December Open Letter on the National Security Strategy

Ambassador Hoekstra,

I write with respect for the friendship between our countries and peoples, as a long-time admirer of America’s democratic experiment, and from personal experience working for a U.S. organization in hotspots from Afghanistan to Southern Sudan. It was an honour to serve alongside American friends and leaders from both parties and, during my time in provincial government here at home, to champion closer ties between our countries.

It’s because of my strong support for American leadership that I must speak out for the many Canadians gravely concerned about the December 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) and request clarifications around the impact of this document on Canada-U.S. relations.

The NSS makes clear that Washington is redefining the purpose of its power. It rejects the U.S.-authored post-war principle of democracy as an existential value to be defended. The document states bluntly: “Yet the affairs of other countries are our concern only if their activities directly threaten our interests.” For Canada, this raises three urgent questions.

The NSS says the United States will “assert and enforce a ‘Trump Corollary’ to the Monroe Doctrine” across the Western Hemisphere. It proposes identifying “strategic points in resources in the Western Hemisphere” for “joint development,” urges market preference for U.S. companies, and insists countries that Washington views as dependent accept “sole-source contracts for our companies,” while Washington should “push out foreign companies that build infrastructure in the region.”

Can you reassure Canadians that the United States will not use trade access, security cooperation, or intelligence partnerships to pressure Canada into U.S.-directed resource development, procurement, or industrial policy—and that Canada’s decisions will be respected as the sovereign choices of an equal ally?

The NSS states, without equivocation, that states are sovereign. Canada is a fully sovereign country. Our laws, resources, territory, and democratic choices belong to Canadians alone. We will not yield to threats, extortion, or economic coercion, no matter their source or how they are packaged.

The NSS says democracy is no longer a moral imperative of U.S. policy, recasting it as a domestic cultural asset, even while implying allies must conform to a conception of democracy exemplified by your current administration. It goes on to say that the U.S. is ready to meddle in the politics of allied countries with the call for the U.S. to “cultivat[e] resistance” within European democracies.

How can the United States reconcile abandoning democracy as a universal principle while reserving the right to shape the democratic character of your allies through direct interference? Can you confirm Canada will not face ideological litmus tests or political interference from Washington?

Our countries’ security is strengthened when democracies are strong. When they collapse, we face the spillover: instability, disinformation, coercive economics, cyber aggression, and forced migration. If democracy becomes conditional, alliances become conditional too, and the authoritarian world grows bolder. It is deeply sad to see the United States abandon its position as a superpower while sharing messages that would normally be seen coming from the chanceries of Moscow or Minsk.

Finally, the NSS reduces deterrence against Communist China to a “declaratory” posture on Taiwan, even weaker than the “strategic ambiguity” policy embraced by President Biden and others. Coupled with the recent decision to share advanced AI technology with Beijing, in direct conflict with the stated goals of the NSS, these decision invite miscalculation, wider conflict, and disruption to the trade and technology flows on which our countries rely.

What concrete assurances can you provide that Canada will not be left to absorb the consequences of U.S. retrenchment or, as in the case of the China AI chip deal, transactional swings in American policy that increase instability?

Your President says he admires plain talk: here it is. Canada wants a confident, democratic United States that leads by strengthening the institutions and alliances that keep free societies safe. If the NSS is the direction of travel, Canada will diverge, defend our sovereignty, deepen partnerships with other democracies, and build the capacity to be a reliable ally without becoming subordinate.

Our countries are closest when we are candid. I hope this letter is received in that spirit and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Dominic Cardy

Leader, Canadian Future Party