Sovereign Canada

In this episode Dr. Emmett Macfarlane, a professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, expands on his Substack article in which he makes the case that American democracy is not only in decline, but already dead.

"It is meaningless to speak of threats to American democracy, to decline in democracy. The cat is not just out of the bag, it is gone."

Then, Crawford Kilian makes the case for restoring conscription in Canada, as he recently wrote about for The Tyee.

Timecodes:

(00:00) - introduction

(08:34) Dr. Emmett Macfarlane interview

(44:16) Crawford Kilian interview

Marking the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, elder brother Fred Fox joins Sovereign Canada to reflect on the legacy Terry leaves behind and the work the Terry Fox Foundation continues to do in the name of his iconic brother.

"It's a time of reflection and mainly thinking about what Terry started on [April 12, 1980] in Newfoundland, and what its resulted in all these years and how proud he would be of what he started, the inspiration that he was, the sacrifice that he made in 1980 to impact so many lives," Fox said.

Today, the Terry Fox Foundation says it has raised more than $950 million and supported 1,300 cancer research projects in the name and image of the iconic Canadian.

Also, Charlie Angus swept through Vancouver Island on his Elbows Up Resistance Tour. This episode includes most of Angus's speech in Nanaimo, recorded by executive director of CHLY, Jesse Woodward.

(00:00) - introduction

(08:23) - Fred Fox interview

(20:24) - Charlie Angus Elbows Up Resistance Tour stop in Nanaimo

Author of The Resistance on Substack and now-former MP Charlie Angus returns to talk about his Elbows Up Resistance Tour that has been crisscrossing Canada ahead of appearances on B.C.’s Vancouver Island, first in Courtenay (now updated to Cumberland) April 10, Nanaimo April 11. From there Angus heads to Edmonton on April 13.

Angus expands on his advice to Canadians to avoid travel to the U.S., which was how he spent his last news conference as a Member of Parliament. 

Angus rails against Preston Manning because of the editorial he wrote in the Globe and Mail where Manning claimed, “a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for Western secession – a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.” 

Angus lumps Manning in with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre, calling members of that group everything from “Quislings,” to the “MAGA maple crowd.” 

I contacted each of Manning, Smith, and Poilievre to offer each of them an opportunity to respond. The one to reply was Manning. 

In a written statement, the former leader of the Reform Party said Angus is engaged in, “hysterical name calling,” and “false allegations, 

“There is intense dissatisfaction with the last nine year of Liberal government and that this will result in increased support for secession if the LIberals (sic) under Mr.Carney (sic) were to return to office.” 

Recent polling suggests Manning may have an exaggerated sense for the degree of secessionist sentiment in Western Canada. 

I contacted Liberal leader Mark Carney seeking a comment in response to Manning’s statement, however the Liberal Party did not respond to the request. 

However, Carney has been widely quoted in the media responding to Manning’s editorial. 

“Such dramatic comments are unhelpful at a time when Canadians are coming together,” said Carney. 

Then, Dr. Ron Dart, author of 42 books, and professor emeritus in the Political Science department at the University of the Fraser Valley joins the program to discuss the wave of Canadian nationalism and points out that it’s “nothing new.” 

“It's a revival of a significant tradition that has been implicit the last few decades, and it's becoming explicit again because of [U.S. President Donald] Trump.” Dart said.  

“The good of Trump, if there can be seen a good in Trump, is he's resurrected, Phoenix like, the best of the Canadian nationalist tradition, which has a very long history going back ... to pre confederation through John A. McDonald, a variety of Progressive Conservative prime ministers and then with [Pierre] Trudeau as well.” 

(00:00) - introduction 

(03:24) - Charlie Angus interview 

(29:35) - Response from Preston Manning 

(33:25) - Dr. Ron Dart interview 

As protests continue to erupt in opposition to U.S. president Donald Trump and figures close to the Trump administration like Elon Musk, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia wonders if the traditional effect of mass protest will have the intended effect upon their targets. 

