What is to stop the U.S. from invading Canada?

Factual Questions
61

I think a reasonable scenario is this.

The US launches an air-war from the onset, this airwar is for the express purpose of disabling our airforce, and infrastructure. As well as attacking our navy, Canada is a frigate Navy(The Halifax, the Vancouver, the Ottawa, etc). These are the back bones of our navy. Some well placed tactical strikes can take our navy out rather easily.

We are now faced with the ground attack. The main problem with Canada is the large area and open border. The invading force would probably target certain regions depending on needs, as control of the Political and Economic power is essential the attack would be concentrated on central, and eastern Ontario. They will need to take Ottawa, and Toronto.

So we now have canada with a destabalised infrastructure, and weakened navy and airforce. We are left to our ground troops, militia, and any drafted citizens, to defend the country.

If the US was smart they would make sure they make it clear that they will not attack Quebec, and will let Quebec become a sovereign state if the invasion is successful. It is possible that a percentage, say 10%, of troops in quebec will choose to stand down(this is not unprecedented, look at WWII and the riots over the draft in quebec).

Sheer military might and size will more than likely overwhealm the Canadian troops, not without massive amounts of casualities on both sides first though. Eventually the US will take over with a large occupying force.

Then what, well first of all Canada does have the JTF2, they will more than likely fight a guerilla war, which is what they are best at. Small pockets of resistance will be formed amongst soldiers in the occupied territory as well as “Free Canada”. Targets will not only be military but others such as power generators, blacking out the eastern states is not that unrealistic. Canada will need to rely on it’s allies for help, most likely a British bail-out.

At this point they have Ontario under control and the majority of Canada is free, is this US willing to step into Nunavut, NWT, and the Yukon? The US will control a thin strip of cities on the 48th parallel and will need to cut those cities off, in essence create a 51st state. Due to this it will be very difficult to keep as that “state” can be attacked from every direction except from the south. It will be a mutli-pronged counter-offensive to free Canada, more than likely a “bull’s horns/Pincer” formation, that is a formation with the strongest and most experienced troops on the outside “tips” of the horns, if the US attacks the outside tips, the weaker, larger force in the base can move in and attack the seperated US force, if the US attacks the centre of the formation the outer sides move in to seal the US troops.

I believe it is at this point that the tide would turn. The US would be in a very bad situation politically, more than likely facing massive trade embargo’s(though the opposite instead of people not selling to them, people will not buy from them), that combined with the NATO counter-attack would more than likely force them to find a way out of the invasion.

62

Isn’t this almost straight out Zulu tactics of the 1800’s? (And the basic idea is in fact older yet.) You neglect the elements of air superiority, which the U.S. has in abundance and would thwart any serious offensives, and naval superiority which would prevent intervention and/or weapons shipments from arriving. Militarily, the best option Canada would have is guerilla warfare, and if they hold out long enough they win. Remember that in Vietnam, with both hands tied behind their backs, the U.S. still never lost a major battle. During the Revolutionary War, we lost most of the battles and still won.

In all honesty, I think the U.S.-Mexico invasion scenario, while still highly unlikely, is more likely than the Canada scenario. Think about it. Mexico’s government is much less stable than Canada’s, it’s armed forces are weaker, and the weather is nicer.

63

I have heard people mention China, but what about Russia? Russia may be a ghost of it’s former military power, but it is still easily the second most powerful nation in the world, militarily.

If the U.S. did something as unpopular as an invasion of Canada would invariably be, Russia would be at the forefront of, at least, world condemnation of the U.S.'s actions.

In addition, Russia is just a hop, skip and a jump across the Bering Strait from U.S. territory and Canada. At the very least, the U.S. would have to massively shore up defense forces in Alaska to keep the Russians from accepting an “invitation” from the besieged Canadians to come to their rescue. The Russians would be absolutely ecstatic to find themselves in the position of world “good guy” opposing the imperialist thugs they railed against for decades.

NATO would probably find itself in the strange position of financing and supporting a Russian campaign against the U.S., simply because no other nation or coalition of nations could hope to raise a military force to compete in a fight of that magnitude in a timely fashion. China would probably be involved as well, though they are too far away to be effective against U.S. resistance. Britain and Australia would provide naval forces and, of course, several decades of inside information on U.S. tactics, to the anti-U.S. forces.

Throw in Cuba, Mexico, and a half-dozen other Latin American neighbors who’ve had to live in the U.S.'s shadow for decades, and you have a southern front to contend with as well.

There is a large percentage of world population which would like nothing better than to see the U.S. put in its place, deservedly or not, and in this case, it would most definitely be deserved.

This all begs the question of nuclear intervention, however. As rusty as the Russian nuclear stockpile is likely to be, they almost certainly have enough ICBM’s left in a workable state to cause massive and unacceptable losses in the continental U.S. Britain and France also have nuclear weapons, though if Quebec was allied with the U.S., you could probably count France out of the fight. As mighty as the U.S. conventional war machine is, there has never been any real defense possible against nuclear attack.

64

Even if they invaded Canada, the US would never, never, shoot down a UN plane dropping supplies to the canadian resistance. That would start a proper WAR with the rest of the world.

65

I say we start small and take out Quebec first. I am fairly sure that the regular Canadian forces would actually help us to this.

66

Unfortunately you have given away your Master Plan on this thread, so I dont think so somehow absoul

67

Actually, belive it or not, I think that Quebec would actually show a bit of patriotism and join in the defense of the rest of Canada…

IMHO