# Would US troops fire on Canadian civilians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 8, 2025, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046 "2025-02-08T11:58:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/282 "2025-02-19T07:43:37Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Liberate from what though? Poutine? I think it is safe to say that the US will never invade Canada. The backlash would be immense, and the guerilla war would be devasting. Think Vietnam was bad? Canada has a lot more resources than the North Vietnamese had. And no one (except Finland, perhaps) wins a winter war. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/283 "2025-02-19T07:45:53Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Liberate from what though? Leftism. Socialism. The Sin of Empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/284 "2025-02-19T08:10:45Z")
What @Der_Trihs said. Take a look at RWNJ/MAGA message boards—Canada needs liberating from Trudeau’s dictatorship. He has removed free speech, instituted DEI everywhere, frozen Canadians’ bank accounts, and prevented American health insurance companies from operating in Canada by basically outlawing them—which is socialism, because Canadians have no choice but to accept what the government offers in terms of health care. I think all Canadians know that we enjoy free speech, but far fewer know that our so-called “hate speech” laws can only be prosecuted by the Attorney-General of Canada—it’s not up to the cop on the beat, and certainly not up to somebody who “takes offense” at a perfectly legal remark. “Hate speech” has a very narrow definition in Canadian law. Bank accounts were frozen because the truckers’ protest, while perfectly legal, was @#$%ing up life for Ottawa residents, and it was an effort to get the truckers off Wellington Street. It was also an effort to shut down those who were attempting a coup to take over the Canadian government: Tamara Lich, for example. And if Trump says, “Canada will be better off as a state, because Canadian taxes will be lower,” then how much will Canadians be paying for health care? Premiums, co-pays, deductibles? Swap out taxes for health care premiums, and we’ll be paying more than we currently are for health care. The profit motive of the private insurers, after all. Such “liberation” would trade “peace, order, and good government” for “hate, chaos, and oligarchy.” I don’t think most Canadians are on board with that. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/285 "2025-02-19T13:48:05Z")
What makes them “carefully curated”? Anyone who has been closely observing Trump regime 2.0, which I’m sure includes you, will have noticed that these guys are _incompetent fucking idiots._ Further, Trump is barely coherent. DOGE is clearly his main “thing” right now, and that is a clusterfuck of historic stature. If you want to see something totally _not_ curated, look at the messaging from and about DOGE from the regime. If anything, it would seem that they are trying to antagonize as many people as possible while exposing and emphasizing their legal own liability and looking like fools. Thus, I don’t buy that there is some skilled black ops team (“these guys are _good_”) softening up the propaganda target for Canschluss. I _do_ buy that RWNJs are making dumb videos and jerking their poles to authoritarian pr0n. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/286 "2025-02-19T13:50:08Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Liberate from what though? It’s all fantasy about how Canada is a dictatorship. Facts don’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/287 "2025-02-19T13:53:02Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Anyone who has been closely observing Trump regime 2.0, which I’m sure includes you, will have noticed that these guys are _incompetent fucking idiots._ Further, Trump is barely coherent. DOGE is clearly his main “thing” right now, and that is a clusterfuck of historic stature. Nope. None of this is incompetent at all. You’re trying to understand this stuff through the lens of “making the government run better.” That’s not the intent at all, and they are NOT antagonizing their base. Trumpists love, love, love DOGE and think they’ve already saved hundreds of billions of dollars. Many beleive they;re getting multi-thousand-dolllars rebates now. Start looking at what Trump and the Project 2025 people want, not what you want. They’re very effective at doing what they want to do. Breaking things is not failure. It’s the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/288 "2025-02-19T14:10:31Z")
I find the acronym DOGE kind of weird. Wasn’t there a DOGE Coin cryptocurrency a few years back which was essentially a joke currency? Maybe it’s the right term for Elon Musk. In any event, I’m not really worried about the USA invading Canada, but stranger shit has happened. I wonder how Poland felt about threats from Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/289 "2025-02-19T14:13:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Nope. None of this is incompetent at all. You’re trying to understand this stuff through the lens of “making the government run better.” That’s not the intent at all, This is “Trump plays 9D chess” perspective, in which whatever he does, no matter how idiotic it seems, is always exactly what he wants to do. In general, I disagree with this perspective, and I disagree with it here. Even if I should agree that they have some sort of meta-intent at work here, it’s only competent if they end up achieving their goals. Whether it’s to “drain the swamp and save zillions” (stated intent) or to “break government as part of realizing an authoritarian dictatorship” (imputed intent), I think they will fail. That said, however, I don’t think that Trump is trying to achieve his stated intent either. I think Trump usually has an inchoate intent that he inchoately pursues. > [@](#): > > and they are NOT antagonizing their base. Trumpists love, love, love DOGE and think they’ve already saved hundreds of billions of dollars. Many beleive they;re getting multi-thousand-dolllars