How would USA defend Canada

[KnowItAll]

While watching the latest re Russia invasion, I notice that the US and allies are determined, if not afraid, to commit to military action.

I have heard in the past many say that Canada need not worry about Russian invasion because USA would defend us, but would they?

Are we worth starting a nuclear war over to the USA?

[Hambone]

Depends on whether Trump is Prez or not. Trump would roll out the red carpet and be there to shake Putin's hand while slapping him on the back and proclaiming him a genius.

[KnowItAll]

ironic that Putin is using the concept of fighting against Nazi's to excuse his own Hitler like actions

Trump 2.0 is a very scary thought

Not sure though what a rational u.s.a govt would do to defend us.

[Sir Purrcival]

They would, not for any love of us but because their own security would be directly threatened. There is also Alaska to consider. That would be their own territory to defend. If the Russians were to physically invade us, I think the jig would be up anyways. By that stage, it would likely be a nuclear response.

[Hambone]

ironic that Putin is using the concept of fighting against Nazi's to excuse his own Hitler like actions

Trump 2.0 is a very scary thought

Not sure though what a rational u.s.a govt would do to defend us.

Likely pull out all stops. If they didn't it would have Russia on their door step while cutting off land access to Alaska if Russia didn't take it first to amass and organize ground troops. The latter would be enough to get the US involved.

When one thinks about it Canada is for all intents impenetrable to any conventional methods by anybody other than the US. There's only 1 road in from the high Arctic that is exclusively on Canadian soil. Northern routes from the Pacific are isolated 2 lane highways easy to defend. That leaves coming in through Vancouver or right down Main Street aka the St. Lawrence River.

[KnowItAll]

They would, not for any love of us but because their own security would be directly threatened. There is also Alaska to consider. That would be their own territory to defend. If the Russians were to physically invade us, I think the jig would be up anyways. By that stage, it would likely be a nuclear response.

the question might be a choice between certain nuclear war vs maybe being able to live together next door. Zero chance to slim chance, maybe

[ziggy]

US would never want a hostile power on their doorstep. Russia is well aware of that.

[ziggy]

US would never want a hostile power on their doorstep. Russia is well aware of that. Plus as a NATO country if would mean Russia had declared war on all NATO countries.

[Sir Purrcival]

There is a reason certain NATO countries have their own nuclear stockpiles. The reason being that they aren't convinced that the US would be keen enough to go to war all the way for them should Europe get invaded by some other power. And in some sense I agree with that. While the US has more than enough Nukes to wipe out the world 10x over, I really don't want to rely on their sensibilities for protection. It is a criticism that I have had of our lack of and poorly equipped military. I would stop short of having our own Nukes but we should be building our planes, ships and so on and not taking 25 years to do it. Our procurement process is ridiculous. I had really hoped that Canada would purchase the Saab Gripen over the F-35 because the Swedes were willing to give over to us the entirety of the manufacture and assembly process which could have stood us well for decades to come. Being dependent on the US or any country for that matter when it comes to self-defense is really shortsighted imo. I also put a lot of faith in Canadian inventiveness and ingenuity. Simply put, we have the ability to take care of our own needs in this regard but have taken the cheap way of relying on others to provide the technology. That is what the AVRO Arrow decision cost us. It was a fundamental shift away from self-sufficiency and to this day, we still linger under the shadow of that decision.

[TheLionKing]

There is a reason certain NATO countries have their own nuclear stockpiles. The reason being that they aren't convinced that the US would be keen enough to go to war all the way for them should Europe get invaded by some other power. And in some sense I agree with that. While the US has more than enough Nukes to wipe out the world 10x over, I really don't want to rely on their sensibilities for protection. It is a criticism that I have had of our lack of and poorly equipped military. I would stop short of having our own Nukes but we should be building our planes, ships and so on and not taking 25 years to do it. Our procurement process is ridiculous. I had really hoped that Canada would purchase the Saab Gripen over the F-35 because the Swedes were willing to give over to us the entirety of the manufacture and assembly process which could have stood us well for decades to come. Being dependent on the US or any country for that matter when it comes to self-defense is really shortsighted imo. I also put a lot of faith in Canadian inventiveness and ingenuity. Simply put, we have the ability to take care of our own needs in this regard but have taken the cheap way of relying on others to provide the technology. That is what the AVRO Arrow decision cost us. It was a fundamental shift away from self-sufficiency and to this day, we still linger under the shadow of that decision.

X2. Diefenbaker's decision to cave in to American demand to shelf the Arrow was shortsighted and cost Canada an aviation industry.

[Toppy Vann]

There is a reason certain NATO countries have their own nuclear stockpiles. The reason being that they aren't convinced that the US would be keen enough to go to war all the way for them should Europe get invaded by some other power. And in some sense I agree with that. While the US has more than enough Nukes to wipe out the world 10x over, I really don't want to rely on their sensibilities for protection. It is a criticism that I have had of our lack of and poorly equipped military. I would stop short of having our own Nukes but we should be building our planes, ships and so on and not taking 25 years to do it. Our procurement process is ridiculous. I had really hoped that Canada would purchase the Saab Gripen over the F-35 because the Swedes were willing to give over to us the entirety of the manufacture and assembly process which could have stood us well for decades to come. Being dependent on the US or any country for that matter when it comes to self-defense is really shortsighted imo. I also put a lot of faith in Canadian inventiveness and ingenuity. Simply put, we have the ability to take care of our own needs in this regard but have taken the cheap way of relying on others to provide the technology. That is what the AVRO Arrow decision cost us. It was a fundamental shift away from self-sufficiency and to this day, we still linger under the shadow of that decision.

X2. Diefenbaker's decision to cave in to American demand to shelf the Arrow was shortsighted and cost Canada an aviation industry.

Here's an interesting story on the shelving of the Avro Arrow.

https://globalnews.ca/news/427985/55-ye ... s-what-if/

The reality was that Canada lost an industry and all that expertise went to the USA and never returned as there weren't relevant jobs here.

"The cancellation of the CF-105 Arrow was a deathblow for Avro. It was also a serious setback for the Canadian aerospace industry as a whole.

“Fifteen thousand people lost their jobs at Avro [as a result of the Arrow’s cancellation], but many more people outside of the company lost their jobs too,” Cohen said. “People in the supply chain, parts manufacturers, the support network. Within six months, thousands more were out of work.”"

[Sir Purrcival]

It still makes me mad when I look at this kind of suppression of Canadian innovation. The latest example being the Airbus 220 which was developed and built by Bombardier. Well regarded as s flying machine, our lovely neighbors to the south once again made it impossible to keep the plane "Canadian" by getting in tbe way of orders from Delta and United Airlines. We ended up selling off eventually 75% of the property to Airbus that has some manufacturing in the US and who could thus work around US protectionism.