Canadian-American relations have reached their lowest point in the two countries’ histories. With US President Donald Trump’s continued rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state, an escalating trade war brought on by unnecessary tariffs, and petty politics – like the renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America – it is no wonder that many Canadians feel as though our traditional relationship with the US is over.

​Yet there is a prevailing thought in Canada that argues against damaging our relationship with the US by diversifying our trade away from the North American market, purchasing non-American defence equipment, and pursuing a more Canadian-centric grand strategy that may cause friction with US policies. Instead, the thought asserts that Canada should refrain from such decisions, work with the White House on common objectives and goals, and wait out Donald Trump’s presidential tenure until 2028. Economist Jack Mintz, for example, has warned that diversifying trade away from the US will cost Canada GDP and jobs, while a recent letter in The Globe and Mail asked whether Canada could wait out the Trump administration by accepting a less-than-ideal agreement.

​This line of argument reveals a gap in Canadian foreign policy: a lack of contemporary understanding of where America stands today and where it is heading.

​The assumption that the US will revert to the geopolitical posture that once made it the indispensable defender of the liberal rules-based order is a fallacy. More often than not, this perception forces Canadians scholars, experts, and citizens to project their historic memory of how they remembered the US, often seeing it as the “shining city upon the hill”.

​Yet, if America’s domestic politics is anything to go by, both the Republican and Democratic parties have moved on from this nostalgic image and are heading further towards their respective ends of the political spectrum to preserve what they think makes America prosperous and strong. Often these ideological narratives are reactionary to either side’s political and policy proponents, highlighting the decay of commonality and strategic visions for advancing America’s geopolitical interests.

​America’s New Political Reality

In the Democratic Party, gone are the days of liberal internationalism driving foreign policy calculations. Instead, the coalition of conservative democrats, moderates, and progressives is in a state of competition for the “soul of the party,” often at odds over economic, social, and foreign policies. This is best seen following the most recent primary and mayoral elections that have demonstrated the ascendancy of the party’s progressive wing, including candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), reinforcing the traditionalist versus ideological brass of the party.

​While it is difficult to ascertain what a........

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