Canada needs to train a large number of our Citizens on the use of firearms and set up gun ranges throughout the country. For that to happen, the Canadian firearm community needs to be respected.
Canada faces a serious – potentially existential – challenge:
We built our economy and national defence on the understandable assumption that the United States would defend our country if we were attacked and would remain a trusted trading partner.
Implicit in that assumption was that we would never face a threat from the United States.
Those assumptions were underpinned by trade deals and defence pacts – including NATO – that are still on the books and still technically ensure Canada’s independence and close trading relationship with the United States.
However, the new Trump Administration has made clear that trade deals and defence pacts are now considered merely bargaining chips for endless negotiations – negotiations that may very well be aimed at turning Canada into a U.S. State.
Trump is now openly saying Canada shouldn’t count on the U.S. for protection and is also musing about deliberately destroying our economy to make our country non-viable:
As former Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted a few weeks ago, Trump isn’t talking like a friend or ally of Canada.
And this means Canadians must make a massive mental, economic, and military adjustment:
We must be prepared to take our national defence and economic prosperity completely into our own hands.
Of course, many will say that we should always have been thinking like this, and it’s true.
However, it is important to remember that the United States has long wanted closer economic and military integration with Canada.
The United States wanted a free trade deal with Canada. The United States wanted NORAD to ensure a strong continental defence. The United States benefits from being able to trade on favourable terms for critical minerals and energy supplies that are crucial to the functioning of the U.S. economy. The United States benefits from Canadian troops fighting alongside Americans, as we did in Afghanistan.
But none of that seems to matter to the Trump Administration.
Donald Trump appears eager to acquire territory to expand the United States, with no concern for the wishes of the people in the territory he wants to take.
While the U.S. taking Canada by military force is unlikely given the legal, ethical, and public opinion hurdles Trump would face if he attempted to do so, he has made it clear that he wants to wreck Canada’s economy in the hopes that we would be forced to join the U.S. out of desperation.
And if the U.S. no longer wishes to abide by NORAD & NATO that means Canada is on our own to an extent few thought possible.
What does unity mean?
In response to this newfound aloneness and thus newfound vulnerability, Canada needs unity.
We need to rely more on our fellow Canadians, and that’s why those who call for unity and those who advocate for ‘Team Canada’ are correct to do so.
We simply can’t afford the same old divisions.
With that said, unity doesn’t mean one side gets everything it wants.
Rather, it means compromise.
And it means reassessing the strengths of our fellow Citizens rather than focusing on perceived weaknesses.
For example, while many on the right may look down on the left-leaning Canadian cultural community, that community is now more essential than ever in helping to build upon Canada’s unique identity as a sovereign nation. And if building on that identity means some taxpayer dollars go towards the cultural community, that is a worthwhile investment, especially with our status as a sovereign nation under attack.
Canadians on the left will also have to make some adjustments to help foster a sense of unity.
And one of those key adjustments will be in shifting how the Canadian firearms community is viewed.
To many on the left, Canadian gun owners are seen as some sort of threat, or as a group out of step with Canadian values.
Of course, this is far from being accurate. Law-abiding gun owners are not the main source of crime in Canada, nor are legally owned weapons or Canadian-made weapons the main source of weapons used in crime (weapons illegally smuggled from the United States are the main problem).
Unfortunately, Canadian gun owners have often been scapegoated by the federal government and used as easy targets to make it look like crime is being addressed, rather than doing the difficult work of confronting real criminals and toughening up lenient sentences.
The government has also taken to arbitrarily banning many weapons owned by Canadian gun owners, often imposing bans based on political considerations over how a weapon looks rather than the capabilities of the weapon.
Unsurprisingly, many Canadian gun owners feel somewhat excluded from Canada and feel targeted by the government.
Not only was this exclusion a serious error from an ethical perspective (scapegoating citizens is counterproductive), but it is now also a serious liability from a national security perspective.
Right now, one thing Canada desperately needs is for there to be a strong relationship between Canadian gun owners and the Canadian federal government. That relationship has been poisoned, and it must rapidly be repaired.
Rethink & rearm
Canada has spent decades underfunding our military.
To address this, we need to rapidly rethink our place in the world and rapidly rearm.
This means catching up in a short time will require massive investment. That investment should be largely focused on big-ticket items like infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, drones, fighter jets, ships, submarines, and base construction.
But rebuilding the military isn’t just about purchasing equipment. It’s also about ensuring Canada has a critical mass of well-armed and well-trained Citizens who can be called upon at a moment’s notice to defend our nation from attack.
And here, Canada is already ahead of most nations.
This may be surprising to some, but Canada is one of the most heavily armed countries in the world when looking at the civilian population.
While the United States unsurprisingly tops the list at 120.5 guns per 100 people, Canada has 34.7 guns per 100 people, which is the sixth-highest rate in the world. It is estimated that there are over 2 million registered guns in Canada, and nearly 11 million unregistered guns.
Canada is a heavily armed country.
There are also Canadian-owned gun manufacturers, such as Cadex Defence, PGW Defence Technologies Inc., and Black Creek Labs.
What this means is that Canada could quite easily set up gun training ranges across the nation, staff those ranges with trainers from the Canadian firearm community, train people on how to use firearms, and then distribute Canadian-made firearms to a broad territorial defence organization, in addition to supplementing the Canadian Reserve Force.
The government could further create weapon and ammo caches in massive warehouses close to major cities and strategic areas, guarded by the CAF, that could be quickly opened up to trained Citizens in the event of a major conflict.
Imagine if we could get 500,000 to 1,000,000 million Canadians trained in this manner. Imagine the sense of security (not to mention deterrence to potential foes) of knowing that our nation was brimming with well-armed and well-trained Canadians who could help supplement our military strength in a time of crisis.
This is entirely within our potential and our capabilities.
But to make it happen, this country must embrace the Canadian firearms community.
Law-abiding Canadian gun owners are well-trained and trustworthy. Most importantly, they understand the importance of respecting the power of firearms, respect that would be essential to transmit to our broader populace. Canadian gun owners and Veterans (often the same) would form the core of a new nationwide effort to build a strong territorial defence force. For that to happen, the government must show respect to Canadian gun owners.
Recent arbitrary gun bans should be rescinded. The Canadian firearm industry – including Canadian gun stores – should be supported instead of being demonized & shut down.
Canada must look at our law-abiding gun owners as an asset, not a liability.
This will be essential to achieving a true sense of unity and a true Team Canada approach.
Canada has it within our power to defend our sovereignty and become a resilient and strong nation. To make that happen, we must set aside old divisions and embrace the unique ways in which all Canadians can contribute to protecting our country.
Spencer Fernando
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