We may all have lost some sleep in the wake of the U.S. President’s unfiltered, dangerously disheartening intention to take over the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland, apparently by force if necessary.

But let’s use this scary new normal in Canada-United States relations, fuelled by Trump’s oft-repeated intentions to also annex Canada, as a “teachable moment” – one that might help us determine where we stand militarily, rather than rhetorically, in our current state of defence preparedness.

And what better approach to take now than to compare Canada with small, social democratic Denmark by way of military preparedness in the not-so-impossible-anymore scenario of a U.S military invasion. If forced to stand alone, before the inevitable happens, which of the two countries has the superior weapon and technology capability to put up a stronger initial fight against the American behemoth?

Sadly, for us, based on key indicators of conventional military preparedness, the answer appears to be Denmark. Despite its small size and population (six million, as opposed to Canada’s 41 million), and generous social benefits, Denmark has more modern and technologically advanced ships, aircraft, tanks and air defence systems.

Equally important is the impressive pace at which Denmark’s social-democratic-led government is bringing new weapon systems into service. A pace that would surely make our Generals and Admirals, not to mention the most conservative pro-military Canadian politician here, go green with martial envy.

Let’s start with the senior service since any intrusion into the Danish territories of Greenland or the Faroe Islands, or, by extension, the Canadian Arctic, would obviously involve the navy.

Canada has the longest coastline in the world at 243,797 km. Denmark and Greenland have a combined coastline of approximately 52,837 km. And while Canada might dare boast to have more warships than Denmark, let’s look at how they compare in terms of age and capability and adaptability.

The mainstay of the Royal Canadian Navy is our aging fleet of 12 Halifax-class frigates constructed in the early to mid-1990s. Their planned replacement by 2040 (that’s not a typo) will likely coincide with the plethora of history books that no doubt will be written about the Trump regime and the wars he started.

The oldest warships on the Danish side, their four Thetis-class frigates, are about the same age as our sole Canadian frigate fleet. Recognizing their impending obsolescence, the Danish government has contracted for their replacement by the Danish-built MPV-80, the design of which has been modified to operate in Arctic environments. This replacement for the grandmother of the Danish war fleet is scheduled to be completed in 2029, eleven years before Canada’s planned........

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