The Slap of Reality: Waking Up from the Canadian Dream

By Jim Foston

For decades, Canada has been sleepwalking through history. We have been swaddled in a comforting blanket of politeness, believing our “special relationship” with the United States was based on mutual friendship. The events of 2025 and 2026 have not just pulled that blanket away; they have doused us in ice water.

It is time to look in the mirror and admit the uncomfortable truth: The average American citizen does not care about you.

If burning down the Canadian economy keeps their gas prices low, the American electorate will strike the match without a second thought. To them, we are not a partner; we are a resource depot, a buffer zone, and—when we dare to speak up—an irritant.

This is not just a problem for diplomats in Ottawa. This is a crisis for every professional charged with protecting Canadian assets.

I am writing this specifically for the thousands of licensed security professionals, employers, and government officials who oversee our nation’s critical infrastructure. You are the front line. When trade wars threaten our supply chains, or foreign interference targets our technology, it is not the military standing at the warehouse gate or the server room door—it is private security. If you think you are just here to check IDs, you are part of the problem. You need to wake up to the brutal requirements of our sovereignty.

The Trap of the Media Mirror

The first step in doing your job is understanding the threat. But here lies our greatest weakness: Self-imposed ignorance.

Too many Canadians—and too many security officers—get their worldview from American media. If you are watching CNN, Fox News, or scrolling American social media to understand Canadian problems, you are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. You will never understand what it means to be Canadian by watching American news. To them, we are a weather map or a market.

To be a “Guardian” of this country, you must turn off the American noise. You cannot protect a house if you don’t understand the foundation it stands on. You must educate yourself on our reality, not their entertainment.

The Architecture of Interference

We must stop pretending that American interference is a conspiracy theory. It is a matter of historical record, and it directly impacts the assets you guard today. The United States has often treated Canada not as a sovereign equal, but as a convenient laboratory.

Nothing illustrates this more chillingly than the MKUltra experiments. In the 1950s and 60s, the CIA didn’t just operate on U.S. soil; they outsourced their dirty work to Montreal. At the Allan Memorial Institute, Dr. Ewen Cameron, funded by American intelligence, subjected unconsenting Canadian citizens to psychological torture—”psychic driving” and massive doses of LSD. They viewed us not as allies, but as biological material.

Add to this the testing of Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown. These were violations of Canadian sovereignty sanctioned by a neighbour who viewed our borders as suggestions.

The Lesson for Security: Why does this history matter to a guard in B.C.? Because it proves that “friendly” nations will exploit our resources and our people if we are not vigilant. If you are guarding a research lab, a port, or a data centre, you must understand that industrial espionage and foreign influence don’t always look like “enemies”—sometimes they look like “partners.”

The Invisible Wall: First Nations and the Border

While Ottawa and Washington trade barbs, First Nations people are caught in the crossfire. The Jay Treaty of 1794 promised Indigenous peoples the right to cross the border freely. Today, that promise is a bureaucratic nightmare.

• The Blood Quantum Trap: The U.S. enforces a racialized metric, demanding proof of 50% “American Indian blood” for passage.

• The Canadian Failure: Our courts have largely refused to recognize the treaty for border crossings.

The Lesson for Security: As the border “thickens” with new security protocols, you will encounter this friction. A “facilitator” enforces the rules and calls the police. A Guardian understands the history. When a security officer enforces these colonial rules without understanding them, they are not protecting Canada; they are tearing at its fabric.

To New Canadians: You Are Not Guests, You Are Guardians

To the millions of immigrants who have chosen Canada: You are not visitors. You are not guests. You have made a life-altering decision to transplant your future to this soil.

However, many arrive with a dangerous naivety, believing they have entered a static “safe haven,” which is self-imposed ignorance. When you chose Canada, you chose a side. You bought a stake in a sovereignty that is under siege.

• The Duty: To function with the mindset of a “visitor” is a dereliction of duty. If you work in Canadian security, you are not protecting “some other country’s” assets. You are protecting your home.

Conclusion: The End of Innocence

We must unburden ourselves of the yoke of naivety. We have spent decades telling ourselves the Americans were our big brothers who would always protect us. That luxury is gone.

Sovereignty is not a gift; it is a daily assertion. It is asserted by the government in trade talks, by First Nations in the courts, and by private security professionals in their vigilance.

If this article angers you, good. If you want to disagree, save your platitudes about “friendship.” Come with an intelligent argument. But until then, understand your role: You are not just employees. You are the watchers.

The question is no longer “Are we safe?” The question is: Are we finally awake?