There’s nothing like having a gun to your head to clarify the mind. Since Trump’s inauguration, a new patriotism has emerged in Canada, and nobody can deny its ferocity. In a recent CNN poll, 91 per cent of Canadians were in favour of pulling away from the United States. We all remember the early days after Trump first began threatening the country, how people would turn products from American companies upside down on the shelves so other customers would know to avoid them. But six months into the new reality, a different question is emerging: What will this new Canadian spirit amount to? It’s Canada Day. How much do we mean the flag-waving?

Turning Canada’s new nationalism into practical applications that preserve our sovereignty is a daunting task. Where even to begin? Part of the problem is that we have no history of talking about what Canada would look like standing alone. Our history, from the British Empire to the post–Second World War transnational order, has focused on how we can meaningfully contribute to a wider system. Under both Conservative and Liberal governments, we’ve wrapped our political identity and our future around international institutions: the transatlantic security apparatus, the World Trade Organization, the Commonwealth, the Francophonie, the rules-based order. And now the rules-based order is crumbling.

Since Trump’s........

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