The Green Party of Canada’s new policy document, “Protecting Canada” has sparked outrage for its authoritarian proposals, including restricting free speech, criminalizing political advocacy, expanding military spending, and preparing civilians for armed resistance against the United States.
While Donald Trump’s comments about annexing Canada have caused understandable concern, Elizabeth May and Jonathan Pedneault have responded not with diplomacy or coalition-building, but with calls for censorship, militarization, and violent resistance. Their proposals amount to a fear-driven war plan rather than a strategy for peaceful deterrence.
Criminalizing Political Advocacy?
One of the most shocking aspects of Protecting Canada is its explicit call to make it a criminal offense to advocate in favor of annexation:
It should be a criminal offense to advocate in favour of annexation.
Green Party policy document
This means that Canadians expressing an opinion—however unpopular—could face prosecution simply for discussing an idea. Suppressing speech through criminal law is a deeply authoritarian approach that contradicts the Green Party’s supposed commitment to participatory democracy and human rights.
Recent polling by Angus Reid and Abacus Data suggests that 10% of Canadians support annexation, and up to 24% are open to the idea.
“Criminalizing an idea that nearly 10% of the country supports and that 25% is at least open to is not only undemocratic but represents a totalitarian agenda. Silencing debate through criminalization will only backfire and build more support for annexation.”
Alex Tyrrell
Preparing Civilians for War?
Even more alarming is the Green Party’s endorsement of armed civilian resistance, explicitly citing Ukraine’s war against Russia as a model:
“Canada will have a lot to learn in coming weeks and months from Scandinavia & Ukraine on training forces and mobilizing society for defensive purposes against a larger military power.”
This statement, originally posted by Jonathan Pedneault on social media, this post signald a radical shift in Green Party policy toward preparing for mass violence. It appears that this post was not a mistake as the party has now doubled down on it in an official policy document.
In Ukraine, the government distributed AK-47s to civilians—a policy that has led to widespread destruction, mass casualties, and an armed population caught in a brutal conflict.
Rather than advocating for diplomacy, the Green Party is proposing that Canada prepare to fight the United States in an insurgency-style war, ignoring the devastation this would cause.
“Fighting the U.S. militarily is a recipe for disaster and destruction and should not even be considered, much less should we arm civilians with AK-47s as they did in Ukraine. Watching my colleagues in the Green Party of Canada advocate for violence this way is like watching a horror film.”
Alex Tyrrell
Tyrrell called on May and Pedneault to focus on peaceful alternatives, international alliances, and diplomacy rather than dragging Canada into an unwinnable war.
Expanding Military Spending, No Path to Diplomacy
In addition to these extreme proposals, the Green Party document also calls for increased military spending and harsher measures against the U.S., including:
• New security alliances with European and Asian powers
• Visa bans for U.S. officials
• Sanctions on U.S. businesses operating in Canada
• Banning U.S. media outlets
While economic and security measures are necessary in response to Trump’s aggressive rhetoric, the Green Party fails to present a diplomatic strategy. Instead of calling for international coalition-building or mediation, May and Pedneault are pushing a narrative of militarization and escalation.
Ignoring a Serious Diplomatic Reality
Despite Trump’s annexation comments, polling shows that 90% of Canadians oppose becoming part of the U.S., and even among Americans, only 25% support it. The idea of a military takeover is not widely supported, yet the Green Party’s response treats it as an imminent invasion rather than an inflammatory political stunt.
Instead of urging the Canadian government to form alliances with Mexico, the European Union, and non-aligned nations to counter Trump’s threats diplomatically, the Green Party is playing into Trump’s fear-mongering with fear-mongering of their own.
Abandoning Green Principles
For a party that once stood for peace, disarmament, and international cooperation, the Green Party of Canada now bears little resemblance to its past self. Under May and Pedneault, it has embraced militarization, censorship, and nationalist extremism—contradicting everything the global Green movement is supposed to stand for.
While Green leaders like Jill Stein in the U.S. continue to oppose war and NATO expansion, the Canadian Greens are moving in the opposite direction, adopting rhetoric more suited to a right-wing nationalist party than an environmental and peace-focused movement.
As Alex Tyrrell warns, “Canada needs a strategy that prioritizes peace, not war. The Green Party’s proposals will lead only to violence, suffering, and instability and let’s face it Canada has no means to violently resist a U.S. invasion. May and Pednault should resign immediately.”
*This article was updated on Feb 27, 2025. A previous version included quotation marks around the words “It should be a criminal offense to advocate in favour of annexation.” The information was correct but not a direct quote. The paraphrasing is based on the following direct quote from the policy document “Review the Treason and Sedition sections of the Criminal Code to ensure that Canada is able to protect itself and its citizens against attempts to advocate or manufacture consent in favor of annexation under the duress of economic warfare.”
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