwind first year in office, marked by bold unilateral moves to extend U.S. influence across the Western Hemisphere — often through thinly veiled military threats, an approach he has branded the “Donroe Doctrine.”
Earlier this month, the 79-year-old president directed a surprise military strike on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of leader Nicolás Maduro, who is now in federal custody facing drug charges. Trump has also issued stark warnings of U.S. intervention in Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico while repeatedly voicing interest in acquiring Greenland — a Danish territory — and has not taken the use of military force off the table, triggering deep concern among America’s allies.
Trump claims that no external constraints — not even international law — bind him on the global stage. When asked by The New York Times this month what limits he faces, he said: “There is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
Supporters contend that Trump’s moves are essential to counter foreign meddling in the Western Hemisphere, while critics denounce the administration’s actions as unlawful threats that imperil a long-established network of U.S.-led alliances.
Unlike with Greenland, U.S. officials say Trump isn’t trying to annex Canada. Instead, he aims to partner with Prime Minister Mark Carney to shore up the country’s defenses—a sharp pivot from his previous calls for Canada to join the U.S. as the “51st state,” which resulted in strained relations.
Protecting the northern border of Canada is a fundamental aspect of Trump’s goal of “solidifying” the Western Hemisphere, one official said.
“At the end of the day, this is to stop Russia and China from having a further presence in the Arctic,” the official said, according to NBC News, adding that “Canada stands to benefit from the U.S. having Greenland.”
Canadian officials have publicly pushed back against Trump’s Greenland plan, with Carney stating on Friday that he stands behind the Kingdom of Denmark, a member of NATO.
American officials are also seeking to work with Canada’s government to jointly cooperate on protecting the Arctic reaches of Canada.
“The options being discussed include updating systems in Canada that provide early warnings that an adversary is getting close to the country’s territory or waters, more joint U.S. and Canadian military training and operations, and increasing joint air and water patrols as well as American ship patrols in the Arctic,” according to NBC.
Critics, though, see Trump’s bold measures as undercutting longstanding alliances between Canada and the United States.
A Pew Research poll from July found that the majority of Canadians now see Trump’s America as their biggest threat.
Carney himself appeared to hint at this breakdown in relations on Friday, telling reporters that the “multilateral system” has been “eroded.”
This week, Carney traveled to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which he cut a bilateral trade deal and vowed to strengthen ties between their two nations.
“The world has changed much since that last visit,” he said. “I believe the progress that we have made in the partnership sets us up well for the new world order.”
Trump didn’t appear concerned about the increasing cooperation between Canada and China, telling reporters Friday that their newly minted trade deal is “a good thing.”
“That’s what he should be doing,” Trump said. “If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.”
