MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump has upped the cost for Canada to join the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defense program to $71 billion—$10 billion more than his previous ask.

Key Details:

• Trump confirmed the new $71 billion figure while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
• Canada has pushed back, with PM Mark Carney and diplomats calling Trump’s offer a “protection racket.”
• Trump said Canada could access the system for free if it became the 51st U.S. state.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump has put a new and steeper price on Canada’s potential entry into America’s “Golden Dome” missile defense program. Speaking from Air Force One on Monday, Trump told reporters, “They want to be in… Seventy-one billion they’re going to pay.”

That’s a $10 billion increase from the $61 billion figure Trump had previously floated, marking a sharp escalation in his negotiations with Ottawa. The Golden Dome, described by the administration as a “state-of-the-art” defense shield, aims to protect North America from a new era of missile threats—particularly those posed by China, Russia, and North Korea.

Trump has framed the Golden Dome as the long-awaited realization of Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” vision, using space-based sensors and interceptors to strike down incoming ballistic, cruise, or hypersonic missiles. Development timelines suggest full deployment is still 5–7 years off, but an initial $25 billion is already allocated in next year’s defense budget. The entire project may run upwards of $175 billion, with some estimates as high as $542 billion over 20 years.

Canada, which has long partnered with the U.S. under NORAD to detect airborne threats, has expressed interest in joining the project. But Trump is demanding a separate, costly buy-in. He reiterated that Ottawa would “have to pay a lot of money” to participate unless it pursued a full political union with the U.S. “It would be free if Canada became the 51st state,” he added.

Canadian leaders have pushed back hard. Prime Minister Mark Carney, re-elected in April after campaigning against U.S. interference, said Canada wants to protect its citizens but not under terms dictated from Washington. Ambassador to the U.N. Bob Rae went further, calling Trump’s offer a “protection racket.”

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The Ontario College of Psychologists has selected Jordan Peterson’s “re-education coach” for having publicly opposed the LGBT agenda.

In a June 16 op-ed published by the National Post, Canadian psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson revealed that U.K. citizen Harry Cayton will guide him through the mandatory training.

“In the last week … the College has re-established contact, after months of unnecessary delay, which occurred in violation of their own order and guidelines. They have made me an entirely new offer, all the while insisting that this was their intent all along, which it most clearly was not,” Peterson said.

“All they really want, it turns out, is one two-hour session, which will not involve any ‘social media’ training,” he further explained. “This will be conducted by a man — one Harry Cayton — a citizen of the U.K., who is neither social media expert, according to the College and is definitely not a psychologist.”

Harry Cayton, a supposed expert on “professional regulation and governance,” is known professionally for promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

In 2021, he was appointed to conduct an independent review of the British Columbia Law Society’s governance structure, specifically examining how it supports DEI goals.

Additionally, in 2022, while appearing on Ascend Radio’s podcast, Cayton argued there should be more DEI regulations in professional associations.

Peterson has promised to make the details of his “re-education” public, questioning why the College wishes to hide what Cayton plans to discuss with him.

“If I am the intransigent fool, and he is the wizard to set things right, why not bless everyone interested with his wisdom, and allow them to participate in the restructuring of my psyche and eventual enlightening? Why the concern with confidentiality?” he asked.

Peterson also explained that he will publicize the training “so that people who are interested can decide for themselves what is going on.”

In January 2024, Peterson lost his appeal of the board’s decision to compel him to undergo mandatory re-education, meaning that he must attend the training or risk losing his license to practice psychology in Ontario.

Peterson also revealed that his “legal options have” now “been exhausted” after Ontario’s highest court rejected his appeal of the College’s 2022 ruling that his public political statements ran afoul of the administrative board’s rules and that he must therefore submit to, and personally pay for, a “coaching program” on professionalism.

Peterson is a widely-known critic of Canada’s increasingly totalitarian government. He has also spoken frequently on the need for young men to accept and take on personal responsibility. While he has seemingly inspired others to explore Christianity, he has not yet espoused a personal belief in any religion, though he affirmed his wife Tammy in her decision to convert to Catholicism in 2024.