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As Fisher notes in his column, the easy explanation for Australia’s comparative maturity is that it is isolated and alone, in a rough neighbourhood, far from its major Anglosphere allies. If Australia was suddenly threatened by one of its neighbours, even if its allies came rushing with aid, it could still take weeks or months to rally a major force (there are some U.S. units in the Pacific at all times, of course, and a contingent of U.S. Marines is always in Australia, as a tangible sign of U.S. commitment, but not enough to win a war). That’s the easy explanation, granted, and probably not the full one, but it’s actually probably true enough.

Canada, of course, is in the opposite position. Our closest ally and primary military partner is literally next door, and would protect us because our stability and sovereignty are essential to its own security. We don’t have to think about national defence, or invest heavily in it, so we don’t. We should, because that’s what sovereign countries and reliable allies do, and it would allow us to be a much greater force for good in a world that could indeed use more Canada. But you admittedly can’t make a case for a larger, more capable Canadian military force on the basis of literal need. So we don’t talk about it at all.

In in other words, when it comes to defence matters, Australia is a grown-up country.

But there’s another issue at play here. It’s not entirely separate from having our big, heavily armed brother next door, but it’s distinct enough to note on its own: Canadians don’t understand the military because, in general, we don’t see it. It’s out of sight and largely out of mind. Canadians support their troops. They admire the military and respect the courage of our armed forces personnel. But it’s not a top of mind issue because the Armed Forces are generally tucked out of the way in remote areas of the country, far from our major population (and cultural) centres. With the exception of small arsenals, most of the military’s real estate in the big cities was sold off years ago. I’m sure it fetched a pretty penny.