Peace repeatedly proves itself a more productive foreign policy than violence, Lorincz says—even considering Trump’s repeated threats to Canada’s national security.

“If we were funding things like peace-building and trying to resolve conflict peacefully, then we would have a greater likelihood of resolving conflict with the United States,” she told The Breach.

This only works when everybody else acts in good faith and shares your world-view. Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in exchange for Russian and American guarantees for protection. Russia annexed Crimea, now wants to take the entire country, and the U.S. is walking away from Ukraine.

Arguing Trump would leave us alone if we just spent a little more on foreign aid and social programs or international working groups is naive idealism. Not that those things aren’t important and worth doing, but they don’t obviate the need for the ability to defend ourselves. Just having impeccable social support programs wouldn’t mean there’s no need for law enforcement, even though poverty is the major driver of crime.

The U.S., China, and Russia are all looking to secure their interest in the arctic militarily. If we refuse to spend on our own defence capabilities, then we leave ourselves entirely at their mercy – ceding the arctic without a fight to anyone willing to sail a few warships into our territory.

I’ve no love for the Irvings, but I don’t know of many companies capable of building warships in Canada. In a perfect world we’d have the time and money to build up a less controversial option, but we may not be in great supply of either.