More Reasons for Canadian Independence

 

In my quest for one good reason why Canada should be independent of the US, I have watched a video from True North.

Here are their arguments, as I noted them:

1. Canadians are more polite

Canadians have a reputation for being more polite; so do US Southerners. “Southern gentility.” Would anyone consider this a reason for the US South to be independent?

2. Canadians welcome immigrants.

Obviously, the US too welcomes immigrants. It is the original immigrant society. As we have that in common, it is an argument for union, not separation. 

3. America expects their immigrants to assimilate.

The old saw was that Canada was a “mosaic,” while the US was a “melting pot.” Canada has now enshrined “multiculturalism” in our constitution, while US money carries the motto “E Pluribus Unum.” A sad attempt to make Canada different from the US somehow. A distinction; but it is still an argument for union. Multiculturalism, as anyone could have predicted, is proving a disaster wherever it is tried. Witness the riots in Europe. The fact that it is embedded in the Canadian constitution, is a compelling argument for abolishing Canada and assimilation to the US. It may be the only way to get rid of the policy.

4. America has stronger protections for rights and freedoms. E.g., Canadians are squeamish about a right to bear arms.

One might also cite the stronger commitment to freedom of speech, versus Canada’s “hate speech” laws. Again, while this is a distinction, it is a compelling argument for union. It gives us more rights.

5. Commitment to the crown

This is the reason Canada exists. But how important is it? How much is it worth sacrificing for? The crown’s role, afer all, is only symbolic.

6. There is more decentralization of power in Canada

This is a bit of a historical accident. On paper, US states have more power than Canadian provinces. Canadian decentralization has developed de facto from the need to appease Quebec.

That need would continue were Quebec part of the larger union. Accordingly, assimilating Quebec should decrease centralization throughout North America, given that the US Constitution allows for more decentralization than the Canadian one.

This makes union more desirable: decentralization is a trend already in the US.

7. America is an escape route for oppressed Canadians, so long as it is independent.

This argument works the opposite way too: Canada is an escape route for oppressed Americans, as in the days of the Underground Railroad, or the Vietnam draft.

This seems to me the best argument for an independent Canada. 

Yet the escape route is more open and accessible, if less complete, if we have the right to live and work on either side of the border. With fifty states, or fifty-five, instead of ten provinces, we have more options. If we need to flee some federal policy—there is still the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Thailand, and so forth. It seems less necessary than it once was for the complete escape to be within a day’s drive.

So I have yet so see a strong argument for Canada to remain independence. It seems no more than a sentimental attachment.

Unburdened by What Has Been?

 

Discussion of the US annexing Canada is spreading, in the media and on X. 

I watch carefully the Canadian responses. What arguments does anyone have? Why is Canada independent?

The one argument I see is “we have universal health care.”

Not a good argument. In theory, if it so chose, Canada could still offer and provide universal health care for its residents as a US State.

Most often, no argument is given. Just an expletive, usually one beginning with F and ending with off.

This proves those who react this way have no argument.

As a businessman and entrepreneur, Trump has the skill of seeing a business opportunity. He sees when money has been left on the table. 

Canada was left on the table by the Statute of Westminster, and then progressively by the dropping of preferential tariffs when the UK entered the EU, the patriation of the Canadian constitution, and the influx of new immigrants. Its reason to exist was its British ties. They are gone. Britain walked away.

I think Canadians have felt this in their hearts for some time. Hence the frequent lament about an absence of Canadian identity. Justin Trudeau himself has said Canada has no identity, no reason to exist, no "mainstream." Hence the Canadian desire to join any international association going. Hence it's idolization of anything coming from abroad, its "multiculturalism."

Perhaps it would be a mercy.

Was Manifest Destiny Really Such a Bad Idea?

Report has leaked that, at their recent meeting in Mar-a-Lago, Justin Trudeau argued that Trump must not impose his proposed 25% tariff on Canada, “because it would wreck Canada’s economy.” To which Trump reputedly responded, “if the Canadian economy can’t survive without ripping the US off for $100 million a year (or whatever the figure was), maybe you should just become the 51st state. You could be governor. 

And everyone is taking this as a joke.

Is it?

And is it a bad idea?

