MILAN \u2014 The U.S. administration\u2019s proclaimed takeover of Venezuela has renewed concerns in Canada over President Donald Trump\u2019s annexation threats and Ottawa\u2019s deep military dependence on Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the weekend military operation capturing Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, a number of Canadian officials were spooked by the U.S. administration\u2019s talk of reordering the Western Hemisphere to Trump\u2019s liking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt confirms the new U.S. National Security Strategy, particularly towards the Americas and, therefore, Canada \u2014 Canadians should be concerned that for Trump, force is now a sufficient reason to impose his will on other countries,\u201d Jean Charest, former deputy prime minister of Canada, wrote on his X social media platform on Jan 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leader of the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, Yve-Fran\u00e7ois Blanchet, said his party was especially troubled that Washington \u201cis positioning itself as the enforcer of principles at the risk of disregarding international law, particularly by resorting to military force at the peril of civilian lives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The American president has previously expressed his ambition to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Morrice, the deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada, said Canada \u201ccannot stand by while one man\u2019s insatiable and violent thirst for oil makes an already perilous time in the world even less safe and unstable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absent from the list of commentators was Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose muted response was criticized by some policymakers for failing to condemn the neighbor\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Liberals [Party] have been weak and afraid to call out illegal U.S. actions \u2014 they are putting economic interests ahead of truth, values and law, and it\u2019s time for us to take principled positions,\u201d Don Davies, the interim leader of the New Democratic Party said in a post on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charest urged Ottawa to lessen its economic and military reliance on the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A large portion of the Canadian defense procurement budget is spent on American equipment, with approximately 75 cents of every dollar allocated to U.S. technology, according to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Canadian politicians expressed support for the U.S. Venezuela takeover. Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, congratulated Trump on \u201csuccessfully arresting socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro,\u201d adding: \u201cLong live freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Canada is currently at a crucial stage in deciding whether to proceed with the order pledged in 2023 for 88 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. So far, it has only committed to buying 16 and is assessing other foreign aircraft models, such as the Swedish Gripen, which has an American engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Economic Development M\u00e9lanie Joly stated this week that the final decision will be made this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The American president has previously expressed his ambition to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":48,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,36,30,48,226],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3487],"class_list":["post-71966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-smr","category-the-americas","category-venezuela"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"46ZMSRELJ5DGFF3U277MM5ZXOI","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/the-americas\/2026\/01\/06\/us-venezuela-blitz-spooks-some-canadian-officials\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n