To Remain Canadian, Our Northern Neighbors Should Become a Little More American
President Donald Trump isn’t the first U.S. leader to contemplate annexing Canada, though he may be the first to take the idea seriously in a long time—if he is serious. The “51st state” comments and maps of a unified North America could be an elaborate joke with no obvious punchline. If it’s a joke, Canadians aren’t amused; they’re upset and making plans to defend their country against a hostile takeover. Standing in the way, though, is their country’s pathetic excuse for a military, and the severe restrictions, relative to the U.S., that Canada’s government imposes on private weapons needed to resist an invasion. If they’re to avoid becoming Americans, Canadians need to become a little more American.
Annexing Canada Isn’t Popular Outside the White House
Thankfully, Trump stands pretty much alone in his obsession with absorbing our harmless northern neighbor. According to Angus Reid Institute pollsters, 60 percent of Americans, including 44 percent of Trump voters, have no interest in seeing Canada become part of the U.S. Probably, nobody wants to find out what that would do to America’s fraught political balance. Another 32 percent of Americans “and 42 per cent of Trump voters say they would only be interested if the idea was supported by Canadians.” Ninety percent of Canadians say, “no, thanks,” so that should be the end of that.
But what if Trump and company pushed the issue anyway? Hopefully, those number mean Americans, including those in the U.S. military, would refuse to comply with an invasion plan. At least, Canadians had better hope we would, because their military is in no condition to put up a fight.
Canada Is in Poor Condition To Defend Itself
The Canadian Armed Forces’ “objectives since the end of the Cold War have been to sustain four frigates for deployment, 18 CF-18 fighter jets for peacetime operations (12 on alert in Canada and six abroad for NATO), and a half brigade’s worth of soldiers (2000-2500) with ancillary capabilities,” defense expert Richard Shimooka wrote for Canada’s Macdonald-Laurier Institute in 2023. “Among Western states, this is a fairly small contribution.”
Worse, Shimooka added, the armed forces struggle to maintain even that minimal level of readiness, ensuring that “Canada’s military is less capable than ever.”
Canada’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly told NATO allies that the country will “never” meet the alliance’s defense spending goal. Having piggybacked on American defense for decades, Canadian leaders ensured their country is ripe for th
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