Canada's geostrategic position?

[The Cape]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

 

[Todjaeger]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

The question itself is quite broad, and a good deal of it lies outside the scope of defence and defence issues. However, in the second to last sentence, there are three key drivers, which impact essentially everything else.

Canada was not completely independent of the UK/House of Parliment until ~1982, which meant that Canada would most often follow the UK in terms of positions, activities, etc. WWI and WWII being prime examples. With that in mind, that the UK was most of a 'leader' and Canada was a 'follower' it was hard for Canada to develop its own international presence.

Contributing to that, is the fact that Canada only has ~35 million people. While it is not a 'small' nation in terms of population, roughly a third of the UN has the same or greater numbers of people. A smaller population can impact the economy, which has an impact on international presence. Further complicating the issue is that ~80% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border, and ~90% live within 200 miles of the US border. Given how vast Canada is, that means large stretches are uninhabited. And part of the reason for that, is that despite the large areas and great natural resources, much of Canada is, or gets, very cold. This tends to cut down on the number of people who can/will comfortably live in a given area. Much of the Russian taiga is basically uninhabited for much the same reason...

The third contributing factor is who Canada's neighbor is. Given the US status of 'superpower' since basically the start of the Cold War, Canada has not been in a position to have a large regional presence compared to its southern neighbor. Compare this to the situation a similar country like Australia is in. Australia is 6th instead of 2nd in terms of land area, and has a population and GDP or ~2/3rds that of Canada. Yet Australia has a significant international presence. This is due in part to location. Australia is one of the largest economies and most advanced nations in the ASEAN/Oceania/South Pacific region. While neighboring Indonesia has ~10 times the population of Australia, Indonesia's GDP is ~2/3rds that of Australia. This in effect means that Australia is in a position of influence nations and events within ASEAN and South Pacific nations, and that ability lends presence to a nation on the international stage.

-Cheers

 

[MrConservative]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

The Canadians go about their business and do things quietly and all those positive points about the place mean they dont need to make a big song and dance about it. They do have a lot of soft power influence in the world and a reputation as an honest broker. Hard power is not the only influencer and their weighting of soft power works for them in their context. I would add that G8 membership puts it very much up front and centre on the world stage - if and when they choose.

 

[HKP]

The Canadians go about their business and do things quietly and all those positive points about the place mean they dont need to make a big song and dance about it. They do have a lot of soft power influence in the world and a reputation as an honest broker. Hard power is not the only influencer and their weighting of soft power works for them in their context. I would add that G8 membership puts it very much up front and centre on the world stage - if and when they choose.

Thats true and I respect Canada for its soft power.

 

[OpinionNoted]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

Good questions raised because as an australian i've often wondered about canada and how her people see their role in this world.
I look at canada as pretty much a northern hemisphere version of australia with a cllimate to the other extreme to our own, a nation that is vast and resource rich,sharing a mirror or pretty much mirror realtionship to the us as aus does to new zealand.
You are next door to the only global super power sharing a similiar culture, and pretty much self assured in your nations defence considering the us wouldnt take to kindly to a move to harass or move on canada...
Dont know exactly what your asking but if its for a more assertive canadian foreign policy then your proximity and relationship with the us may put a dampener on that...not because of us influence but because of canada being secure.
Anyways be good to hear others opinions on canada and i do agree id like to see a more prominent canada on the world stage.


additionaly...and a ramping up of canadian defence expenditure.

 

[HKP]

Good questions raised because as an australian i've often wondered about canada and how her people see their role in this world.
I look at canada as pretty much a northern hemisphere version of australia with a cllimate to the other extreme to our own, a nation that is vast and resource rich,sharing a mirror or pretty much mirror realtionship to the us as aus does to new zealand.
You are next door to the only global super power sharing a similiar culture, and pretty much self assured in your nations defence considering the us wouldnt take to kindly to a move to harass or move on canada...
Dont know exactly what your asking but if its for a more assertive canadian foreign policy then your proximity and relationship with the us may put a dampener on that...not because of us influence but because of canada being secure.
Anyways be good to hear others opinions on canada and i do agree id like to see a more prominent canada on the world stage.


additionaly...and a ramping up of canadian defence expenditure.

