Canada the 51st State? Or more correctly the 51st through the 60th state. Only a US president with imperialist thoughts would even consider annexing Canada. Such is Donald Trump. It is not the first instance where annexing Canada has been considered from south of our undefended border.
In the war of 1812, Canada was invaded by American militias with the intention of bringing Canada into the United States. Fortunately, the invading armies were repelled. During the American Civil war several US politicians floated the idea of annexing Canada. The idea to annex Canada was a result of the support by the British government to the confederacy. It too fell on deaf ears. It was not until 1871 that Canada was recognized by the United States as a sovereign country. Since then, there have been no attempts or talk about the annexation of Canada.
In many ways the first free trade deal between Canada and the United States began the full integration of our two economies. Automotive products moved freely across the border. Soft wood lumber moved south reducing building costs as American cities sprawled with thousands of new subdivisions. Pipelines expanded across North America as oil and gas from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta flowed south creating cheaper automotive fuels in the US. Those three provinces shipped grains south into the US and abroad feeding the world. Canada supplies over 50 per cent of all imported fuels into the United States.
Then the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMC) deal was struck between the three nations integrating manufacturing, and banking expanding trade between the three nations. Even without annexing Canada we have become integral to America’s success.
We may have a trade surplus of $100 billion dollars, but when we remove oil and gas from the equation, it is less than half of that. Both Mexico and Canada are the largest trading partners with the United States.
Should the Trump government place 25 per cent tariffs on goods entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, much of it would be in violation of the USMC trade deal signed by Donald Trump on July 1, 2020. Was the threat of tariffs an opening salvo to catch both Canada’s and Mexico’s attention. Was making Canada the 51st state said in jest to garner headlines and make Canadians uneasy about their future.
On Monday Trump thanked “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada” for his visit to Mar-a-Lago. Did Trudeau agree to change his title of Prime Minister to Governor of Canada in exchange for no new tariffs?
We do know that Canadians value their own sovereignty and would not welcome any annexation.
