(AFP) – The Canadian military has developed a model response to a US invasion, the Globe and Mail reported Tuesday, as President Donald Trump again muses online about a takeover of Canada. Citing two unnamed senior government officials, the paper said the Canadian response model centers on insurgency-style tactics, like those used in Afghanistan by fighters who resisted Soviet and later US forces.
The Globe reported that the officials believe it is unlikely that Trump would order an invasion of Canada. After his 2024 election and in the early months of his new term, Trump repeatedly referred to the United States’ northern neighbor as the 51st state and said a merger would benefit Canada. Trump’s annexation talk has eased in recent months, but overnight he posted an image on his social media platform of a map showing Canada and Venezuela covered in the US flag, implying a full American takeover of both countries.
The officials told the Globe that, in an invasion scenario, US forces would overcome Canadian positions on land and at sea in as little as two days. Because Canada does not have the military resources to resist the United States, the Canadian pushback would be shaped by an insurgency-style campaign, including ambushes and “hit-and-run tactics,” the report said. The Globe specified that the model being developed “was a conceptual and theoretical framework, not a military plan, which is an actionable and step-by-step directive for executing operations.”
Canada’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Globe’s report. The paper said the military expects there would be clear indications in the event the United States were planning to invade, including a US decision to end bilateral cooperation in NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Globe further said that Canada would likely call on Britain and France for help. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are both attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski town of Davos this week. The annual gathering of political and financial elites has been overshadowed by Trump’s threats to take over Greenland. Trump’s demand for US control of the Danish territory has tested NATO, the transatlantic alliance that includes Canada. Carney is reportedly considering sending a small number of troops to Greenland, following other NATO allies, as part of a show of support for the island.
© 2024 AFP
