Farewell to Our Kith and Kin

Why doesn't Britain doesn't stand up for Canada?

In May 1940, days after the Dunkirk evacuation, Churchill defender Andreas Koureas recalls how the great British war leader was ‘informed by the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, of more dreadful news. Roosevelt had no faith in Churchill nor Britain, and wanted Canada to give up on her. Roosevelt thought that Britain would likely collapse, and Churchill could not be trusted to maintain her struggle. Rather than appealing to Churchill's pleas of aid - which were politically impossible then anyway - Roosevelt sought more drastic measures.

‘A delegation was summoned for Canada. They requested Canada to pester Britain to have the Royal Navy sent across the Atlantic, before Britain’s seemingly-inevitable collapse. Moreover, they wanted Canada to encourage the other British Dominions to get on board such a plan. Mackenzie King was mortified. Writing in his diary, “The United States was seeking to save itself at the expense of Britain. That it was an appeal to the selfishness of the Dominions at the expense of the British Isles. [...] I instinctively revolted against such a thought. My reaction was that I would rather die than do aught to save ourselves or any part of this continent at the expense of Britain.”’

And so many did…

It’s a touching story about the bond between Britain and Canada, Mother and Daughter countries, a bond which has been notably absent in recent weeks as Donald Trump has employed derogatory and even threatening rhetoric towards his northern neighbour.

While using the stick of tariffs to enforce greater co-operation on law enforcement, Trump has also referred to the country as the 51^st state, called its prime minister ‘governor’ of the ‘Great State of Canada’, and described the border as ‘artificial’. This is obviously a joke, and Trump is a funny man, but it is disconcerting - a bit like hearing the pilot joke about crashing the plane.

The US president’s behaviour has naturally upset a lot of Canadians and helped erode the lead of the Tories there. Voters outside of the US really dislike his bullying tone, which is why British Tory Robert Jenrick has been astute in his criticism of Trump’s foreign policy, as well as the administration’s bizarre support for the Tate brothers. Voters want politicians who stand up to the American president, yet it is worth observing that no one in British politics has sought to stand up for Canada, nor made protests to the Americans about Trump’s various insults. Keir Starmer has notably failed to come to Canada’s defence, even rhetorically, but this is probably good politics, too. He has much to lose by upsetting Trump and Vance, most of all the threat of tariffs which the US leader uses to ensure obedience from his allies.