Image Credit: Pngstudio / Dreamstime.com
Two and Out

PETERS: You know what? Maybe the U.S. annexing Canada isn’t such a bad idea after all

Jan 10, 2025 | 12:30 PM

JUSTIN TRUDEAU did a couple of very smart things this week.

First, he announced his resignation — which is Canadian custom for a prime minister when our World Junior hockey team loses so embarrassingly.

Second, he responded strongly in the negative to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened annexation of Canada, saying there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of that ever happening.

We all get a little serotonin boost when the little guy stands up to the big bully — and in this instance, maybe a burst of national pride.

In practical terms, the idea of Canada joining the U.S. is preposterous enough that the conversation should not even be entertained — but it could be a fun thought exercise, so let’s entertain it.

If Canada was annexed by the United States, all of our national sovereignty concerns would be taken care of — if only because that battle would be lost.

When your home burns down, you don’t need to worry about your security system anymore.

The good will that wearing the Maple Leaf abroad engendered would dry up.

Economically, one can assume the first few generations of Canadians-turned-Americans would be in better shape — if only because a U.S. administration would full-on exploit our vast natural resources.

What happens when those are gone? I guess that’s a puzzle for our great-grandchildren to solve.

The biggest impact of annexation, though, may not be what the U.S. would take from us, but what we would bring to them.

Our 40-million people is just one-tenth of the population of the United States. Even so, that’s plenty enough to make a huge difference come election time.

The majority of that 40 million sits middle-of-the-road on the political spectrum — but our middle-of-the-road here in Canada is considered fully left of centre in the U.S.

In that case, adding millions of voters to the political left would tip the scales of what is now a very evenly balanced if starkly divided American populace.

Would annexing Canada lead to the marginalization of the far-right MAGA movement? Would their grifters and snakes be relegated to the margins of U.S. history?

Maybe.

It will never happen, but thinking further about U.S. annexation of Canada is maybe not as grim as it appears on its face.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.