The difference is Canada lives in a bubble. Many western nations now live in bubbles. They see the area physically around them as safe and they can't or won't see much outside of that. There is nothing to tear them away from that. Some have a few ex-colonies that may make the news now and again, but the general action to them, is they are now on their own and they don't have much to do with them. They only ever see working as a coalition partner under the umbrella of a superior power to make contributions to fixing problems. Under their new leadership they certainly don't want to take on issues that are hard.That is funny: Canadian pollies get to achieve anything in defence?We live in hope. Why would any Canadian allies rely on Canada for anything? Pardon my bluntness - Canadian Politicians will seriously have to make DEFENCE a NON-ISSUE much the same as the Australians have done in most respects (always differences but usually bi-partisan support). I would have thought the French Speaking and English Speaking Canuckians would have taught all the politicians there how to get along for the mutual benefit of all. No such luck for Canada.
Australia is in a different situation because our gaze is near limitless. By the time something comes to our door it is catastrophically bad and we will be alone. We were able to convince ourselves of a bubble for a period, but reality kept crashing through. We have responsibilities as the eminent major power in South East Asia and the Pacific/Oceania.
PNG, Indonesia, Fiji, the smaller islands, Singapore, Malaysia, the wider Asia pacific. All constantly draw us in as a workable moderate middle power. The lubricant that facilitates pax Americana.
As the European powers have further created bubbles for themselves, withdrawing back into the EU bubble, Australia's role is increasing in prominence.
As the US, the UK and Europe lack cohesive leadership on a large number of issues and problems, there is greater pressure to come up with our own cohesive plans and policy.
It would be harder to pick a time of weaker global leadership than now. The situation lacks clarity for a huge number of reasons and is likely to get worse.
Which is why both parties know how critical Australia's military capability has become. Both are furiously trying to come up with policy and positions on a range of issues Australia never really had to think too much about as an individual nation.
Given the current environment, we should be doubling our efforts. While Rudds white paper seemed so impossibly optimistic, we are now at the end of that capability dream (or at its implementation stage). We now need to relook at our future and continue to have future plans and get consensus on what is important.
The Navy will be a key part of that. Arguably it carries Australia's power. You would have to go a long way in many directions to find a nation with a superior Navy to what we currently have planned.
I expect Canada and other nations to continue to flounder on various aspects of defence. They don't have the clarity or the purpose. I am skeptical of the UK commitment to Asia. I am skeptical of any Canadian partnership. I am becoming skeptical of the US. There isn't that clarity and bipartisan (or even single party) consensus on a large number of issues.
