Canada Alone: Navigating the Post-American World

by Kim Richard Nossal

Canada must prepare for an isolationist and unpredictable neighbor to the South should a MAGA leader gain the White House in 2025.

The American-led global order has been increasingly challenged by Chinese assertiveness and Russian revanchism. As we enter this new era of great-power competition, Canadians tend to assume that the United States will continue to provide global leadership for the West.

Canada Alone sketches the more dystopian future that is likely to result if the illiberal, anti-democratic, and authoritarian Make America Great Again movement regains power. Under the twin stresses of a reinvigorated America First policy and the purposeful abandonment of American global leadership, the West will likely fracture, leaving Canadians all alone with an increasingly dysfunctional United States. Canada Alone outlines what Canadians will need to navigate this deeply unfamiliar post-American world.

PLEASE When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada, Politics

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

Kim Richard Nossal is professor emeritus in the Centre for International and Defence Policy and the Department of Political Studies, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a former president of the Canadian Political Science Association. He is also a former editor of International Journal, the quarterly journal of the Canadian International Council. He has published a number of books and scholarly articles on Canadian foreign and defence policy.

Reviews

[Shari · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, the author is making the argument that Canada needs to be planning now for a time when the US is no longer a reliable partner. Given the way the Republican Party in the US is going--moving increasingly to the extreme right--he makes the case that should Trump or a Trumpian Republican become president again, Canada will be left alone to deal with the issues having a hostile neighbour will cause. Other countries will deal with this hostility as well, but Europe has some strength in numbers and doesn't share a border with the US. Asian countries could also band together, but Canada is in between geographically and should be planning now for such an eventuality. Much of the book is spent pointing out the reasons people should be wary of the situation in the 'United' States. It is currently unclear which way things will go in the near future, of course, but things could get quite dire indeed. As he states, " ...the Republican Party remains at its core an anti-democratic, illiberal, and authoritarian political party and that will have a significant impact on American foreign policy in the years ahead." (p 11-12) Furthermore, he says that combined with the rise of Russia and China, a Republican administration could lead to a 'post-American' world order.

As someone who has studied US culture both formally and informally for half a century, I can say that I think his analysis of the situation is spot-on--not only when it comes to the political situation, but also the voter problems that exist there, which include apathy, voter suppression on the part of Republicans, misinformation, an inability/unwillingness to prioritize, and a lack of understanding of the complex problems that exist both at home and abroad.

I am not Canadian, but I think that I might find the brevity of the chapter devoted to solutions somewhat concerning. The book does a fine job of diagnosing a problem and explaining why it exists. Addressing the solution to those problems from a Canadian perspective was not as in-depth--possibly because there are not many solutions to be had, especially now when things are so uncertain. That said, I agree that it is vitally important for governments around the world to be prepared (as much as this is possible) for the world the author describes. It's in their best interests to do so.

[Marshall Chapman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think there was a lot of opportunity for Dr. Nossal here after Trump’s first term in office but the book was sadly a disappointment. Not a lot of substance, not a lot of insight - rather just a “rant from Wolfe Island.” Reads like a speech at a banquet, not so much a political study on dealing with the Americans and foreign pressures in a Trump age. Was sadly very disappointed with this read, despite being very excited for it.

[Madighan · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book with Canada in the title, it was really 90% analysis on the US—90% of which was on Trump. All relevant, just somewhat lacking in the Canadian-specific context and game plan that was promised. Now I’m just stressed🫠

[Shake Speare · Rating 1 out of 5]

I met someone earlier this year at a social event saying this exact same stuff. We were all alone now and needed to drastically increase our military spending. I hadn't heard anyone else in the media saying this, so I looked up where he might have gotten these talking points.

You can find them at several Canadian international policy/defense think tanks. These think tanks are staffed by ex and current military members, Conservative and Liberal (who are almost exactly the same as Conservatives at his point. They are to the right of Stephen Harper for pete's sake! 15 years ago they would have been too conservative for the Conservative party) politicians, and some professors who provide them with a sheen of academic credibility. The author of this book is one of those professors. Probably gets paid a good amount to write this propaganda.

I don't know if it's the impetus for Carney drastically raising Canada's military spending or cover/justification for what the government was already planning on doing, but it's pretty suspicious that all these think tanks start saying the government needs to raise defense spending a year or two before defense spending is actually raised.

The sad thing is they're barely even bothering to manufacture consent. They hardly even sent out the think tank's 'independent' conclusions out to the media beforehand. There were only a few articles and news stories, not long before they announced the spending increase. I think it's mostly a formality at this point, as they've realized they can just do whatever they want and ignore/crush any protests. I think Trump taught them that. They used to do a lot more fearmongering. Now there's no need.

