Punching below our weight

Canada’s ‘Golden Ages’ of global influence mask our underlying laziness

Richard Fadden had a column in the Globe and Mail last week lamenting Canada’s lacklustre approach to national security. As Fadden notes, national security issues don’t get much attention in Canada, either by the public or politicians. This hasn’t always been the case, though. There are moments when we invest in diplomacy and defence, allowing Canada to ‘punch above its weight’ in global affairs. We could do so again, if only we muster the will and commitment.

Anyone who studies Canadian foreign and defence policy recognizes the expression ‘punching above our weight’. It alludes to ‘Golden Ages’ when Canada mattered internationally. We’re talking about the First World War, Second World War, and the first decades of the Cold War. Some talk about the Mulroney government and Lloyd Axworthy’s time as foreign minister in this way, too. When it comes to military affairs, in particular, the term hearkens back to when our armed forces outpaced those of other middle powers, not only in terms of capability, but also reputation. This is what Fadden’s getting at when he notes that we had one of the largest navies in the world at the end of the Second World War. Canada was once a force to be reckoned with.

I wince when I see ‘punching above our weight’, though. I worry that it prevents us from being honest about ourselves. When we step back from the golden ages and look at the wider arc of Canadian history, we see a country that tries to get away with the bare minimum. Canadians are quite content to ‘punch below their weight’.

A few examples are in order. From Confederation to the beginning of the First World War, we weren’t much of a military power at all. Between the world wars, we spent as little as we could on the armed forces and wanted to avoid getting pulled into another European war. We demobilized quickly after the Second World War, until the Korean War forced us to rebuild the military. Once the Cold War stabilized in the 1960s, our defence spending began a slow decline as a percentage of GDP, a trend’s that never been reversed. In the 1990s, we slashed the defence budget to bring down the deficit and debt. We’ve been reinvesting in the military recently, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll hit the NATO 2% of GDP target any time soon.

Our golden ages are, in effect, golden exceptions. We step up when faced with upending global emergencies. The rest of the time: meh.

Why does this matter? Why shouldn’t we be inspired by our best selves, rather than dwell on our habitual laziness?  I’d argue that you can only solve a problem if you first understand what’s causing it. The issue isn’t that Canadians have lost their way or forgotten how to excel. Instead, there are deep seated reasons why Canadians can’t be bothered. To use a French expression, we must confront our tendances lourdes, our prevailing tendencies. Canadians prefer under performing; it’s our comfort zone. What are we going to do to change that?

Fadden gets at this challenge when quotes the lyric: “To dream the impossible dream.” The dream may not be impossible, but it’s not our reality most of the time.