# Does Canada have any enemies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975 "2004-05-19T15:15:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/41 "2004-05-19T23:57:37Z")
How could anybody hate a country that has given us Rush, William Shatner and poutine? ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/42 "2004-05-20T00:03:34Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > How could anybody hate a country that has given us Rush, William Shatner and poutine? Rush? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/43 "2004-05-20T00:14:52Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yeah, but I’ll bet it’s a Queen-sized bed sheet. God save the Queen-sized bed sheet. > [@Plan B](#): > > Rush? The band, not the drug-addicted radio jackass. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/44 "2004-05-20T00:40:21Z")
> [@Phase42](#): > > How could anybody hate a country that has given us Rush, William Shatner and poutine? Not to mention Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and and er Burton Cummings? Shania Twain? Shit! they were doing so well there for a minute! ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/45 "2004-05-20T00:43:25Z")
More seriously, and with no offense intended to my brethren north of the border, I think many people in other parts of the world don’t see that much difference. :ducks and runs for cover: ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/46 "2004-05-20T01:14:42Z")
> [@ltfire](#): > > They mint these funny looking quarters, that I keep getting thrown back at me when I use them to pay for something. Honestly. it’s happened a lot. Had a guy with a towel on his head tell me ‘it’s foreign money…no good here’ 7/11 by the way. Are they not 25 cents American? When they do that to _me_, I whip out the credit card. Let 'em pay the $0.29 transaction fee plus 2% to 3%. That’ll teach 'em to bitch about a Canadian quarter. And I’m not kidding. I’m on the Ontario border. Most places take Canadian change less than a loonie on par. ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/47 "2004-05-20T01:26:10Z")
> [@ltfire](#): > > They mint these funny looking quarters, that I keep getting thrown back at me when I use them to pay for something. Honestly. it’s happened a lot. Had a guy with a towel on his head tell me ‘it’s foreign money…no good here’ 7/11 by the way. Are they not 25 cents American? Tell me about it. Is that thing supposed to be a carribou or an elk? The engraving is so bad I just can’t tell. It doesn’t help that The High Priestess Of Whatever-The-Hell-It-Is on the front of the thing looks exactly like a heavily worn Washington. For the record, it seems that Rush Limbaugh is from Missouri, so it looks like we’re stuck with the jerk. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/48 "2004-05-20T01:59:29Z")
Canada does piss off other countries, whether you think they do things or not. We just pissed off China by meeting with the Dalai Lama. We pissed off our beloved Amerikan neighbours by not supporting their war more fully. Mad cow, well, everybody was pissed off about that. We’re really more like the nation no one can stay mad at. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/49 "2004-05-20T02:03:17Z")
Incidentally, I remember a riot in downtown Toronto maybe six years ago. The mayor, the buffonish Mel Lastman, appeared before the unruly crowd so he could read them the riot act. I was surprised to learn such old laws were still on the books, but the Toronto mayor does still have the authority to tell a crowd to disperse to their homes are face civil charges, providing “he” greets the mob in person and tells them that “he” is reading them the riot act. Can’t see this happening in the States. “You must return to your… BANG!” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/50 "2004-05-20T02:11:19Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Ever since Canadian women fought for, and won, the right to go topless in public, just like their male counterparts there really hasn’t been that much enemy activity. > > Go figure! As the blind man said, please God give me cite! 😉 Anyway, every country has its enemies. Anyone who hates the Western world in general would hate Canada, but the US is the Symbol of the West right now. Thus, it was the Twin Towers and not the CN Tower that was attacked. Canada still has internal enemies, I think, such as Quebecers who want Francophone independence in the worst way. A small contingent, but you could validly say they hate Canada. Does Canada have the same level of military readiness as the US? Well, no, but you’d need a continent to match up to the US these days. Canada doesn’t see it as a problem that the US is the Big Dog in the region, hemisphere, and planet, and I don’t blame them. They kick in what they have when they feel it’s justified. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Llama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@The\_Llama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Llama)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/51 "2004-05-20T02:27:14Z")
Yeah? Well what about Brian Adams? They _did_ give us Brian Adams. (Bastards.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/52 "2004-05-20T02:38:19Z")
> [@The\_Llama](#): > > They _did_ give us Brian Adams. (Bastards.) You know, a little penicillin will clear that up in a jiffy. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/53 "2004-05-20T02:51:18Z")
