Canada tests military readiness for potential US attack – report

US media have reported that President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state and has raised concerns about Canadian vulnerabilities in the Arctic.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Canadian defense planners have quietly run simulations of a potential US military assault on their own territory, concluding that Canada would struggle to withstand a conventional attack by its closest ally and would instead be forced to rely on irregular warfare tactics, according to senior officials cited in a report published Tuesday in The Globe and Mail.

The internal assessments, described as unprecedented in roughly a century, modeled scenarios in which US forces advanced rapidly from the south, overwhelming key Canadian land and maritime positions within days.

Officials said that in some simulations, major strategic sites fell in less than a week, and possibly within 48 hours, due to Canada’s limited troop numbers and lack of advanced military hardware.

Faced with that imbalance, planners examined unconventional responses aimed at slowing or complicating an occupation.

These included small, decentralized units conducting ambushes, sabotage, drone attacks and hit-and-run operations, drawing on historical examples from conflicts in Afghanistan.

One official said the models referenced tactics used by Afghan mujahideen against Soviet troops and later by the Taliban against US-led forces, conflicts in which Canadian soldiers were also deployed.

Between 2001 and 2014, 158 Canadian troops were killed in Afghanistan, many by improvised explosive devices.

The planning exercise unfolded against a tense political backdrop. US media have reported that President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st US state and has raised concerns about Canadian vulnerabilities in the Arctic.

Over the weekend, NBC reported that Trump again voiced such complaints to advisers. His former chief strategist Steve Bannon said Canada was “changing rapidly” and becoming “hostile” toward the United States.

Despite the scenarios, Canadian officials emphasized that an actual invasion remains unlikely. One senior figure stressed that relations with the US military are “positive,” pointing to continued cooperation on continental defense, including participation in the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system aimed at countering threats from Russia or China.

The report said Ottawa is also weighing a symbolic deployment of a small force to Greenland to join European military exercises, signaling support for Denmark’s sovereignty over the Arctic territory.

Mandatory conscription has been dismissed for now, but Canada’s top military officer has announced plans for a volunteer reserve exceeding 400,000 members. Officials said such a force could be tasked with disruption operations if Canada were ever occupied.

Planners assessed that Canada might have only a few months’ warning of an impending attack, with early signs including a breakdown in NORAD cooperation and the end of shared “common skies” air defense arrangements. In that event, Ottawa could seek support from European allies such as France or the UK.