Canada's armed forces have recently modeled a hypothetical U.S. military invasion of the country and outlined possible responses, Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday, citing two senior government officials.
The report said the modeling exercise marked the first time in a century that the Canadian Armed Forces had developed a scenario specifically involving a potential military assault by the United States.
According to the officials, the framework explored response approaches similar to tactics Canada has studied or encountered in past conflicts, including those involving Russia and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.
They stressed that the model was purely conceptual and theoretical in nature, rather than an operational plan with executable steps.
The Globe and Mail did not identify the officials, noting they were not authorized to speak publicly about the military's internal deliberations.
The report added that both the officials and several experts view the prospect of the United States ordering an invasion of Canada as highly unlikely, including under a Trump administration.
Canada is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a U.S. partner in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a bi-national mutual defense organization between the two neighbors.
The report comes amid a period of heightened tensions between the two North American neighbors.
U.S. President Donald Trump caused alarm on Tuesday when he posted an image on social media depicting himself holding a meeting with European leaders in the Oval Office, with a map displayed behind him showing the territories of the United States, Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela all being colored with an American flag.
Trump had already stoked controversy last year when he repeatedly stated his aim to make Canada the "51st state" of the United States, sparking outrage among Canadian citizens.
Canadian military models hypothetical US invasion scenario: report
