> Funny, because Canada (and other countries) likely wouldn’t be able to get away with having such a small army if it were not for the protection afforded by US

> Funny, because Canada (and other countries) likely wouldn’t be able to get away with having such a small army if it were not for the protection afforded by US power projection. Not true in the Canadian case. Over 90% of the Canadian population is within 100 miles of the US border and they'd have no chance in a conflict with the US. They could just straight up abolish their military like Costa Rica and it would have almost no effect on their security situation. Having an ocean between you and any potential enemies that you can actually defend against is different from genuine free riders like Germany.