Let’s consider it from Trump’s point of view. People, including me. have been assuming that his threat of 25% tariffs was just a gambit to open negotiations. But Trump has also said he wanted to finance the government with tariffs rather than income taxes. So the high tariffs fit in with his plan. Why would he sacrifice it for Canada’s sake? America first!

Trump is also concerned with legacy. He has already floated the idea of buying Greenland. High tariffs could indeed force Canada to plead for union. Trump would have more than doubled the land mass of the US, outdoing Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana purchase, and surely earning him a place on Mount Rushmore.

(Much easier to do, by the way, with modern AI and 3-D modelling. They are already being used to carve stone decorations for building exteriors. Not the major undertaking it was for the president already there.)

Annexing Canada makes huge sense for America’s national security. It secures vast strategic resources and control of the Arctic, more urgent with global warming. Canada is incapable of securing the Arctic for itself. By joining forces, on the other hand, America becomes stronger and better able to defend our joint interests.

Canada has, after all, been a useless military ally in recent years, underspending on its defense and relying on the US taxpayer to defend it. Why should the US put up with this?

The argument against annexation is that Canada is politically more left-leaning than the US; so giving 40 million Canadians the franchise would be bad for Trump’s Republican Party. But this might not deter Trump personally, since he is not running again. Moreover, Trump has shown an ability to alter the electoral map, and appeal to new coalitions of voters. He has won over most of the working class; of the rust belt; he has drawn Hispanics--all formerly considered bedrock leftist constituencies. He seems to me to already be in progress of winning over Canadians. “Maple MAGA” is becoming a thing. Why not? The Republican party is being remade in Trump’s image. Trump’s agenda has really never been either clearly traditionally left or right.

One might worry that there would be much unrest among the local population if the Americans took over. It would have to be voluntary. But the tariffs could do a lot to convince Canucks of the need.

Why, given all this, would Trump back down on his tariffs? As a personal favour to Justin Trudeau?

Where's that laughing emoticon when I need it?

Now let’s look at it from the point of view of Canadians. Why not? What is the argument for Canada remaining independent? After all, the two countries share the same language (but for Quebec), the same culture, the same geography, the same history. Nova Scotians have at least as much in common with the people of Maine as they do with those of Quebec; or as Maine does with Louisiana. It has often been observed that British Columbians have more in common with, and more common interests with, the people of Washington or Alaska than with Newfoundlanders. Anywhere else on the globe we would probably be one country. 

The sole reason Canada became independent was loyalty to the British crown and the British connection. The British connection evaporated for all practical purposes in 1932 or so. Since then, there is only the sentimental attachment to the Royal Family. 

How much is that worth?

Canadians, if they joined the US, would not lose self-government. That is the beauty of the federal system. Canadians can continue to tend to their own Canadian affairs within the wider union. Rather, joining the US gives greater assurance of self-government. As we have seen recently, Canadian governments can go rogue and trample human rights. The Americans have a longer and culturally stronger tradition of democracy; with union, in such cases, the feds could step in. Just as Eisenhower sent in the national guard to desegregate Arkansas back in the day. Moreover, with greater ease of movement, Canadians could more easily escape a repressive local or regional government. One could always easily move to Florida, say, or some other given state whose policies suit you better. You can do this now to a more limited extent within Canada, but the choices are far fewer. Historically, Americans have always found it easier to move about than Canadians have.

Joining the US gives a greater measure of self-government in another sense too. It is a reality that who is in power in the US, and what policies they pursue, matters vitally to Canadians; arguably more than their own government. This is true for the entire Western world, but to Canada more than anyone. Nevertheless, as things stand, Canadians have no vote on who is in power in Washington, or what policies they pursue. We would surely be better off with representation.

And what are we paying for independence? Canadians have almost always made less than Americans on average, and everything costs more. Opportunities are much fewer for those hoping to rise to the top of their profession or business, without full access to the vastly larger US consumer and job market. We are paying a huge premium merely for a sentimental attachment to the British monarchy.

And if Trump imposes a 25% tariff across the board, that premium becomes dramatically greater. We already seem skidding into Third World status under current government policies; this would cast the die.

Let's see: Canadians, how about better pay, more opportunities, lower taxes, cheaper food and housing, and easy escapes from winters in Florida?

Canada is surely too large to be admitted as one state. Granted, the population is about the same as California, the biggest current state. But with its land area, Canada could soon have a much larger population. Besides, you really must recognize the distinctiveness of Quebec.

