Every now and then some American floats the idea of the U.S. uniting with Canada. Usually it’s a conservative like Pat Buchanan – apparently on the assumption that Canada is, you know, white, and union would help maintain America’s character as a white country. (Buchanan also wants the U.S. to annex Greenland, don’t ask me why.) Maybe so, but Canada is also much more liberal than the U.S. And their population is fully ten percent of ours. If the two countries were united – would the Republicans ever dominate our politics again?
We’re more liberal in general, but we’re not homogenous. The chances that this would have a measurable effect on U.S. elections doesn’t come anywhere near justifying the hassle. While there are some aspects of the U.S. political system I admire (the delineation between executive and legislative branches, for example), there are some I definitely don’t (i.e., California’s bizarre need to hamstring their state government with countless referenda). You’ll need a lot better pitch to convince me to merge the two countries than “well, you might not elect Republicans”.
Please dear god, no. Don’t even talk about it loudly, I rather enjoy having our own little social experiment thanks very much.
But that’s a California thing, it’s not mandated by the U.S. Constitution. If all the Canadian provinces became states of the Union, their provincial governments would continue in their current form, as going concerns. They wouldn’t even be required to replace their parliamentary systems with American-style separation-of-powers systems. All the Constitution requires is that every state have “a republican form of government,” and the Canadian provincial governments certainly would qualify.
So Ontario becomes a Pennsylvania ranked EC member (12 million people 21 votes) while Quebec gets to play the role of Virginia (7.5 million people 17 votes). Both would vote democratic but there is one small problem.
You need to remember how small the provinces are (let alone the territories). 5 provinces have population under 1 million people. The territories have population numbering in between 30 and 40 thousand. I would think that the re-jigging of House seats would swamp the small EC advantage Canada could provide.
Why would canadians want to suffer discrimination ?
I think a union with Mexico is more likely, and more beneficial.
I lived in Ottawa for years on and off (my company, CNG, later Williams Canada, kept an appartment there for me). I have serious doubts that the Canadians (especially the FRENCH Canadian’s) would go for it BG…at least not the majority (there are a few Canadian’s who toyed with the idea when I was there in casual conversation). Why WOULD they join the US after all? What would be in it for them that they don’t get now with the relaxation of the borders with respect to trade and such? The dubious honor of being American’s?? :smack:
-XT
Provinces having a republican form of government? What about the lieutenant-governor, the representative of the Crown? We would have to remove the monarchy from whe whole legal structure, everything from Crown land and treaties to the Queen’s Printer.
If Canada’s to be dissolved and something new formed, I think the US should be as well. For a long time, I’ve felt that the only wholesale rearrangement of North American political life that would work is to formalise new governments around the cultural zones described in Garreau’s The Nine Nations of North America. That book was written in 1981, but I’ve seen nothing since to indicate that its broad outlines of cultural ‘nations’ have become more inaccurate.
Why more beneficial? Mexico is a nightmarish sink-hole of poverty and corruption. Canada is a healthy, thriving, law-abiding society.
So, what are you envisioning politically? Nine independent nations, or one with nine administrative/political regions?
Here’s the problem: Americans wouldn’t budge one inch towards accomodating the Canadian system of government, so all the give would have to be on the Northern side. You wanna join us? OK, do whatever you have to do to fit into the system as it exists, and don’t expect one iota of change. As for Quebec… I don’t see how they could possibly be fit in.
But, if you could pull it off, they might tip the balance. The problem is, you’d most likekly get only the very conservative provinces to agree, and then you’d probably be right where you are now.
Why? Quebec has the same political system as every other Canadian province, doesn’t it? The only difference is language. Every now and then we seriously discuss the prospect of statehood for Puerto Rico. If a Spanish-speaking state could fit into the Union, why not a French-speaking state?
Thanks for the laugh BG! I would almost be willing to join with USA just to watch you guys try dealing with “distinct society” and “language police”.
Quebec requires “special status” with laws governing French language preference that would not stand up to US scrutiny. They also have gotten the rest of the country to agree to all official documents to be bilingual. That wouldn’t happen here.
As for Puerto Rico, they’d have the same problem. They would have to accomodate English, rather then have the rest of the country accomodate Spanish, which they might be able to do. Quebec has shown that it is unwilling to do that. If they almost secede from Canada every 10 years, how would they possibly stay in the US?
There’s no constitutional reason why Puerto Rico could not be admitted to the Union as a Spanish-speaking state – where all state government business is conducted in Spanish and all the street signs are in Spanish and all the schools teach in Spanish. Its representatives in Congress would have to learn English or bring interpreters, that’s all. Same with Quebec.
I feel like I’ve just asked a Marylander to think about taking DC back.
I am looking at it from the POV of the foreign country. Beneficial for the Mexicans, of course. What does Canada have to gain? You’ve got to make this a real bargain for whichever country we acquire. After all, they’d be losing their sovereignty.
Oh you can’t be serious? This is 7 million people with a civil rather than common code of laws, provincial and federal parties dedicated to removing the province from the federation, along with 200 year accommodation on language and you think that they’ll happily nestle into the warm accommodating bosom of an American/English dominated super state?
Why on earth would they give that, along with all their political power up, just to become yet another state?
Real political influence in the decisions of the most powerful republic in human history.
Not so. Every federal function is bilingual, every moderately ranking federal employee is suppose to be bilingual and leaders of federal parties are expected to be able to speak French of fail to have a chance at winning a majority.