Trump wants to boost European nationalists. Should Canada be worried?

The president’s National Security Strategy says American diplomacy should support 'patriotic' European political parties against continent’s perceived decline.

The Trump administration’s implicit endorsement of “patriotic” European political parties has renewed concerns about American meddling in Canadian political movements and causes.

Washington’s updated National Security Strategy, released late last week, says little directly about economic or security ties with Canada. But it raised eyebrows among Canadian national security watchers with its full-throated support for nationalist parties in Europe and its vision for the future of the Western hemisphere.

The document sets out a desire to “enlist” countries in the Western hemisphere — presumably including Canada — to carry out U.S. policy goals in the region, including curbing “destabilizing” migration, “neutralizing” drug cartels and reversing globalization by “near-shoring” manufacturing operations.

“It’s not clear to me if they consider Canada part of European ‘civilization’ … or, alternatively, do they see us as part of the Western hemisphere which they’re dominating anyways,” said Stephanie Carvin, a Carleton University international relations professor and former intelligence analyst.

American influence in Canadian politics is nothing new. But Trump’s National Security Strategy suggests Washington would directly support political parties in North America that align with America’s foreign policy objectives.

“We will reward and encourage the region’s governments, political parties, and movements broadly aligned with our principles and strategy,” the document states.

Overt support for a Canadian political party from Trump or the Republicans would almost certainly have an adverse effect on that party’s electoral prospects, given Canadian voters’ deep antipathy towards the American president.

That hasn’t stopped some within the administration from weighing in on Canadian policy issues. For instance, Vice President J.D. Vance recently suggested on social media that Canadian living standards are “stagnating” because of “foreign-born” residents.