Welcome to austerity! Defense contractors need money and the rest of us can do without, all to 'protect' us from non-existent threats.

P.S.

When I asked the guy at the party what could happen if we don't increase military spending, because we're geographically isolated and haven't been seriously threatened by another country since the war of 1812, he said we had to protect ourselves from the USA. When I said it didn't matter how much we increased spending, the USA could crush us if they wanted to, he said Russia could set up an oil rig in our waters. That's right, we need to make massive cuts to social services and government agencies to protect against potential Russian oil rig encroachment.

This is so sad. There is a massive housing crisis and the job market is starting to tank, and instead of addressing these immediate needs the government is cutting social services and programs to help people all because someday we might need to scare off Russian oil interests. When citizens need help the most they're taking it away to enrich defense contractors. It's a sick world.

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published before the re- election of Donald Trump, Canada Alone's thesis is that the world has fundamentally changed with the Trump- Maga take over of the Republican Party.The basic assumptions of the last 80 years about American leadership of the global system are now in shatters as Maga Republicans do not consider the world as an international community and instead harken back to the 19th century view of empire and national advantage above all.Nossal's predictions have all come true with the re- election of Trump in 2024 and the ensuring chaos of his first few months as President. Every nation is affected by the retreat of American leadership but Canada is affected more than most since we opted to integrate our economies and are very vulnerable to American pressure.Trump has even been in full imperalist mode making frequent threats to annex Canada.Nossal has done a fine job in explaining that Trump is not a blip but reflective of basic changes that have transformed American politics.Maga is here to stay and Canada must adapt to the reality of living beside an aggressive, angry superpower . Hang on to your seat belts, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

[Enid Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The possible future world envisioned here is terribly scary indeed - scarier even than I imagine when I think of the possibilities of another Trump White House.

I believe that this future is one that we must needs be walking forward into with eyes wide open.
For that reason I think - hope - that this title gets the public and private readership it deserves.

As the author notes, the time is ripe - perhaps overripe - for a truly national dialogue on Canada’s future in the world.

What do we want our role in the world to be? How do we see our future world in the absence of the kind of America we have become used to since the end of WW2?

If you care about the future world our children are going to live in - read this book.

[ReadinIt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written prior to the 2024 election, this looks at the underlying political situation in the USA leading up to Trump's election to shortly after his defeat. Most of the information is relevant more generally with the end being specific to Canada. While it isn't entirely accurate to what we see in the world today, it's surprisingly on point to what has come about. A very interesting read overall.

[Foggygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the book was a reminder to the reader about the unmitigated disaster that was the Trump administration still a good read.

[Kat Manahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very telling account of how Canada would be affected by a republican government in the USA, especially if it is Trump.

[Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful read if you feel ignorant about international relations and how it impacts Canada.

[Jarek · Rating 3 out of 5]

If reading in 2025, skip to chapters 5 and 6

[Matt Randle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent book. Very thorouhh analysis of the US; Canadian content felt a little tacked on at the end. I was expecting more focus on Canada but still worth the read

[Anne-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked to see more content on how Canada should respond to the changing world order - the content feels pretty high level/tacked on/flimsy.

[Andréa Geleynse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for an interesting examination of Canada's relationship with the United States, but this book felt like a one-sided rant against the Republican Party and the Trump administration.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sobering and pessimistic consideration of what may lie ahead for Canada with an America First agenda, depending on who wins the forthcoming election.

[Robert Orgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What was impressive about this book is that it was written in the spring of 2023, yet managed to predict so much of what has come to pass since the re-election of Donald Trump as POTUS.

Very solid read.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short book that's more like an extended essay. I felt the author did a great job at setting the table, in terms of describing the geopolitical landscape. The book was academic in tone, but not dry.

It is still highly speculative in terms of what the future of American foreign policy might look like given the irrationally of MAGA and Trump's own incoherence.

The prescription for Canadian foreign policy in the face of an isolationist America is also not terribly different from the status quo, which is to placate America first and foremost and engage mulitlaterally to promote a rules based international system where possible.

What needs to be done in those spaces would change, but I would have liked more focus on what exactly this might entail (a few examples are given,
but take up less than a few pages), beyond a recommendation to conduct a study or Royal Commission. How this may impact Canada's domestic political scene may also have been interesting to explore.

Overall I'd recommend this book, though there's nothing earth shattering here if you follow international relations even slightly.

Ultimately it is a study that recommends a study. Does Nossal also work in government?