Canada is at war with the United States because they don’t honor their agreements. The Mi’kmaq First Nation knows exactly how the Prime Minister feels. In 1726, they signed a Peace and Friendship Treaty with the British. The deal was that the two nations would peacefully coexist. Britain would build some settlements. And the Mi’kmaq culture and traditional ways of life would be respected.
But over time, the British behaved as though the Mi’kmaq were British subjects living inside British territory. Does that sound familiar? The dispute became one over sovereignty, territory and whether Britain could be trusted to honor the agreement they had made. Then in 1749, Governor Cornwallis arrived with 2,500 settlers and established Halifax at Kijpuktuk, which was an important Mi’kmaq location. That was the turning point for the Mi’kmaw. They saw British expansion as a threat to their territorial independence. So, the Mi’kmaq formed an alliance with the French and they went to war. They launched naval raids. They used guerilla warfare to attack colonial outposts. And they defended their territory for decades, even after the French were driven out. Eventually the Mi’kmaq signed the “Burying the Hatchet ceremony and the Halifax Treaties in 1760.”
Unlike later treaties signed in other parts of Canada, the Peace and Friendship Treaties did not involve the Mi’kmaq surrendering rights to the lands and resources they had traditionally used and occupied. In fact, there are Maritime Peace and Friendship Treaties that contain treaty rights that have been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada. In other words, they made a good deal with a new administration.
Fast forward to today and the same dynamic is playing out. The US and Canada had a deal. But the US did not honor it. The Americans threatened Canada’s sovereignty and culture with their rhetoric about a 51st state. Mark Carney has formed new alliances with partners he can trust. And these new tariffs of 50% were a turning point. The Prime Minister has decided to go to war. But instead of muskets and ships, he’s using tariffs. Matching the US, tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar. He’s defending Canada’s sovereignty, culture and territory, just like the Mi’kmaq did. The Mi’kmaq waited a decade before burying the hatchet. Judging from the physical appearance of Donald Trump. I don’t think Mark Carney will have to wait that long.