Ten states might be too generous. Five makes the most sense: BC, the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic Provinces.

The assimilation of Canada might start a trend: for many of the same arguments apply for the rest of the English-speaking world. Once, it might have made sense to have separate governments, because of distances and poor communications. Today, everyone in Australia knows everything that is going on in Canada, instantly, and everyone in the US knows and cares about everything that is going on in Britain. Separation is increasingly artificial and undesirable.

From the River to the Sea?

 

Thanks to improved communications, the decline of British influence in the world, and the drive for multiculturalism, Canada has much less sense of self than it did even fifty years ago. Has the justification for Canadian independence of the US gone?

It was originally, of course, loyalty to British traditions and the British crown that drew that boundary. But now the British ties are not just nearly invisible, but generally scoffed at by the Canadian elite. Britain and the British crown are, after all, part of the “patriarchy,” of “white supremacy,” of “colonialism,” and all that evil nonsense.

For a time, thinkers like D’Arcy McGee strove to build our own unique Canadian culture. Now this is also condemned; government funding has been withdrawn from anything uniquely Canadian in favour of supporting foreign cultures resident in Canada. For local Canadian culture is now considered too “white” and a manifestation of “settler colonialism.”

So what rationale is left for not joining the US? Few outside observers would see two cultures on this continent; unless it is Quebec, and then everything else down to the Rio Grande. This is the usual justification for political independence: a distinct ethnic identity. 

Since the US is a democracy and a federation, Canadians would not be losing self-determination or self-government in any substantial sense.

A border is an expensive thing to maintain; having two countries means a huge duplication of effort.

At the same time, with unification Canadians would almost surely achieve a higher standard of living; many more career opportunities; better retirement opportunities. 

It would reduce or eliminate a chronic Canadian problem of things corporate, political, and cultural being controlled by a small cabal: the Family Compact, the “Laurentian elite.” This small elite is the party that benefits from Canadian independence of the US, and consequent restriction on American ownership and participation. Historically, and especially at present, they have not served us well.

Really, unless we are prepared to end multiculturalism, invest in Canadian culture, and bust some social trusts, American assimilation seems inevitable.

The 51st State

 

Tucker Carlson has a large and enthusiastic audience. It seems likely his suggestion that Canada needs to be liberated will generate some attention in the US.

Which causes me to ponder: if the US invaded Canada, how would Canadians react? Would American GIs be greeted as liberators?

A few years ago, I would have thought the idea absurd. But not so much anymore. I noticed that the Freedom Convoy supporters, and attendees at other protests since, have been flying "friendship" flags that combine the Canadian and American flags. Why this at a protest—unless it is a call for unification?

There is no political party in Canada that supports the idea. You might think this proves there is no popular support. Yet that is neither here nor there. Political parties in Canada have a history of withholding choices from the public. Meech Lake, abortion, gay marriage, aboriginal rights,  come to mind. There are some matters the Canadian elite does not want people voting on.

The working class stiffs in the Freedom Convoy are probably aware that they pay a premium for Canadian independence. American wages are higher. The American cost of living is lower. The work opportunities are more plentiful. 

For the working man, and for the poor, there needs to be some good reason for Canada.

The original justification for English Canada was to preserve the ties to the monarchy, and to British traditions. This justification has, however, been hollowing out ever since 1867. Nobody thinks of Canada any longer as particularly “British.” No; it is now “multicultural,” and the elite generally dislike anything British. Down to renaming streets and schools.

Yet the old rationale h not been replaced by a distinct Canadian identity. This has happened in French Canada, and there was a concerted effort to develop a distinct Canadian culture beginning with D’Arcy McGee, who foresaw the need, and continuing up to the 1960s or so. 

Then, just as it seemed to be coming together, the elite crushed it. 

It has been destroyed by “multiculturalism,” now actually enshrined in the Canadian constitution. Any authentically Canadian culture is now condemned as "racist," or "white supremacist"; Justin Trudeau declares that in Canada, “there is no mainstream.”

With no Britishness, and no local culture, there is no reason for Canada to exist as a separate nation. The economics are entirely in favour of joining the USA. At the same time, this seems increasingly advisable to protect our civil rights from rogue government. Not to mention protection from less friendly and more oppressie foreign powers, like China.

Our government and our elite may have murdered Canada.