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There is currently no interest on the part of any province in joining the US today. Canada is a separate nation of people who do not want to become Americans. I don't mean that in a negative way but Canadians get sensitive when their soveriegnty is questioned. The institutions in terms of education, healthcare, and social services are also different and many associate them with Canada's national identity so this creates a further incompatability. IMO, it would take extreme circumstances for provinces to want to join the US. Extreme being a world war that is redrawing maps (has always and will always happen if history is our guide) or a prolonged recession that leads to civil unrest. These are unimaginable circumstances today. The more realistic (but still unlikely) extreme circumstance is Quebec separating, which could theoretically spark some unrest in other provinces. But even in this scenario, I don't think joining the US is Plan A for Quebec or anyone else. Things would really need to go awry but nothing is impossible in an extreme scenario.
Canadians have a high standard of living and we generally live in peace and quiet, and this is what people want. We have a huge US market to sell into and leverage R&D from, and don't have to deal with all the foreign policy issues and costs so we can divert more resources to everyday people. The US has a congenial, low maintenance, disarmed neighbour and they get what they want from us. They have first dibs on any resources they need to buy, they have an open market to sell some (not all) of their products, they get many of our best and brightest people, and they coorperate with the Cdn government to satisfy their geopolitical interests. There is no serious incentive for whole groups of people to join the US and vice versa as both countries are wealthy nations.
Last edited by johnathanc; 01-02-2013 at 09:00 PM..
I heard that in 1995 Quebec was considering separating from Canada. If they had separated, I heard that several Canadian Provicences would consider joining the US.
Would this ever happen? Grant it the US is in a recession at the moment, but if the economy picks back up would these provences ever consider joining the US. I think this would be a logical move as 90% of Canadians live near the US border.
However, what do you Canadians think?
Never, you couldn't afford the initiation fee to become part of Canada.
Honestly, I don't recall any province expressing a desire to join the US upon Quebec separation. And I recall both the 1980 and 1995 Quebec referendums.
What there was, was a lot of speculation. If Quebec voted to separate, what would become of the Atlantic provinces? Could they continue to be a part of Canada (akin to East Pakistan and West Pakistan, prior to the founding of Bangladesh), or would they form their own country? Or would they apply to become states of the US? As I recall, it was only the Atlantic provinces that there was a concern for; and as I also recall, they were determined to stay in Canada anyway. But it was all speculation, a lot of "what if?" scenarios with a number of outcomes (only one of which involved the Atlantic provinces joining the US), and a lot of op-ed columns that sold papers.
Quebec did hold a referendum on independence from 1995 but there was no talk - even semi-serious - of any other provinces joining the States had Quebec gone its own way.
I have this vague memory of Alberta and maybe BC talking about joining the US if Quebec separated back in '95. It was probably coffee shop bull$hitters being interviewed on TV and nothing serious. The memory is pretty fuzzy but that might be where the OP got the idea from.
I have this vague memory of Alberta and maybe BC talking about joining the US if Quebec separated back in '95. It was probably coffee shop bull$hitters being interviewed on TV and nothing serious. The memory is pretty fuzzy but that might be where the OP got the idea from.
That would be my guess also.
From time to time, there is talk here in Alberta about separating, but it's rarely serious, and it generally never involves joining the US. Rather, it involves going it alone as a sovereign country.
What do Americans think? Would they change their laws to accommodate 20 million plus socialist Canadians bringing their universal heath care, more restrictive gun laws, social justice attitudes, abortion laws etc...?
Not to mention, why would they want to add a new state full of French speakers, with separatist tendencies, at that? Why adopt a potential nightmare?
I heard that in 1995 Quebec was considering separating from Canada. If they had separated, I heard that several Canadian Provicences would consider joining the US.
Would this ever happen? Grant it the US is in a recession at the moment, but if the economy picks back up would these provences ever consider joining the US. I think this would be a logical move as 90% of Canadians live near the US border.
However, what do you Canadians think?
What the hell is a Provicences?
Aside from the referendum in Quebec, you heard wrong, no one was ever joining the US. Coffeeshop bull*****ers indeed.
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