I realize it would be the most flatly insane and horrible thing a US President has ever done, but my point was merely that it is quite legal. The notion the President can’t start a war is objectively false. He absolutely can and the law says so.
People often misuse the term “Great Man Theory.”
The great man theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes: highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect.
“Superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration” do not describe Trump. Trump is a fool who has acquired near-dictatorial power thanks to the efforts of generations of Republicans, which is the exact opposite of “Great Man Theory”. It’s the position he holds that is special, not him. Anyone who was President could choose to go to war with Canada; the only real difference is that most people wouldn’t make the choice.
“Great Man Theory” is popular on the internet because of that misunderstanding; most people recognize the obvious fact that people are often in positions of authority that give them an outsized effect on the world and think that that is Great Man Theory. But it’s not. Great Man Theory is about the idea that the person themselves being of extraordinary ability is what shapes history, not their position.
You know this argument doesn’t hold water.
Most Americans would be ‘viciously opposed’ if the shoe was on the other foot. Would they be better off if Canada took over and imposed its government and values on the Americans? You’d probably think so because you think it is better than what they have. They wouldn’t, of course. And if you were born and lived 20m south of the border, you’d probably agree with them.
Wrong. The health care system in America is objectively outrageouusly inefficient, tragically inequitable, and basically unsustainable. The dramatic counterexamples are in every civilized democracy on earth. No civilized country on earth manages health care the way America does, and for damned good reason.
The same goes for the tragic and completely uncontrolled gun proliferation in America. Totally unique in the civilized world.
Americans who support this crap do so because they’re reality-denying fucking idiots. It’s all objectively counterproductive if one accepts any remotely rational premise of morality and compassion and civil society.
MAGA Americans would undoubtedly be viciously opposed, but the rest of us probably would have at least felt it was not an outright terrible idea, even before the last two months. Now…hell, I imagine that at least 45% of us would welcome it.
Anybody who chooses to run for POTUS, let alone be elected, is abnormal.
But usually within normal parameters.
Even before all this, US memes about “We want to join Canada!” were all over the place. Sure, mostly in jest, but this belies the notion that all Americans, or even a large majority, would be automatically and vehemently opposed to the idea.
Compare that to Canada’s current reactions.
It’s not really the same thing though. Being conquered and strip mined literally and figuratively for resources while being reduced to second class citizens or worse in the bombed out wreckage of your homeland is not at all the same as peacefully merging with another nation as equal citizens.
My point is, even before Trump went off on his 51st state tangent, Canadians never even joked about wanting to join the US, under any circumstances. Compare that to Americans.
Every time there’s a school shooting, every time a state banned abortion, every time there was a story about someone being bankrupted by a medical emergency, lots of Americans were posting memes about joining Canada. They’d post new maps showing things like all the coastal states as part of Canada, and then you’d have people in places like Colorado saying, “Don’t leave us behind! We’ve got snow and legal weed, we’re practically Canadian already!”
I agree. Those who disagree are thinking that one country can keep its own economic and political system unchanged, while the other adopts it. This is unrealistic. Each component would change the other. So if the U.S. annexed Canada, even without Canada getting U.S. senators and electoral votes, you would see Canadian influence on American elections. And if Canada annexed the U.S., it is hard to see the Liberal Party remaining as dominant as it tends to be. This would create tremendous resentment among those expecting to lose out.
Post-MAGA, I’m for closer ties. The U.S. could join the Commonwealth. Or better yet, adopt a Schengen Agreement. But merger, no.
There might have been a chance of something like that during the Obama years. Canada was the first country he visited, and his speech to Parliament about US-Canada relations was inspirational.
Today there is a dangerous lunatic in the White House. Any sort of Schengen Agreement would already have been cancelled, repeating the Big Lie about fentanyl and illegal immigrants. The fact that a president would probably have no authority to do that, which would rest solely with Congress, would matter not a whit.
Thinking that Canada picking up Washington, Oregon and California as a start would be a better balance and since Calif already is talking seceding it’s a natural progression.
Stage 2 pick up New York, New England and Michigan.
We might let Alberta go. Nice rebalancing of N America and both nations contiguous. 
There is no agreement anyone can make with the Americans that will stand. At any time a fascist president can take control and rule by executive order. They are ultimately controlled by rule of man, and not by rule of law.
The population chooses it this way, and it will not change for the foreseeable future.
This pretty much sums up how Alberta is treated in Canada and the attitude towards it.
Post MAGA, Canada will expect you to take 20 years to clean up your shit, and become a decent country. No way do we spend the next several years rearranging our whole economy to decouple from you as much as we can, just to undo that because the Sensible Party won 50.1% of the Presidential vote, while the Silly Party still has an effective veto in the Senate because the Silly Party States still have a disproportionate amount of power.
Poor Alberta so hard done by. 
There is good reason it is called Texas north.
If Alberta had managed it’s resources well instead of giving them away all Canadians would have benefitted.
Instead Canadian taxpayers are footing the bill to clean up abandoned wells.
Save the crocodile tears…Alberta is its own worst enemy.
This seems to be at odds with your basic belief that Canadians should surrender gleefully, unreservedly, and immediately to the potential incursion of the US military.
Maybe you could help reconcile the apparent inconsistency? Is it simply that one Province capitulating just isn’t enough – all Provinces must?
Implausible that they’d let you.
Anyway it isn’t a trade/economic organisation - rather a framework for co-operation in education, development and capacity-building projects. And so far, member state citizens who live in the UK can vote here, for what that would be worth.
But they would have to accept King Charles III as their monarch and head of state.
Nope. India is a strong republic, but it too is apart of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is basically a former English colony club. Nothing more.
ETA: To tell you the truth… we even let non-former colonies in. Its just a “we’re keen on the English language club” truthfully.