Canada without its US ally

As Trump dismantles US civil society institutions, Canada braces for foreign interference alone Canada is confronting a stark geopolitical reality: the Trump administration’s retreat from global human rights advocacy has left Ottawa exposed—and increasingly alone—in its fight against foreign interference, reports Diana Fu and Emile Dirks in a paper published by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada titled, “How Can Canada Tackle Foreign Interference Without a U.S. Ally?”

Within weeks of taking office, President Donald Trump froze funding for US government-backed institutions long critical to countering authoritarian regimes, such as Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Wilson Center. As Fu and Dirks report, these groups formed the backbone of US civil society’s engagement on human rights in China and beyond.

The Trump administration’s pivot, however, has been more than passive. Attorney General Pam Bondi dismantled the FBI’s foreign influence task force. Vice President JD Vance downplayed interference threats at the Munich Security Conference, and ICE has reportedly detained foreign nationals—including students and academics—based on political beliefs, using novel statutes like the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act and the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

This sweeping rollback poses a strategic dilemma for Canada. Without Washington’s support, Ottawa must scale its own defenses. Already, Global Affairs Canada has funded projects like Access Now’s counter-disinformation initiative and is piloting a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry under Bill C-70.

Canada's intelligence community, including Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), continues to monitor threats like transnational repression and state-sponsored doxxing campaigns. Yet experts warn Canada must remain vigilant against its own version of “autocratic legalism”—the misuse of foreign interference laws to silence dissent.

Fu and Dirks argue that to preserve democratic resilience, Canada must invest in its own ecosystem of watchdogs. With Freedom House and similar US-based groups under threat, Canada has both the opportunity and responsibility to fill the vacuum.