Dr. David Tindall is concerned Trump may in fact welcome protest, especially if it descends into vandalism or property damage. 

“These types of events could be used as an excuse for just a major crackdown,” Tindall said. “This might lead to the Trump administration to do something pretty dramatic, such as to declare state of emergency.” 

The effect of movements like Tesla Takedown upon Musk, Tindall offered, may also be difficult to predict. 

“Musk has already done a lot of things that are really against his economic self-interest, so in a certain sense to me, he seems to be kind of somewhat of an irrational actor, 

“It's not entirely clear how things like boycotts and protests would affect his decision making. 

“But on the other hand, if enough people just decide simply to not buy Tesla [vehicles] again,” Tindall speculated, “maybe that leads to the company going bankrupt.” 

Many people at the Tesla Takedown protest on March 22 at the dealership along Langley Bypass shared a similar sentiment, including organizer Pat McCutcheon. 

“What it boils down to is, Elon Musk derives a lot of his power from his wealth, so if we can collapse his wealth by drying up his Tesla sales, he’ll back off.” McCutcheon said. 

“People like Elon Musk are doing everything they can to collapse democracy. It’s not just a threat anymore, it’s a reality. You look at what they’re doing down in the U.S., 

“This is all about protecting democracy,” said McCutcheon. 

This episode was recorded and produced on March 27 while Dr. Tindall was interviewed on March 25.

(00:00) - introduction

(02:00) - Dr. David Tindall interview

(38:46) - Tesla Takedown Protest in Langley

In this episode, we examine how Canadian officials went from laughing off U.S. president Donald Trump's comments about Canada becoming the "51st state," to stone cold serious threats against Canadian sovereignty.

Former Canadian diplomat Sabine Nölke returns to offer her analysis of the pivot, relying upon her expertise accumulated over more than three decades working in the field of international relations. Nölke served Global Affairs Canada from 1992 until 2021, including as Canada’s ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019. 

Diplomacy is often about creating pathways for your counterparts to take to save face, Nölke said. 

“I'm sure Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau wasn't laughing when he returned from the dinner table at Mar-a-Lago.” said Nölke of when Trump first told the former prime minister that he wants to annex Canada.  

“We cast them as jokes to turn them into jokes. I would assume that this would have been a discussion ... when you hear something like that, you try to say, ‘OK, if it becomes public, how do we cast it?’ If you can cast it as a joke, then people aren't too worried, and you give your opponent ... a face-saving way out.” 

Reading the tea leaves, Nölke said the diplomatic pivot likely would have started to happen after Trump’s comments on January 7 that he would use “economic force,” to annex Canada. 

“Coming up with that answer so quickly and so straightforwardly, I think there was a signal,” said Nölke, “Frankly, I'm very glad that they did start taking it seriously, publicly, when they did.” 

Then, Dr. Catherine Dauvergne, professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia joins the program, and argues the laws being used to crack down on immigration, like in the case of Vancouver woman Jasmine Mooney are not new. 

“For people who are close to the system, none of this is new. The way it’s being applied is new,” Dauvergne said, adding that “it's long past time," for Canada to review the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, especially because migration law is “being enforced closer to one of its extremes.” 

“There have been problems with the [Canada-U.S.] Safe Third Country Agreement ever since it was first implemented,” Dauvergne said. 

Afterward, we’re joined by Fair Vote Canada spokesperson Ted Cragg to discuss electoral reform, and the organization’s continuing efforts to advocate for a proportional representation system of government. 

“In a nutshell, that means the percentage of votes ... should be as close as possible to the percentage of seats,” said Cragg. 

(00:00) - Introduction 

(01:52) - The diplomatic pivot with Sabine Nölke 

(25:08) - Migrant law with Dr. Catherine Dauvergne 

(43:24) - Electoral reform with spokesperson Ted Cragg 

In this episode, you'll hear from Nasser Nabahat, the operator of the Ivanhoe Hotel and Ivanhoe Pub 0n Main Street in Vancouver, who says it got to his nerves when someone vandalized the Canadian flag that he affixed to his establishment which read, "Never 51," by tearing off part of the bottom of the flag. Instead of taking the rest down, Nabahat personally painted "51st," in place of the previous message. 

