Summary
Donald Trump reiterated his claim that Canada would be better as the U.S.’s 51st state, citing trade imbalances and lower taxes.
He also announced new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada, despite a recent 30-day reprieve.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has not formally responded, but a government source said they await official confirmation.
Trump criticized Canada’s defense spending and border security, despite recent Canadian commitments.
Canada previously retaliated against similar tariffs in 2018 before a 2019 trade deal resolved the dispute.
What a hell of 4 years that await us…
We hope only 4 years
I’m amazed at how quickly the US has come close to being on the brink of becoming a rogue state.
US has come close to being on the brink of becoming a rogue state.
We always have been.
Well the veneer of respectability politics scratched. It’s like people getting drunk it’s not that alcohol makes violent, or sobby, or anything in particular: It disinhibits (by anaesthetising the frontal lobe before everything else), allowing already-existing but usually under control tendencies to break through.
Internet Explorer meme
At this point, I’m seriously wondering what the Reichstag fire will be that will prompt the US to conjure up an “enemy without,” steamroll several sovereign countries and blockade the Mediterranean and most of the Atlantic.
The US has been a rogue state for decades. Just that they used to be smart enough to keep some countries in the empire aligned without direct military force.
Canada can make sure that Democrats win the election from then on
I think he seriously under-estimates how many Americans will side with Canada, with force.
I can imagine we’d end up with a bigger army than the US if Canadian service guaranteed citizenship
He also hasn’t considered the destruction that 30 million occupied dissidents (from a country known for their prolific war crimes) can unleash on their oppressor.
Statscan has the estimate at ~41.5 million as of the end of last year.
Yeah I realized that as I was typing it. Our population grew so damn fast. Granted, three million or so of those don’t have citizenship or permanent residency, and are a rotation of temporary students or workers. A lot are expected to leave (a lot are also expected to becomes PRs).
3/4 people resisting is probably a pipe dream anyway, so 30 million dissidents from Canada alone isn’t likely in a worst case Ontario.
My brain still thinks 30-35 million so all good, was thinking you might be meaning a dissident number as I was writing anyhow, meshes pretty well with that Angus Reid poll about joining the states.
So you are saying (assuming every US resident will go along with this) that we just have to take out about 10 American’s each?
I like those odds.
Hey, hey, I’m not going to be against you so what do I need to wave to make sure I’m not one of the 10?
Honestly? I think just not supporting a war (trade or otherwise) with your long time ally will go quite a way. War in a far away land is one thing, war with your neighbour is another thing all together. As long as americans don’t just shrug and pretend everything is normal this whole idea will go no where.
On the other hand if it does go in the most stupid direction, prepare for blackouts and attacks on any and all infrastructure. This is not a threat but just a reasonable expectation of a nations activity when in this situation.
Yep we just have to keep at our cardio :P
Live close to the border. If I see Canadian tanks rolling through my town, I’m throwing them flowers
Poppies. They’d love for you to have a fe poppies on hand. They earned those the hardest way possible.
Same. If I see US tanks rolling towards Canada, I’m throwing drones at them.
Now that’s heartening to read.
Well… there you go Canada. You’ll be cherished. You’ve no reason not to now. So… what’s the holdup?
(Obligatory /s)
He’s too busy banning paper straws and taking away his enemies security clearances to annex Canada.
The 51st state? Hard pass. Canada’s healthcare system alone would collapse under the weight of your insulin price gouging. Cherished state? More like a hostile takeover by a country that thinks avocado toast is a personality trait.
Those 25% tariffs? Cute. We survived your 2018 tantrum—maple syrup exports outlived your presidency. Funny how “trade imbalances” vanish when your golf resorts rely on Canadian lumber.
Defense spending critiques from a guy who tried to lease Alaska back to Russia? Bold move. Our border’s secure enough to keep your conspiracy theorists from storming Parliament Hill.
Stay mad about the poutine tariffs, though.
One thing I despise about the US (gun violence and healthcare inequitability aside) is how it measures the value of everything in money.
It’s culture is a commodification machine. Nothing can just be beautiful for the sake of being beautiful, it has to be made into a side hustle somehow.
Most Americans are married to their jobs and have little work life balance relative to Canadians and Europeans.
There is a remarkable amount of mental gymnastics done by people trying to gaslight themselves into thinking this is what they want, even though most would be happier and healthier with more time off.
I wouldn’t call Canada’s work/life balance good, but it’s still better than America’s.
