Why do Canadians think they can halt the US military from annexing Canada?
My son’s best friend was in the Canadian military. I have known the guy since he was 10. He explained to me that the Canadian military have a strategy in place in the event of an American invasion.
The Canadian military would not directly oppose an American invasion. They would launch a guerilla war, Afghan style, made up of regulars and volunteer militias. They would sink into the woods where there are weapons caches in place. Their objective would not be to defeat the US in a state on state war, but rather to harass American forces with hit and run tactics and terrorize the American people in their own homeland. The objective would be to send American men and women home in body bags, and from there allow the US people themselves to do the work of bringing down Trump and his goons.
We would shut off Quebec electric power to Washington, New York and Boston. No stock market, no gasoline, no food distribution, no lights, no heat, no AC. 40% of America’s imported oil comes from Canada. American refineries are optimised for it. Now they won’t have it. It will be shut off. Gas prices will hit $10 / gallon. Canadian special forces will infiltrate the US homeland and bring down your electricity supply, damage your water supply and attack food distribution sites. Their objective will be to make life for the common citizen miserable. Moreover, if Trump invaded Ontario, this might spell the collapse of the US as a country. California, Washington, Maine, Maryland might all turn against the Trump Presidency.
I could go on and on, however you get the picture. America has never had to fight a guerilla war on its own homeland. All its wars were fought thousands of miles away. Canadian forces would bring the war to your neighbourhood. Be careful what you wish for. Arrogance makes people stupid.
EDIT: Since I wrote this Trump has emphatically stated that the US needs nothing from Canada. He is either stupid or lying. The western US has a major water shortage. Canada has 20% of the world’s fresh water. Furthermore, 80% of the fertilizer used on US farms comes from Saskatchewan .
You could. You would win the war handily.
But lets play this one out. You invade. Your country has invaded one of its closest allies and partners. You begin to occupy the country. A week after the invasion you control every major city. Then what?
- It took 200,000 troops to occupy Japan after WWII, and that was with active Japanese assistance. There was virtually no resistance to U.S occupation. Japan is 278,000 square kilometres and densely populated. You would have no such cooperation in Canada, and therefore would need substantially more troops. Canada is also 10 million square kilometres and most of it looks like this:
- Your own population actually has a pretty good track record on protesting against unjust wars. Vietnam and Iraq were both greatly de-stabilising. That is when you are fighting communists and Muslims. Now you’re fighting Justin Bieber and Dan Aykroyd. Your own population would protest more intensely than at any time since the 1960s. Kill this man if you want your Civil War II:
- Look at him. He is us. We look like you. We sound like you. We can walk to you. We already live among you. Think about what 19 Saudis did to you. They completely changed your entire society. Just 19 of them. Imagine if 1000 Canadians decided to commit similar acts. Look at the way Muslims are profiled at airports even today. Now you’d have to do that to everyone.
- The 1945–1952 occupation of Japan cost the U.S $2.2 billion in 1940s money. $26 billion today. For a country that had all the things I mentioned above. With active support from allies. $26 billion.
- There would be no more allies after that. You think you have a defence budget now? Imagine what it will cost now that Europe has finally gotten off the couch it has been sleeping on since 1945 and actually starts taking its security seriously. And the US of A is its first threat. You have the authoritarian alliance you already struggle with, but add to that Europe and a Latin America getting foreign troops and alliances going as fast as they can. Going from partners against China to partners with China. Even when the occupation ends that new reality won’t. There is only one man this invasion would please.
- While I’ve no doubt your soldiers would carry out orders, morale is a very real thing. Soldiers aren’t mindless slaves. More than a few would object to what was going on. Look what Vietnam did to your army, albeit a drafted one.
I honestly think invading Canada would be the end of your Republic. You’d win the war certainly, but the fallout would take a generation to clean up, if you could.
Finally, assuming you did eventually incorporate us, you’d have 40 million new citizens, 35 million on which would be registered Democrats. Ten provinces are now ten states, 9 of which are reliably blue and one that is a swing state.
I’m not sure the people who claim Canada is a 51st state would want that outcome.
