Artificial Lines: The Colonial Foundations of Canada's Sovereignty Illusion
How diplomatic defiance masks American capital control, shared settler legacies, and the ongoing erasure of Indigenous nations
Canada’s diplomatic strategy: don’t poke the bear 🇺🇸
We admit, the little burn-it-all-down-chaos-gremlin😈✊🏾 that lives inside us lowkey wished Carney had been more bold—that he'd grabbed a figurative hockey stick and started slap-shooting Trump's talking points back across the Oval Office.
This chaos gremlin only emerged because of how adversarial Trump has been towards Canada, plus the context of how unbelievably disrespectful Trump & Co. were to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine during his previous term. For those of us craving a more forceful clapback, the stakes felt high enough to warrant one.
But given that in this situation, the USA has more power and privilege (#DEI!!) than Canada, it isn't that simple. Power imbalances require strategic approaches, not just satisfying moments of confrontation.
Carney did hold the line, just in a quintessentially Canadian way—polite but firm, strategically letting Trump command the spotlight while quietly maintaining our position. It was strategic and necessary—arguably the pragmatically correct approach given the circumstances. And those circumstances were about to get even more concerning.
51st State ‘Debate’
In his remarks on Tuesday, Trump described the U.S.–Canada border in dismissive terms—calling it just "an artificial line1" drawn with a ruler across what he characterized as one beautiful, unified piece of land. His framing was reminiscent of a real estate listing, referring to Canada as a "real estate opportunity" and suggesting Canadians would benefit from U.S. taxes and infrastructure if the two countries simply merged —👀.
While Trump avoided explicitly using the phrase "51st state," his implication was unmistakable. He emphasized shared values, inevitable unity, and bluntly stated that Canada "relies more on us than we do on them"—language that betrays a perspective of Canada as a dependent rather than a sovereign equal.
Carney's response, to his credit, was definitive: Canada is not for sale. Not now, not ever. This clear statement of Canadian sovereignty deserves recognition.
However, it's important that we understand the full context of this exchange, and reject the either/or reductive and binary approach that is a conditioned norm in our culture.
Binary thinking of "Canada good, US bad" might feel satisfying, but it won't serve us in the long run. This isn't about watering down Carney's stance—it's about deepening our understanding of what sovereignty actually means when we hold all parts of this story together.
Real protection of the people and planet within Canada’s colonial borders from foreign interference demands we acknowledge the complex web of power— That's how we build genuine security.
Annexation is not the only form of control
Yes, Canada is not for sale — but does that mean the USA doesn't have influence and power over us bc spoiler alert — they'd do.
So let's hold the fullness and complexity of this situation. While Canada is not formally for sale, we must acknowledge the significant influence and power the United States already wields over our nation.
American influence runs deep in our country— here are a few examples.
Consider our recent political landscape: before Trump won in 2024, before his annexation comments, before the chain reaction that led to Trudeau getting pushed out of his own party—Conservative victory seemed inevitable.
Political insiders across the spectrum had already accepted this outcome as fact. Yet Trump's rhetoric shifted our electoral landscape in ways no domestic movement could have accomplished, revealing just how vulnerable our political sovereignty truly is.
This vulnerability extends beyond politics. Consider media ownership: 66% of Post Media—the company behind the majority of Canada's newspapers—is owned by a U.S. hedge fund known for pushing conservative propaganda. Our information ecosystem is largely controlled by American capital.
The U.S. also has major influence and deep stakes in our resource extraction industries. When American companies arrive to mine, drill, or build, does Canada really have the backbone to definitively say no,given that the United States does have more power Canada?
The reality is that Canada doesn't need to be formally annexed to be controlled by American interests—many of those mechanisms are already firmly in place.
So while diplomatic declarations that 'Canada is not for sale' are necessary, they also obscure a deeper truth: much of Canada has already been sold, leased, or ceded to American interests—not through formal annexation, but through economic, political, and media influence. And this reality becomes even more complex when we examine the foundations upon which both nations were built.
Possible Labels for Canada’s Situationship with the USA
Hegemonic Settler-Colonial Entanglement
This isn’t just a case of big country vs. little country. Canada and the U.S. are bound by a shared foundation of settler colonialism-two nations built on dispossession, whiteness as default, and extractive economies. That shared DNA creates a deep cultural and ideological alignment, which makes it easier for U.S. dominance to operate not through brute force, but through shared norms, myths, and interests. Canada isn’t just being pushed around-we often co-sign the push. At the same time, Indigenous peoples continue to resist this ongoing colonization, asserting sovereignty and challenging both nations’ claims to land and power.