"That stays there. Nobody can peel it out," he said. Nabahat is now calling for, "a huge gathering on the streets," to stand in solidarity against U.S. President Donald Trump's continued threats against Canada.

Then, hear from Dr. Maria Popova, associate professor of political science at McGill University, and co-author of Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States. Popova makes a compelling case comparing Trump to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Later, Dr. Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, discusses what Canada should do on the international stage to build an international “coalition of the unwilling,” to stand against American trade aggression. As a bonus, the entire interview with Prest has been posted on the blog section of this website. 

00:00 – Introduction. 

01:52 - Recap of recent news items, including Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first international and domestic trips; Ambassador Bob Rae’s clear-eyed tweets laying out his analysis of what Trump’s threats are all about; and Jasmine Mooney returns to Vancouver following two-weeks in American immigration detention. 

09:08 - Interview with Nasser Nabahat and David Potter of Ivanhoe Hotel and Ivanhoe Pub. 

19:03 – Interview with Dr. Maria Popova. 

45:13 – Interview with Dr. Stewart Prest. 

On this edition of Sovereign Canada, we’ll talk about the power of hope when faced with difficult times.  

I caught up with Mr. Brent Mansfield at an announcement that British Columbia signed on to the federal government’s National School Food program, which Mansfield has been literally running to bring attention toward for a decade and elevating the voices of his students to this cause along the way.

Mansfield, an elementary school teacher at Lord Roberts in Vancouver, and advocate with the Coalition for Healthy School Food, talks about some of the heroes in his life and remarks on the inspiration he imparts upon his students every day.  

"I ran on February 14th ... seven times for the 7.4 million dollars that, now with this agreement signed, is available this school year. I invited students to come with me, I did it on a Pro D Day. They did not have to be there, so the ones that were there chose to be there. I had a student ran 35 km with me. Had never run more than 10 [km] and he's now one of my regulars at our Tuesday afternoon run club."

"They get it," Mansfield said, adding that he sees his students gaining belief in themselves to be able to affect substantive, tangible, change in the world.

You’ll hear brief remarks from Minister Jenna Sudds, and Minister Harjit Sajjan from that announcement, B.C. signing on to the feds program to spend $39.4m in support of B.C.'s school food efforts over three years, held at David Thompson Secondary School, on March 7.  

Later, you’ll hear from Peter MacLeod of MASS LBP, who recently wrote a column in The Tyee that argues Canada needs to revive the Civil Defence Corps, to lean on the skills Canadians already possess and build up readiness and resilience across the country.  

Also includes a brief clip from last week’s episode with Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus, in which Angus talks about the “small steps,” people can take to move forward when facing down an existential threat. 

It is my pleasure to let you know the inaugural episode of Sovereign Canada is ready for you to download and share. 

In the first episode of this podcast and campus and community radio show, syndicated by CIVL in Abbotsford, B.C., you’ll hear from Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus as well as former Canadian diplomat Sabine Nölke. I recap the escalating Trump tariff trade war and put it into the context of the U.S. foreign policy shift away from its traditional allies and towards Moscow. 

Angus, who posts regularly on Substack under The Resistance banner, tells us about his experiences standing up to, and reclaiming space from, fascists and “Putin trolls,”; having a “clear-eyed view of what we’re up against,” with regard to U.S. president Donald Trump and his administration’s repeated threats to Canadian sovereignty and democracy; the petition to strip DOGE leader Elon Musk of his Canadian citizenship; and taking part in activism with “small steps,” such as how many Canadians are doing now with the boycott of U.S. goods. 

Nölke – who served Global Affairs Canada from 1992 until 2021, including as Canada’s ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019 – draws on the parallels between Trump and both of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler. She also praises Canada’s ambassador to the United States, Kirsten Hillman and helps casual observers understand how to view Hillman’s public comments.

Exploring the national identity in the face of external threats.

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