I like Canada the way is it today with its soft power approach. This will also prevent any terrorist attacks or develop and activate sleeper cells in Canada. Although Canada now contribute to peace keeping and operations in Afghanistan. That can be a security issue for Canada that someday it can be hit or on target list of islamic terrorist or jihadist whatever you call them because of Canadian military presence in Afghanistan and I think previously also in Iraq.

 

[Doomownage94]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

Obviously Canada has played a significant role in major conflicts. Hell they took took Juno with the British in the Invasion of Normandy. I agree with the arguments that mentioned small population and small economy (at least compared to US standards) and although they are not esteemed for their military accomplishments in modern times, they are far from the shadow nation of the US as some people consider them.

Without being going off in too much of a tangent...

This is due in part to location. Australia is one of the largest economies and most advanced nations in the ASEAN/Oceania/South Pacific region. While neighboring Indonesia has ~10 times the population of Australia, Indonesia's GDP is ~2/3rds that of Australia.

You can say the same thing about Canada when it comes to geographic isolation and small population, but New Zealand actually offers a better example when it comes to the position of power in the region and strong alliances. Why is Australia in the position they are in?

 

[SASWanabe]

uhm... i didnt follow any of that... can you elaborate?

 

[Feros Ferio]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

While some of the previous posts have offered good answers to this question, as a Canadian, I feel its my duty to offer a homegrown perspective. I believe that Canada does play a relatively small role on the world stage, yet it seems to me to be more of a choice.

In terms of our geostrategic position, we are in excellent shape. This is due to many factors, not the least of which include a strong financial sector, massive amounts of natural resources (including the Arctic, which is slowly opening up), our proximity to the world's lone super power (who also happens to be a long standing ally), our content population, and our long history of non aggression on the international stage. Essentially, both politically (international and domestic) and economically, our house is in pretty good order.

While I certainly cannot claim to be an expert, I feel we play a relatively small role in world affairs simply because we are in such good shape. Why should we want to go out and make massive waves so to speak, when we have it good already? Should the international political situation change, so that it affects us adversely, we have certain avenues of recourse we could pursue on our own, or in tandem with our allies (with the latter being the most prudent course).

Now, with all this being said, I agree with one members previous post in particular that states he would like to see Canada increase its defense expenditure. Under past Liberal governments, our military was allowed to degrade to a fairly sorry state. Recent Conservative governments have increased defense spending significantly, yet it will take time to restore capabilities, especially so in light of the global recession (thought Canada did come out of it much stronger than most). As this restoration occurs, you may see Canada become much more of a player in international politics as it will be able to contribute more significantly to NATO and/or UN missions (and when i say this, please do not forget the contribution Canada is making in the actual combat operations in Afghanistan, unlike some) . I feel this to be the case as allies always tend to respect the positions and the occasional demand of those who are making such contributions.

On the other hand, and I say this with a great sense of foreboding, should Canada not increase its military expenditures and the size of its Forces, I see an even smaller role in world affairs for Canada, as its sovereignty be infringed upon (i.e. our Arctic territory in particular), and the respect it has will be diminished in consequence. Therefore, as I mentioned previously, Canada is thus far making a choice to play the part that it does. I believe that soon we will have to make a choice as to whether we will play less of a role or, at minimum, maintain our current position and status. This choice is directly related to our ability to defend our interests in a concrete way. It will be interesting to see what our future holds.

 

[Teren_UA]

I am sure that Canadas future is to be a partner of the US. It would be better to Canada in its economy and military power both.

 

[SASWanabe]

i have been seeing in other forums that the Canadians might be considering buying a couple Mistrals.

all the links i have seen are in french has anyone else heard anything?

 

[Proud-Canuck]

Canada

2nd largest country in the world next to Russia
Bountiful in natural resources
Great living conditions and modernized tech, etc..
Probably in the best position right now (Has SO many powerful allies and great trading with these)

Why is it such a small player in the world, and why is there such a small population?