Neocolonial Dependency
Canada may be formally independent, but our economy, media, military, and even political direction are deeply shaped by American interests. It’s not about occupation-it’s about entanglement through trade, defense deals, media ownership, and shared markets. It’s power without the flag. So yes, we have sovereignty on paper-but in practice, we’re playing on a field the U.S. designed, and we don’t always get to move freely. Meanwhile, Indigenous nations resist these systems, fighting for true sovereignty and self-determination beyond both Canadian and U.S. control.
Lest We Forget, this ‘Sovereignty’ is built on stolen land
It's also important to note that this isn't a simplistic moral battle between a villainous USA 😈🇺🇸 and 🇨🇦😇 a virtuous Canada.
We're not watching some Hollywood blockbuster where "freedom" fights "fascism" or good battles evil.
What we're seeing is a standoff between settler colonial powers, who share an origin story 🇬🇧.
Canadian sovereignty talk consistently chooses to skip the uncomfortable truth that this country was founded on violent colonization.
Both Canada and the United States were 'legally2' established through what would now be considered crimes against humanity. That nationalism Carney defended? It comes at the direct expense of Indigenous sovereignty.
This isn't just part of our history—it's our current and ongoing reality across settler colonial nations like Canada 🇨🇦, the United States🇺🇸, Israel3🇮🇱, and others.
The same nationalism Carney defended continues to undermine Indigenous sovereignty daily.
Media Blindness to Indigenous Truth Is Colonial Violence in Action
— and, tbh, it's crucial to consider what it means if your go-to news outlet can't—or won't—name this undeniable truth in any discourse about Canadian sovereignty.
We urge you to consider: if the erasure of Indigenous sovereignty is treated as normal in mainstream coverage, what other uncomfortable truths about Canada are being quietly excluded from the stories we're told by corporate media and our own government?
Beyond Not For Sale: A Deeper Truth
When Carney stands his diplomatic ground against Trump's annexation talk, let's not mistake a moment of symbolic resistance for actual sovereignty. The real deal is way more complex—and asks more of us too.
True sovereignty isn't just clapping back with "not for sale" while American hedge funds already own our newspapers, shape our politics, and extract our resources. It isn't celebrating nationalist rhetoric that literally depends on the ongoing denial of Indigenous sovereignty.
Our task isn't simply resisting Trump's real estate metaphors—it's challenging the colonial foundations both countries share and the economic systems that already make borders meaningless for those with power and capital.
Any meaningful conversation about Canadian independence demands we face uncomfortable truths: about who profits from our "sovereignty," whose sovereignty remains denied, and what genuine self-determination might actually look like.
The simple "Canada stood up to America" story might feel good, but it won't protect us. Only clear-eyed confrontation with these complexities will.
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Sure, it’s an artificial line when he’s looking up north but it’s a firm border wall when he’s looking down south 🙄 #colonizerlogic
Ah yes, the OG disinformation campaign—crafted by the Catholic Church, the Pope, and the elite 1% (kings, lords, etc.).The Church decreed that non-Christians were non-humans and therefore their land was yours for the taking in the same way land with just animals on it was yours for the taking.
Honestly, given what we know now—about how trans people, Palestinian people, and migrants are scapegoated through carefully manufactured narratives—it’s safe to assume that it wasn’t actually God (whose son, by the way, was a dark-skinned Palestinian) whispering in the Pope’s ear saying, “Yeah, go colonize the world in my name.”
But they needed people to believe that, because it gave them moral cover to invade, enslave, steal, and kill. Call someone savage and suddenly their land is yours for the taking. Frame it as salvation, and you can build an empire in the name of righteousness.
And the fallout is still with us.
So many of the so-called “domestic issues” in Global South, or as Trump once called, “shit-hole” nations today are actually the direct result of deliberate, violent destabilization by colonial powers. These empires looted land, enslaved people, extracted wealth—and left behind fractured governance, trauma, and economic instability. The devastation wasn’t accidental. It was systemic, intentional, and what we’d now call crimes against humanity.
— also the transatlantic slave trade was founded in this logic as well.
So say it with us: REPARATIONS OR WE RIOT, jk, but also not.
Free Palestine ✊🏾
