Lloyd Axworthy calls Perth: "A Gem of a Community"

"Inspired" by his recent visit, former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy posted an article this week comparing the history of Perth as a military settlement after the War of 1812 as it relates to our current relationship with the United States.

Mr. Axworthy was in Perth October 20 for a fireside chat with diplomat, professor and award-winning humanitarian Rosemary McCarney and spoke to a full house at a gathering of CFUW Perth & District where he talked about his public service, citizen activism and meeting new challenges.

As part of this visit, he spoke with local historian Susan Code McDougall who told him about Perth's unique origins as a military settlement after the War of 1812-1814 and conducted a guided walk throughout the downtown.

Whatever one's political beliefs, his comments about Perth — "a gem of a community"— should make us all proud of our town.   

The article is reprinted below, with permission.

LLOYD AXWORTHY

Soft power, strong borders, and the perils of politeness

From Canada‘s dance with a southern neighbor, as always balance deterrence with diplomacy as we forgotten the steps?

OCT 23, 2025

Perth, Ontario: Lessons from a Loyalist Past

Perth, Ontario, is a gem of a community—historic, walkable, and brimming with small-town vitality. Farm-to-table dining, local breweries, and artisan shops fill its 19th-century stone buildings. Its friendliness and cultural depth make it a destination for anyone seeking heritage with a modern twist.

But Perth’s history offers something more: a warning for our own times, as Trump’s threats and MAGA infiltration test Canada’s political and economic independence. Call it softening us up for the kill.

Founded in 1816, Perth was part of a British strategy to build a defensive line north of the St. Lawrence—insurance against future American incursions. Settlers, mostly disbanded soldiers, received generous land grants and supplies in exchange for loyalty to the Crown. The aim was as much cultural as military: to create a loyal, self-sustaining community as a counterweight to U.S. republican influence.

The plan worked. The War of 1812 ended with Canada intact, and these settlements became both a defensive base and the foundation for future growth. The Rideau–Perth line and its fortifications served as deterrents well into the 19th century. The Rush–Bagot Treaty, which demilitarized the Great Lakes, cemented a model of deterrence paired with diplomacy—the formula that gave us the world’s longest undefended border. Until now.

Today we seem to have forgotten how to two-step. Our path to Washington looks increasingly one-way—a dance of accommodation that ignores Trump’s own warning: the only deal they accept is one they win. Canadians voted for a firm response to Trumpian bullying. Yet as Robyn Urback wrote in The Globe and Mail, “Prime Minister Mark Carney, who tricked the electorate into thinking he would go ‘elbows up’ against U.S. President Donald Trump, is now shamelessly performing curtsies in the Oval Office.” Perhaps flattery keeps the peace—but it works better when backed by real leverage.

Ordinary Canadians get this. Ask the bourbon makers in Kentucky, the vintners in Napa, or Arizona’s resort owners. They feel the pinch when individual Canadians push back. But powerful voices at home—corporate leaders seeking any deal, generals advocating deeper military integration, and pundits preaching “pragmatism” over principle—keep urging surrender in slow motion.

That’s why it’s worth getting off the Ottawa canal way for a day to visit places like Perth. Its streets and stories remind us why independence matters, and why vigilance—political, cultural, and economic—is still the price of being the True North, strong and free.