rebates now. Well, sure, but these people are and always will be idiots who buy whatever Trump is selling. > [@](#): > > Start looking at what Trump and the Project 2025 people want, not what you want. They’re very effective at doing what they want to do. Breaking things is not failure. It’s the plan. They’ve barely started and they have chaos on their hands. You can claim that that is their intent, but I don’t think you can claim that they, you, or anyone knows how the chaos will play out. That’s why their method is unwise, even from their own perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/290 "2025-02-19T14:21:31Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I find the acronym DOGE kind of weird. Wasn’t there a DOGE Coin cryptocurrency a few years back which was essentially a joke currency? Maybe it’s the right term for Elon Musk. Yes, that is the origin of the name. It’s a joke name for a joke of a project, indicating these idiots’ overall level of seriousness. > [@](#): > > In any event, I’m not really worried about the USA invading Canada, but stranger shit has happened. I wonder how Poland felt about threats from Hitler. No need to wonder. The historic record is very clear: > **[Invasion of Poland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland)** > > German–Soviet–Slovak victory > Baltic coast > 4–10 September ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/291 "2025-02-19T14:52:17Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s all fantasy about how Canada is a dictatorship. So’s the UK according to that lot. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/292 "2025-02-19T17:46:36Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > This is “Trump plays 9D chess” perspective, No, it’s not. At all. what he’s doing is not very complicated. It’s basic level chess at most. He is flat out telling you what he wants to do. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/293 "2025-02-19T18:02:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > He is flat out telling you what he wants to do. Okay, then he really thinks he’s rooting out “fraud, waste, and abuse”? Cuz that’s what he’s saying. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/294 "2025-02-19T20:08:30Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Okay, then he really thinks he’s rooting out “fraud, waste, and abuse”? Cuz that’s what he’s saying. Yes, he really thinks that. Remember, to him, those things mean “spending on things I don’t like.” ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/295 "2025-02-19T20:21:08Z")
Okay, but then there is no “master plan,” right? In online articles, I am seeing a lot of stuff like, “He is trying to break government so as to teach people that they can’t count on it, etc.” I don’t find such speculations unintelligent; I just don’t think Trump thinks in such complicated terms. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/296 "2025-02-19T20:23:01Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I just don’t think Trump thinks in such complicated terms. No, Trump doesn’t, his handlers, the folks that wrote Project 2025, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/297 "2025-02-19T20:35:38Z")
Right, I agree. Trump has many people around him with their own grand plans and agendas. The thing is, ISTM that they are not very well coordinated with each other, and definitely not coordinated well with Trump himself (I’m not sure he’s capable of much coordination with anything at this point). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/298 "2025-02-20T19:58:27Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > I find the acronym DOGE kind of weird. Wasn’t there a DOGE Coin cryptocurrency a few years back which was essentially a joke currency? “Doge” originated as a meme in the early 2010s, around a [particular picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_(meme)#/media/File:Original_Doge_meme.jpg) of a Shiba Inu dog, accompanied by various phrases with [humorously incorrect grammar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_(meme)#/media/File:Doge_meme_example.jpg). The name “doge” was part of that - its “dog,” as a dog might spell it. A couple of engineers created “Dogecoin” as a joke cryptocurrency, using the picture of the Shiba Inu used in the Doge meme. Musk’s DOGE agency is also named after the original meme. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/299 "2025-02-21T04:20:16Z")
> **[Jeff Moulton](https://www.facebook.com/jeff.moulton.946/posts/pfbid02sQCJsuqimY9mSFgDPbYciwkpJ8gH91ApvnT63Leak7CMpRcQzK8eqb3E81NJH4y9l)** > > I feel compelled to share the following post, it is from a Canadian friend of mine who went to the States for an Archery tournament. It is very disturbing, & does not make me want to set foot on... The hatred spreads. Oh, they’ll find plenty of Americans willing to shoot Canadians. > [@Aeschines](#): > > Right, I agree. Trump has many people around him with their own grand plans and agendas. The thing is, ISTM that they are not very well coordinated with each other, and definitely not coordinated well with Trump himself (I’m not sure he’s capable of much coordination with anything at this point). How is “spread hatred and lies about Canada so the rubes will support invading?” a complicated or complex plan? It’s simple. And it’s a plan that has worked throughout history. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/300 "2025-02-21T04:26:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > [Jeff Moulton](https://www.facebook.com/jeff.moulton.946/posts/pfbid02sQCJsuqimY9mSFgDPbYciwkpJ8gH91ApvnT63Leak7CMpRcQzK8eqb3E81NJH4y9l) > > The hatred spreads. > > Oh, they’ll find plenty of Americans willing to shoot Canadians. This is deeply disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2025, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046/301 "2025-02-21T05:47:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And it’s a plan that has worked throughout history. Canada has existed throughout history?! 😜 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-us-troops-fire-on-canadian-civilians/1014046.md?page=16)