We need to get back to the idea that “politics stops at the water’s edge.”
The world’s democracies are facing unprecedented threats.
The New Authoritarian Axis of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea is rearming at a rapid pace.
Just as concerning is the extent to which the Axis has manipulated many of our fellow citizens into embracing a worldview that is explicitly hostile to the interests of the Western world.
In a pincer movement, the far-left and far-right are both increasingly working together to convince people that NATO is bad and that any reasonable military build-up in the Western world is ‘warmongering.’
It’s no coincidence that this is exactly what the dictators want.
They want the free world to be divided and weak.
In the face of this growing threat, it is essential to remember the words of former U.S. Senator Arthur Vandenburg, a Republican who said “politics stops at the water’s edge.”
Despite his domestic political disagreements with the Democratic Party, he worked with the Truman Administration to help build the post-WW2 rules-based order that has done so much to enhance freedom, democracy, and prosperity.
That is the thinking we need today.
Here in Canada, Conservatives, Liberals, and even some well-meaning New Democrats should be able to agree on the importance of supporting Ukraine, supporting Israel, supporting Taiwan, and strengthening our military.
Disagreements on domestic politics won’t go away, nor should they. But when it comes to foreign policy, the centre-right and centre-left cannot afford to be massively divided, because those divisions will lead to the further strengthen of the far-left and far-right – both of whom are doing the bidding of hostile foreign regimes.
An overwhelming majority of Canadians want to this country to have a pro-Western, pro-freedom, pro-democracy foreign policy. An overwhelming majority fo Canadians support NATO. Canadians want our nation to support Ukraine. Canadians want Canada to stand up to the anti-Semites who are being funded and promoted by the Islamic Regime in Iran. Canadians want us to work with our allies to stand up to Russia and China.
And so, it’s up to reasonable people in the Conservative Party, Liberal Party, and New Democratic Party to ensure the common-sense wisdom of Canadians is expressed in our foreign policy, and ensure that the extremists on the far-left and far-right never gain control over our foreign policy agenda.
Spencer Fernando
