I'm sorry, but I just don't buy this. The view from here is that Canada has benefited greatly from it's close defense relationship with the United States. During the almost 50 years of the Cold War Canada was able to reduce it's military and naval forces to extremely low levels knowing that it was inviolate beneath the US nuclear umbrella, not to mention US conventional forces. The policy of the US since before WW II has been that a foreign attack on Canadian soil would be treated as though it were an attack on American soil. Among other things, this allowed Canada to establish and pay for that wonderful universal health care system of which you are so proud. In effect, it was the US taxpayer who funded the defense of Canada throughout the Cold War, except for token Canadian military units. I know you will not agree with this, but it is a very common perception among Americans.