Haha, I want a t-shirt that says : Stay mad about the poutine tarrifs 😂
If I understand correctly Canada has a kind of similar worldview as Nordic countries. Traiding that to a right wing capitalist shit hole like US would be a no go.
I mean, even though I’m still not fully sure how American elections work, wouldn’t Canada be a huge blue state and lead to a lot more of Democrats winning?
Ah yes, sure, but you see with the magic of gerrymandering, they could bring them in but make sure all their votes collectively count about as much as 3 rednecks in Alabama, so don’t you worry about this pesky little detail.
You will be amazed by the power of gerrymandering.
kinda. It depends a bit on how we handle some of the stuff. Firstly, despite saying he wants to make Canada a state, he could make it a territory that gets 0 votes, which is straight up bullshit but exactly how it works. If he does make it a state, there’s still a lot of uncertainty.
Every state has gets 1 vote per representative. Senate has a fixed 100 members (2 per state). House currently has 435 members, divided by state population. If Canada is brought in as a single state, it would beat out California in size, but not by all that much. If we simply increased the house to accommodate the new state, Canada would have a bit over 52 electoral votes. If we add Canada’s 52-ish electoral votes to Kamala’s count, she still doesn’t have the electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Similarly, adding Canada’s 52-ish votes to Hillary’s count means she still loses. Literally giving Canada’s votes to the Dem candidate does not affect the last few elections results in a meaningful way. In fact, it would change almost none of the elections we’ve had in the last, like, ever.
However, that assumes they simply give Canada new reps, rather than redistributing the current ones. If they did a redistribution, electoral votes would be taken from the largest states. Any states with 3 electoral votes can’t have that reduced at all, and those with like 4-8 are unlikely to get the count reduced. Redistributing will affect California the most, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and so on. It’s… harder to analyze how that shift would shake out, but I wager still not particularly favorable shifts for blue states in general, meaning dems can’t actually expect an increase of 50-ish in that case, which means even less of a chance of flipping any results.
However, perhaps Canada gets split into a bunch of individual states rather than all one. If we assume each province-state gets 2 senate members and they collectively get 50 house members, you end up with 70 electoral votes (ignoring territories). If those all swing blue, Trump still wins 2016 and 2024. Both of those become far closer (2016 becomes 302 to 306 and 2024 becomes 296 to 312), presumably uncomfortably close.
And that’s assuming they all vote solid (D), actually get voting rights, voting is still free and fair, and voter suppression hasn’t become even more outlandish by then.
Anyways, our electoral vote system blows real bad.
Well that’s depressing, thanks.
Goes to show how badly the US needs electoral reform, though.
On the plus side, more senate and house seats would hopefully give Democrats the edge, but don’t forget that Alberta will vote MAGA.
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Welp, I guess someone finally told him about the whole Mexico and Canada promised him things we already did and ended the tariffs.
He doesn’t treat his own states any good why would Canada fare any better
Say shit about Canada, our friends. Stoke anti America shit. Decrease odds of friendly relations.
Might as well.
Edit: not like people aren’t already talking, or woe is us, it’s just… bullshit. It’s like someone who hates Lincoln Park going up to people and making annoying statements about the band being the greatest and shitting on other music, hoping some people get mad and start trashing Lincoln Park. It’s a circus.
I’m sure he’s enjoying saying that fucking 51st state line over and over like an asshole spraying a cat with water for his own amusement.
That said, I don’t think he realizes how much people in Canada are pissed and united right now.
This plan leaves out the fact that the majority of Canadians don’t want to join. They may have their challenges right now, but there are some things they aren’t willing to give up, like nationalized health care and national identity. I suspect many Canadians will fight to the death over this, the same way Americans would fight if forced to join Canada. They are our neighbors and that’s about as close as people want to get.
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Yup, already had the “flee or stand and die” convo with my partner a few weeks ago. I am firmly willing to risk death to defend the progress we’ve made as a Province and Nation. We aren’t perfect and are early in the process but we’re trying to recon with our history of colonial genocide and embrace a truer multiculturalism which the US refuses to even acknowledge. We have made commitments to the health and well-being of all citizens, not just the productive bodies which fuel the markets. It’s incomplete but aspirational and walking it back would be a disgrace.
The American democracy is an outdated shambles that has fallen into ruin and I will not be bound by it by choice. There is no freedom or opportunity the USA can offer us. Only more oppression on rights we already have enshrined.
Good for you man. I hope many of your fellow countrymen feel the same.
