Geoff Russ: Canada must reforge its relationship with its oldest friend, Britain

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Last week, a column for The London Daily Telegraph declared that there should be “no doubt” that Britain should back Canada in its trade dispute with the United States.

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It was penned by Daniel Hannan, the president of the Institute of Economic Affairs and an independent peer in the House of Lords, who wrote that the “true ‘special relationship’ is between Britain and Canada.”

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Perhaps there is something to that. It is true that Canada and the United States share vast cultural and political similarities. The same is true of Croatia and Serbia and of India and Pakistan.

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Donald Trump has shredded the continental relationship, and a Democrat is unlikely to repair it. As noted by Ben Woodfinden in the Post last month, it was Joe Biden who cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. Economic hostility is still hostility, even when delivered in a kindly tone.

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Britain should occupy a larger place in our thinking about the future. Deepening our existing ties and strengthening our alliance would enable our two countries to act together, rather than only reacting to the White House, regardless of who sits in it.

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To name only two ways of deepening British-Canadian ties, Canada has a treasure trove of natural resources, including minerals and energy, that we need to sell to enthusiastic and reliable partners. In return, British R&D, finance, and other expertise can be tremendous assets for Canada.

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What other options are there? The Commonwealth? It is a silly organization dominated by corrupt banana republics and would-be republics alike, many of which behave like thugs.

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Just last week, leaders from the Caribbean announced grand plans to seek reparations from Britain through legal action for the slave trade (obviously, the West African countries whose forebears played a crucial role in that trade will not be asked to pay).

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The Global South’s rent-seeking lobby is a hustle that Canada should have no hand in.

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As for the European Union (EU), placing faith in Brussels at this point would be like sinking foundations into quicksand. Despite Mark Carney’s announcement that his government was seeking a “unique alliance,” there is no clear pathway for doing so.

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Our own trade agreement with the EU remains unratified by ten member states. Resolving that must surely take priority over such pie-in-the-sky ambitions.

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Britain, on the other hand, is not a member of the EU, and Canada can deal with it bilaterally. Our shared heritage, familial ties, and history of friendship and sacrifice with Britain are well established, as are our constitutional and political inheritances.