Defend Canada. Invest In Canada. It’s Time For Canadian Sovereignty Bonds

These are dangerous times for Canada.

The United States is moving into closer alignment with authoritarian states like Russia, and the NATO alliance is at risk.

Canada could find itself dangerously isolated, stuck next to an increasingly unrecognizable USA and with Russia and China seeking to infringe on our sovereignty in the Arctic.

If NATO collapses (something we should hope never happens), European countries can rapidly form a geographically coherent defence pact, while Canada would find itself far away from allied nations.

All of this means Canadians must rapidly reconceptualize our level of safety and security.

As the U.S. shifts into – at best – a ruthlessly transactional nation – and at worst – a ruthlessly authoritarian nation, Canada must act quickly to ensure we can survive as a free and independent country.

And this means we need a response on the level of our Second World War economic and societal adjustment.

Before the Second World War, Canada’s military was underfunded, and our military-industrial capacity was minimal.

Yet, in a short amount of time, we built a massive war industry and mobilized hundreds of thousands of Canadians, punching far above our weight and helping contribute to the Allied victory.

During the Second World War, Canada produced over 5,000 tanks, over 1 million guns, over 40,000 field guns, naval guns, anti-aircraft guns, 16,000 aircraft, 850,000 trucks, and 466 ships.

We financed such a dramatic military buildup through Canada Victory Loans (war bonds). The government asked Canadians to lend their money to the government for the war, with the promise of long-term returns. And after a slow start, Canadians responded:

“In WWII, following the slow-moving second war loan of 1940, the Victory Loan returned with the panoply of colourful posters, patriotic pleas and vast sales apparatus which had become familiar in WWI. There were 9 Victory Loans dating from 15 June 1941 to 1 November 1945, having total cash sales of almost $12 billion, about 52% from corporations and the rest from individuals.”

Take a moment to consider the scale of this.

Adjusting for inflation and population growth, were Canada to raise an equivalent amount of money today, that would equate to nearly $800 billion – over four years (so $200 billion per year).

It’s a staggering sum and goes to show the extent to which Canadians mobilized en masse to ensure our nation and our allies achieved victory in WW2.

Now, we need that same spirit to face escalating threats.

Now is the time for Canadian Sovereignty Bonds.