> [@Exgineer](#): > > No, the Canadian Navy is in drydock. Naw, they’re at West Edmonton Mall. Bryan Adams… We’ve apologized for that one, can we just let it go? Besides, he’s from the Lower Mainland of BC - that’s practically Washington! (Ow! Larry, knock it off!) ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/54 "2004-05-20T02:56:02Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Canada is recognized, by CSIS, to have the largest number of active terrorist organizations of any country on the planet. It might be prudent for an intelligence service to _act_ as if it has the biggest problem but I doubt very much that it is the case. I’m thinking Turkey would knock it into a cocked hat as far as this measure is concerned. Where did you hear this anyway? > [@](#): > > However, this is wrong. Al-Qaeda specifically listed Canada as a target in an April 2004 communication… along with Australia, England, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Spain. I haven’t heard of this either. There was one in March that questioned whether it would next be the turn of Japan, Italy, Britain, Saudi Arab, Pakistan or Australia but no mention of Canada. There was also the infamous one last year that inexplicably mentions Norway which they’d confused with Denmark. > [@](#): > > So? If you consider the attack on Fiji to be an attack on Australia (via its tourists) then all the other listed countries have already had terrorist attacks. You mean Bali (a very long way away) and the attack was carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah. They have only loose links to al-Qaeda and it was in aid of a very indigenous Indonesian agenda with East Timor rather than any MENA issues as the motivation. > [@](#): > > So what makes Canada immune from terrorism? Nothing. No country is immune from terrorism. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Singapore have all experienced it but I’m sure you don’t think of any of them as hotbeds of extremism. Canada is a target because it _exists_. It only seems worse because it’s where you live. Hopefully a vigilant intelligence service and a continuation of the policy of not making (large numbers of) enemies will continue the trend. Falling in with the Coalition of the Willing anymore than you have won’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/55 "2004-05-20T04:46:45Z")
> [@Gest](#): > > > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > > > Canada is recognized, by CSIS, to have the largest number of active terrorist organizations of any country on the planet. > > It might be prudent for an intelligence service to act as if it has the biggest problem but I doubt very much that it is the case. I’m thinking Turkey would knock it into a cocked hat as far as this measure is concerned. Where did you hear this anyway? I’ve seen it several times (most recently in TIME a couple of weeks ago), but it’s usually given that Canada has the second-largest number of terrorist groups within its boundaries - after the U.S. itself. > [@Gest](#): > > > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > > > However, this is wrong. Al-Qaeda specifically listed Canada as a target in an April 2004 communication… along with Australia, England, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Spain. > > I haven’t heard of this either. There was one in March that questioned whether it would next be the turn of Japan, Italy, Britain, Saudi Arab, Pakistan or Australia but no mention of Canada. Well, it made the news up here when it happened, but I believe it was a year ago, not last month. The alleged basis for the threat was that Canadian troops were in Afghanistan. For the past year, Canada has been the commanding nation for the NATO contingent, other than the US troops. I believe the tape came out around the time that Canada took over command from Germany. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/56 "2004-05-20T04:52:14Z")
Here’s a link to a news article that mentions the [CSIS claim](http://popups.ctv.ca/content/publish/popups/war_on_terror/network_of_terror/terror_groups/terror_groups.htm): > [@](#): > > In a special report issued more than two years ago, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said that with the exception of the United States, “more international terrorist groups are active here than any other country in the world.” Since that time, a series of cases have streamed through federal court along with the names of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and al-Jihad. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/57 "2004-05-20T04:56:28Z")
Information on terrorism in Canada can be found at: [http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/eng/operat/ct\_e.html](http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/eng/operat/ct_e.html) The CSIS quote came from the Globe. I cannot vouch for its accuracy. Al-Qaeda made the Canada statement in an internal April communique. I did mean Bali and not Fiji. I agree calling this an attack on Australia is a big stretch, but tourists were clearly targeted. Until recently it was legal for terrorist groups to fund raise in Canada. No more. Canada has also finally got around to freezing funds of terrorist groups and making a few changes to its terrorism policies. Canadians generally support their military, but I think most Canadian civilians (as well as soldiers) are glad that our troops are in Kabul and not Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/58 "2004-05-20T05:00:02Z")
It certainly makes sense to me the US has more terrorist groups than Canada. However, I guess you could argue there are known knowns, etc. Presumably Canada has been (until recently) much less zealous in looking for terrorist activities. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/59 "2004-05-20T05:00:33Z")
And here are links to a couple of news items about al-Qaeda threatening Canada. Both of them are from March/April of this year - are they what you’re thinking of, **Dr. P**? I’m pretty sure that we were first named in an audio tape in 2002/2003, but can’t find any links to it. Will keep looking. [Al-Qaeda Website Urges Attacks on Canada](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1080788091951_67///?hub=TopStories) [CSIS warns Al-qaeda may target Canada](http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/2004/05/06/csis040506) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975/60 "2004-05-20T05:10:51Z")
And a third: [CSIS Chief Warns of Al Qaeda Attack](http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1083880914185&call_pageid=968256289824&col=968705899037): > [@](#): > > Canada has been identified twice as a potential target by the Al Qaeda network. Early this year, a militant Islamic manual listed Canada fifth out of six target countries. The others, the United States, Britain, Spain, Australia and Italy have all suffered attacks or attempted attacks at home or abroad. > … > “ **Of all the nations Al Qaeda has attacked since 9/11, Canada is the only nation that Osama bin Laden has specifically mentioned that they haven’t tried an attack on yet** ,” he told CBC-TV’s the National. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-canada-have-any-enemies/245975.md?page=2)