Greg Quinn: I regret that it's now Britain that's being the ass
I admire Canada's unapologetic asserting of its rights. I wish my country wasn't acting with such cowardice.
By: Greg Quinn
On February 12th of this year, I wrote in The Line about how my country, the United Kingdom, had “ghosted” Canada by refusing to come out strongly in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s egregious attacks on the country and his calls for it to become the 51st state. In writing that piece, I didn’t beat around the bush — I called the U.K.’s actions what they were at the time: cowardice and sycophancy.
Since February, there have been a few (many?!) developments in Canada’s — and the world’s — relationship with President Trump.
Not least among these are Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson’s depiction (or technically, implication) of the U.K. as “Asshole Britain.” As other regular Line readers will know, “Asshole Canada” or “Maximum Canada” is an idea the editors floated here some months ago, where they asserted that Canada should abandon its typical desire to be seen as a global do-gooder and simply assert its national interests, vigorously and unapologetically, and if other countries, even allies, object, well, to hell with them. Editor Gurney, in a recent podcast, cited the just-concluded visit of His Majesty the King to Canada to deliver the Throne Speech — the first time a monarch has done so since 1977 — as an example of that. Prime Minister Mark Carney issued the invite to the King despite obvious discomfort with the idea among senior officials in my government.
Carney didn’t care. The King is the sovereign of Canada, too, and Carney didn’t let British discomfort deter him.
I have to say that HM the King’s speech was a blinder and (in its own royal diplomatic way) left no doubt as to where His Majesty’s sympathies lie and how he supports Canada’s sovereignty and independence. Whether you are a royalist or a republican, the fact that HM the King made the trip and read the speech should be welcomed. And I entirely agree with the editors here — Canadians should and must ignore the comments from the U.K. Who cares? HM the King was acting in his capacity as Canada’s monarch — the views of anyone in the U.K. (government or otherwise) are irrelevant.
I wish I could condemn Jen and Matt for their (again, implied) characterization of the U.K. — Britain has needed no urging to unapologetically assert its own interests in this revived era of Trump. But I can’t. They are absolutely correct. And every day that passes, I’m sorry to say that the U.K. becomes more and more “Asshole Britain” when it comes to its relationship with Canada and the U.S.
The reasons remain much the same as I identified before: cowardice and sycophancy. To that, I’d now like to add venality. We think we have a special relationship with the U.S., as demonstrated by our recent trade agreement — except the impact of that agreement is open to some question. We seem to be afraid of saying anything that might upset President Trump, in case he reacts. Although we fail to understand that upsetting the President does not follow a rational process. He could (and does) get upset and react extremely easily at the simplest and most unexpected of things.
The President continues to make unacceptable claims against Canada, including reiterating his call for it to become the 51st state shortly after the King’s visit concluded. His latest iteration of this includes claims that Canada could save U.S.$61 billion it “should” be charged for the so-called Golden Dome (what is it with adjectives and this President?) if it joins the U.S. This, of course, fails to grasp the simple strategic fact that if you want a defence shield like this over North America, then you’re going to have to use sensors and other infrastructure on Canadian soil. Is he expecting to be provided that land for free?
By continuing to refuse to stand up to President Trump and clearly express our support for Canada, we are submitting to his attempts to divide and rule those of us who remain like-minded. At its worst, we are now venal — selling out to the president.
Instead, we should be standing true to our roots — as defenders of the free market and democracy. We should be leading the way, and we should be building an alliance of those who continue to share our values.
That is what we should be doing. That we aren’t is nothing short of a disgrace.
The U.K. has new trade pacts with the European Union and India, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t — or won’t — call those partners out when they do things we don’t agree with. Similarly, we shouldn’t hesitate to call the U.S. out when it attacks our friends and family, as President Trump has continued to do.
I am a great fan of Canada’s “Elbows Up” response. If President Trump sees himself as a hard-nosed businessman, then the only thing he will respect is a firm and hard response. He will not respond to sycophancy and pandering — he will (rightly) see those as signs of weakness.
That is, I fear, how he sees the U.K.: as weak and clueless.
In my February piece, I said there were three things Britain should do to show solidarity and strength. Those remain generally valid and are worth paraphrasing here:
A clear U.K. statement in support of Canada, declaring threats against Canada as unacceptable and unnecessary.
Discussions between the EU, Canada, and the U.K. to coordinate a response to U.S. actions.
A global alliance of like-minded countries presenting a unified front against American pressure.
With the best will in the world, Canada cannot stand alone against the U.S. It needs its friends, its allies, and its family. And it should be able to rely on the U.K. The fact that it can’t is a sad indictment of the U.K. — and one which should bring great shame to many of us.
Greg Quinn, OBE, is a former British diplomat who has served in Estonia, Ghana, Belarus, Iraq, Washington, DC, Kazakhstan, Guyana, Suriname, The Bahamas, Canada, and Antigua and Barbuda, in addition to postings in London. He now runs his own government relations, business development, and crisis management consultancy: Aodhan Consultancy Ltd.
The Line is entirely reader and advertiser funded — no federal subsidy for us! If you value our work, have already subscribed, and still worry about what will happen when the conventional media finishes collapsing, please make a donation today. Please note: a donation does not function as a subscription — it’s just an extra way to support our work!
The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: lineeditor@protonmail.com.
The election's over. We can stop pretending that the 51st state discussion was any kind of a threat. It always was, and remains, an offer and an opportunity.
Totally agree. Starmer has been a coward. He has made the fatal mistake of allowing Trump to bully him, and i5 won’t stop anytime soon.