Your thoughts and answers on Canada, and its future ;/

Australia and Canada are quite comparable. Both are British colonies with similar pop., economy and military and both gained full independence in the 80's.We have different cultures though.

We have a strong economy and good influence ex. Suez Crisis
We are in the G8.

Canada's population will grow larger. We had 5 million people in 1900 we have 35 million now and counting.

Its true we don't need a large military because Uncle Sam and Britain have our back, but Canada along with the British(and probably the Aussies) have the best trained infantry in the world and if necessary could be a powerful force(WW1 and 2). Americans say they protect us and fight our wars(hypothetically maybe) but they are the only ones to ever attack us and 152 of our troops have died fighting terrorists that attacked them.

For Canada WW1 started in 1914 and WW2 in 1939 not 1917 and 1941.Anglo-Canada never needed conscription for either war.

 

[SASWanabe]

Australia and Canada are quite comparable. Both are British colonies with similar pop., economy and military and both gained full independence in the 80's.We have different cultures though.

just as an Australian wanted to correct some things, we have been mostly indipendant from the UK since the early 1900s (perk of being so far away). you guys have another half the population,economy and military budget as us. i do like the idea of a 15 strong frigate/destroyer force tho.

 

[Proud-Canuck]

just as an Australian wanted to correct some things, we have been mostly indipendant from the UK since the early 1900s (perk of being so far away). you guys have another half the population,economy and military budget as us. i do like the idea of a 15 strong frigate/destroyer force tho.

I was off on the population. But sadly even with our higher population you have slightly higher defence spending because of our previous submissive liberal government. We technically had our independence in 1867 but our final ties were cut in 1982 and I believe the same happened to Australia in the 80's.

 

[swerve]

Canada was not completely independent of the UK/House of Parliment until ~1982, which meant that Canada would most often follow the UK in terms of positions, activities, etc. WWI and WWII being prime examples. With that in mind, that the UK was most of a 'leader' and Canada was a 'follower' it was hard for Canada to develop its own international presence.

Canada has been mostly independent since 1867. The British government tried to make it more or less fully independent in 1931, along with the other dominions, which had also been mostly independent for some decades by then, but the Canadians chose to postpone it because they couldn't agree on how to amend their constitution. Therefore, until 1982 the parliament of the United Kingdom controlled its constitution. Of course, this control was largely theoretical, since the UK only changed the constitution when asked to by Canada. Our parliament acted as a rubber stamp for decisions made in Canada. In every other way, Canada was completely self-governing.

Canadian following of the UK, where it happened, was voluntary. Note that Australia & New Zealand joined in WW2 as quickly as Canada, despite their control over their own constitutions since 1931. You can judge how desperate they were to take that control by the fact that Australia didn't legally adopt the power it had over its constitution until 1942, & New Zealand until 1947. We were such harsh overlords . . .

 

[Heruamarth]

A simple addition to the accurate views above, with global warming, the climate will be softer and warmer possibly. And the northern icecap being melted slowly, there will be a slight competition on who and how to exploit possible petrol/oil and natural gas deposits. Some conflicts might appear on horizon.

 

[Feros Ferio]

i have been seeing in other forums that the Canadians might be considering buying a couple Mistrals.

all the links i have seen are in french has anyone else heard anything?

I don't know about Mistrals, but I have heard that there is a retired General (Mackenzie I believe), among others, that have been pushing the idea of Canada buying amphibious assault ships. Personally, I like the idea. First of all, with the size of our coastline, these will surely come in handy for domestic operations such as disaster relief, etc... Second, in cases such as the recent tragic events in Japan, such ships would be an excellent vehicle to facilitate relief efforts on behalf of the Canadian government.

In terms of their military use, I like them as well. However, this does bring to light a gap in Canadian capability. These ships are meant to carry and deploy a contigent of Marines, aka amphibious operations troops (though not strictly limited to this role). As far as I know, Canada has no dedicated Amphib Op's troops at this point in time. So in order for the CF to make good use of such a ship, it would also have to develop this capability. Again, a good idea due to the incredible size of our coastline, and the fact that the majority of the globe's surface is covered in water. It makes sense that we will probably be able to make good use of such troops in future.