You Had a Friend in Me

Canada’s Ontological Insecurity Under Trump

Abstract

Both the tariff threats and ‘51st state’ remarks made by President Donald Trump against Canada in the early weeks of his second presidency led to a nadir in Canada-US relations not seen in over a generation. More than just a dispute over trade, this paper argues that tariffs and annexation rhetoric produced a moment of ontological insecurity in Canada: Canadian political leaders and public alike have been forced to grapple with baseline assumptions of Canada’s self-conception as the best friend and most trusted ally of the United States. This ontological insecurity has, in turn, led to changes in Canadian strategic thinking, as elites (re)articulate new narratives of Canadian identity to make sense of the changing social environment. While it remains too early to determine the long-term implications of the tariff threats and annexation rhetoric on Canadian foreign policy, this case presents an interesting empirical development for applying ontological security analysis to better understand the social dimension of international disputes.