The infamously bombastic and arrogant Donald Trump, fresh from being elected as President of the United States (again), opened his mouth last month: when he settles down in the White House, he will hit Canada with a 25 per cent tariff!
So Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went down to Mar-a-Lago, which is about as big as Trump's ego, to negotiate a deal with him. During the meeting, Trump had seemingly joked about Canada becoming the 51st state of the U.S. Then Trump said the same thing again and again, even referring to Trudeau as Governor of Canada. (A Governor is, for the uninitiated, the executive head of a U.S. state.)
The idea of the Americans annexing Canada isn't new. William Seward, who is most known for purchasing Alaska from the Russians in 1867 predicted in 1860 that Western British North America, alongside Alaska, would join the United States. If that had become reality, 100 Mile House would have been incorporated as a part of the county of Cariboo in the state of Columbia. Some in B.C. even wanted to join the U.S. with a couple of newspapers in Vancouver Island advocating for this prior to B.C. joining Canada in 1871.
But, this is a bad idea. While it's true that joining the U.S. would bring Canada several benefits, such as the fact that you wouldn't need a visa to work in the U.S., it fails to account for history, it is impractical and would even hurt Donald Trump's party the GOP.
First, Canadian history is different from American history. The War of 1812 is an example: the Americans consider it to be a second War of Independence in some circles. Their history is that the British had "encroached on American maritime rights and cut into America's trade during the Napoleonic Wars" according to the USS Constitution Museum's website, and had expected Canada to fall.
Canadian history, however, portrays the Americans as the invaders of their colony. The war contributed to a growing sense of national Canadian identity - much like how the Americans view the war as a nation-building exercise themselves.
Second, it is impractical. How could one, for example, merge the near-universal healthcare system of Canada with the privatized healthcare system of the US? Should Canadians give up their access to a free doctor? That's just one of many ways Canadian institutions differ in subtle and important ways.
How would it work province-to-province? What about how Canada as a state would be organized? Should British Columbia become a county? Should it be split into numerous counties based on the regional district system we have?
100 Mile House could theoretically become a part of the county of British Columbia which would be larger than practically the majority of U.S. counties! And what about the Cariboo Regional District (CRD)? The CRD, with all the services it provides such as library service to communities like Lac La Hache as well as directly managing the community of the 108 Mile Ranch, could theoretically go poof in such a scenario, and be replaced by the county of British Columbia - which could lead to higher taxes than the current system just to keep services afloat! (So much for the claim that it would lead to lower taxes.)
Third, this would hurt Trump's Republican party. According to an October 2024 poll by the Environics Institute, Canadians were found to support the Democratic party candidate Kamala Harris by 60 per cent while only 21 per cent favoured Donald Trump. If those trends continue for both the Democratic and Republican parties, a 51st state of Canada would become - effectively, a cold version of California for the GOP! (This is if Canada gets 30 electoral votes.)
Why would the GOP willingly even support this? In fact, it's been speculated the reason that Puerto Rico and D.C. aren't states is because it would hurt the GOP's chances of winning. With a population well over 10 times that of Puerto Rico, realistically the US would have to carve Canada up into not one state but several which would be a bureaucratic and political nightmare.
While it's true that there are some theoretical benefits, ultimately, merging Canada with the U.S. fails to account for history, isn't exactly feasible and would effectively be Trump kneecapping his own party's political future.
So no, Mr. President-Elect, unless you somehow come up with a plan on how Canada can seamlessly abandon over 150 years of independence and transition seamlessly into being America's 51st state, we will not accept this at all. We like to be your closest allies, but not in a way that directly harms our sovereignty and independence as proud citizens of our glorious country.