EDIT: For people pointing out that this is a question straight from the Guójiā Ānquán Bù. Thank you for that insight. Next you can tell us all the colour of an orange. We know who wrote it. And why.
Canadian here. There’s little doubt that US forces could quickly occupy Canada’s larger cities. Acknowledging that is just common sense.
However, the challenge would then be to control and subjugate Canada. What America would face in the aftermath of occupying our larger cities would be a multi-year or multi-decade guerilla insurgency, which would slowly bleed her dry and render the war deeply unpopular at home as more American taxpayers’ kids come home in body bags. It’s true that we’re not a gun-loving culture, but in our population of 41 million people, there’s still roughly 7 million guns in private ownership. To say nothing of the fact that a US attack on a neighbouring democracy would result in a flood of weaponry from the EU and from the other Commonwealth nations into Canada.
Another problem with an attempt to subjugate Canada is that we have a vast land mass. Lots of places for guerilla forces to hide. And given that the country America would be trying to conquer would be located just across the world’s longest unfortified border (5,500 miles), and not separated from America by an ocean, there would be ample opportunities for Canadian forces (who look and sound a lot like Americans, and are familiar with a lot of her territory) to stir up shit south of that border and kill a lot of Americans.
Then there’s the fact that America couldn’t defeat a tiny nation of 20 million farmers from 1964–1975. Or a tiny nation of 18 million tribal people from 2001–2021. Just as the Soviets couldn’t defeat the latter from 1979–1989, and as the Russians have bitten off only a small chunk of Ukraine despite being at war with them for nearly three years.
Being invaded by America would suck for us Canadians, no doubt about it. But it wouldn’t be the cakewalk some of you evidently believe it would be. Your recent history should be sufficient to teach you that.
Napoleon put it succinctly “You can do anything with a bayonet but sit on it.”
Ok, you have captured Canada, pissed off most of the free world. You have major demonstrations in US cities, and a demoralized US army. You now have to govern an awful lot of people who don’t want to be governed by you. Where is the profit in all that?
Secondly, about two years ago another world leader thought that he could roll his tanks into a small weak neighbor and finish the war in a few days. The Ukrainian flag is still flying over Kiev and Kharkiv. So maybe it is a lot harder than you think.
No dear we are not taught that. That said a lot of countries have invaded and lost the war. IT is one thing to invade another to hold a country.
The overwhelming majority of Americans are taught that we and our allies work together for the benefit of all of us We are taught to be an honest and honorable nation that keeps it’s word honors it’s agreements and contracts.
I note Trump signed an agreement with Canada and Mexico and one of the parts of it was no tariffs. dishonorable and dishonest people break their word. Dis honest and dishonorable people lie about what we are taught.
Lets look at this logically
If the USA was planning to invade Canada it would have to build up its resources close to the border for “exercises”. This would immediately put Canada on a war footing.
Canada would liaise with its NATO and Commonwealth friends which would also put them on a war footing. Remember the UK launched a task force in 3 days towards the South Atlantic in 1982. Furthermore it wouldn’t be an opposed landing in Canada so UK heavy armour could be airlifted to Canada in hours not days even if they are landing st some remote field like Yellowknife.
I understand Germany has an armoured brigade in Canada on a rotation for training purposes. They wouldnt have to be airlifted.
As soon as the US forces cross into Canada they would invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty so all 32 countries of NATO are obliged to step in and assist Canada.
In respect of maritime intervention. As soon as tension rises France and the UK would undertake joint training exercise in respect of the Eastern seaboard. Probably a Vanguard submarine and a couple of Astutes from the UK. Now one Vanguard would not be able to destroy the US. However it could destroy Washington, NYC, Boston, Miami etc. The Astutes advanced technology would make it difficult for the USN to operate. Also Norway has the stealth submarine that “sank” the USS Ronald Regan on three seperate occasions on exercise.
Then of course theres the surface fleet of type 23s 26s 45s etc which had to be stopped from taking part in exercises because they were killing the enemy before the USN had detected them
So it seems the USA is looking to lose many thousands of citizens and billions of dollars of hardware on a willie waving exercise that only benefits Putin. However if your president elect is a Russian asset thats just what could be expected
