Photograph Source: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street – OGL
When history repeats itself, it is not always a farce.
When Justin Trudeau headed off to London on the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the summit on the war in Ukraine, in spite of himself, Canada’s soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister brilliantly recalled Canada’s British colonial and military history. His meeting with Charles III, king of Canada and head of state, added another layer illustrating how artificial Canada’s sovereignty really is.
The London summit produced a military plan for Ukraine to prepare for a “coalition of the willing”—echoing George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq—that would send “deterrence” troops to Ukraine. Trudeau trumpeted that Canada will “volunteer” and send troops. Since then, war drums are beating even louder.
In the meantime, the U.S. suspended military aid to Ukraine, cut-off intelligence support, and is seeking to negotiate directly with Russia.
Déjà vu all over again
Instead of crying foul about the undiplomatic behavior of the current American president, it’s much better to recall American policy during the last two world wars initiated in Europe.
World War I: The United States steered clear of it until 1917, despite non-stop pleas for help from the British and the French. U.S. strategy consisted in reaping the benefits after its “friends,” “allies,” and enemies had beaten each other to pulp. It was a winning strategy for Washington that came out on top, almost unscathed.
Canada, which was still a British colony, was ordered enlisted right from the beginning because it was the “Mother Country” who controlled Canada’s foreign policy. To provide troops, Ottawa would impose conscription in 1917 and cause a major crisis, particularly with Quebec. On April 1, 1918, under the War Measures Act, Canadian soldiers deployed to Quebec fired on an anti-conscription demonstration in Quebec City’s Lower Town, killing 4 people.
World War II: Washington adopted the same winning strategy. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941—two years and three months after the start of the war with Germany—Roosevelt declared war on Japan the next day, but not on Germany! It took Adolf Hitler’s and Benito Mussolini’s declaration of war on the United States on December 11, 1941, in solidarity with Japan, to bring the U.S. into the war.
In short, Washington reluctantly entered the war on Nazi Germany. It used the same strategy with its Soviet ally. Washington—and London—waited a long time before seriously engaging on the European continent in order to reap the benefits once their ally, the Soviet Union, had been seriously weakened.
Canada, on the other hand, true to its former colonial status, joined hemother country in declaring war on Germany on September 10, 1939, seven days after the U.K. Ottawa would impose conscription once again in 1942 after promising not to impose it and after holding a plebiscite that was biased against Quebec. This led to another serious crisis in Quebec.
SOS Charles de Gaulle
The current U.S. administration, which is unfortunately personalized as people shout “Trump did this and Trump did that,” is simply taking a page from the U.S. strategic playbook with regard to European wars.
European leaders, who have wittingly bought into the strategy of previous American administrations and abandoned their own independent foreign policies, are now blindly marching towards another world war, this time with Russia. They are trying to be NATO but without the commander and its military hardware. They refuse to learn from their disastrous mistakes of the 20th century in Europe.
Meanwhile, Justin Trudeau, speaking for all Canadians as he is about to leave office, chimes in: “War? Yes Sir!”
They appear to have learned nothing from General Charles de Gaulle, who never allowed his country to be subservient to anyone. NATO is a prime example of de Gaulle’s independence.
On March 7, 1966, de Gaulle informed the Americans of France’s decision to leave NATO’s general command. His reasoning was crystal clear:
+ Being part of NATO’s general command could lead France, even against its will, into an escalation that could lead to “a general conflagration,” since the “Europe’s strategy in NATO is that of the United States.”
+ France must have full self-determination, which is essential to believing in its role and being useful to others; such a desire is “incompatible with a defense organization.“
Sarkozy put an end to de Gaulle’s policy and rejoined NATO’s general command on March 11, 2009, a decision that could not be more symbolic of Europe’s current subjugation.
For Quebec, and Canada, recalling this 1966 decision made by General de Gaulle inevitably leads us to his “Vive le Québec libre” at Montreal’s city hall on July 24, 1967, but also to his expulsion from Canada 36 hours later..
In these worrying times for Quebec, Canada, and Europe, we have much to learn from the man who led his country to the liberation of Nazi Germany while fiercely ensuring that France maintained its independence from a rising and dominant Anglo-American empire.
The post Trudeau in London: Is Conscription Looming? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
This content originally appeared on CounterPunch.org and was authored by Robin Philpot – Phil Taylor.
Robin Philpot – Phil Taylor | Radio Free (2025-03-12T05:54:12+00:00) Trudeau in London: Is Conscription Looming?. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/03/12/trudeau-in-london-is-conscription-looming/
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