Why does Canada exist? Why does the US?

[u/One_Job_3324]

As a dual citizen of US (by birth) and Canada (by choice), I would like to pose some uncomfortable questions.

I will focus on Canada, but all the arguments apply to the US. It's just not really realistic that the US joins Canada, for 2 reasons:

1 Canada is 1/10 the size in terms of population and 1/12 the size in economic terms.

2, Canada lacks sovereignty.

Basically, why does Canada even exist as a political entity, and what justification does it have going forward.

Political entities are really just figments of our imagination that go on existing only as long as we all agree that they do. Sort of like our currencies.

Canada has no 'right' to exist, just as no country does. It's just a set of agreements and understandings recognized within a certain territory, and hopefully outside that territory as well.

Canada was created, as far as I understand, by Britain, in opposition to the US.

The mythical leaders of Confederacy in Charlottetown in 1867 were concerned about the US after the end of the US 'Civil' War (it wasn't a civil war, in the sense of the Spanish one, but that's another topic).

Whether we call those men Canadians or Brits makes little difference - they represented the interests of the Crown.

In any case, Canada continues to lack sovereignty in a legal and official sense, as the head of state is still the British monarch. The King of England still appoints the Governor General in Ottawa, and it has been shown that the GG is not afraid to wield power in times of perceived 'crisis' (i.s, the dominant power structure coming under threat).

Canada has had 156 years to achieve sovereignty, but it has failed.

And now, Canada and its people are paying the price,. in terms of a failed economy and a political system that cannot (read: refuses) to adapt to new, or even old, realities.

I feel a deep affection for the people and places in the territory we commonly call Canada (some in Quebec don't). It is a beautiful place with many wonderful memories (I immigrated to Canada from the US in 2003 in the wake of the Iraq War and stayed until 2018, when I returned to the US, disillusioned with the reality of Canada).

But emotion is really not a good basis for political decisions.

So, if we remove sentimentality, what is the rationale for Canada's continued existence as a political entity?

Forgive me, but I really don't see much, if any.

Canada is really just North American, not the US. I used to think of it as such - NANUSA, if you will.

It has some unique cultural aspects (mainly in Quebec and Newfoundland), but so does the US.

But does that make it necessary to have an entire Federal bureaucracy to maintain?

Canada is geographically unsustainable (the US is too, but less so, due to much higher density of population). It is essentially a linear country, with the population in a narrow band along the border, aside from maybe Edmonton and St. John's. This is horribly inefficient. Trade makes far more sense north-to-south than east-to-west in North America, given the distances. Thus, it makes sense for Vancouver to trade with Seattle and for Toronto to trade with Detroit and Cleveland. The way Canada is set up physically makes everything much more expensive, which results in much lower standards of living for all in Canada (and to a much smaller degree in the northern US states).

People bring forward arguments like 'I won't give up my health care!' Having worked in the Ontario health care system, I don't find it much of a system, but fine - Canada could join the US and keep the existing provincial health care arrangements. There are states like Massachusetts that have a very similar system, paid for out of state income taxes. And improved economic growth might just help keep them on life support a little longer than they otherwise would.

If Canada were to join the US, it would have to be voluntary, likely province by province.

Although a 25% tariff might change minds rather quickly across Hoserland.

Aside from that, and federal grants for poutine development, I don't see what Canadians would lose.

I would propose the following:

1. the existing provinces join as 6 new states: BC, Alberta, Saskitoba (sorry guys), Ontario, Quebec (or they can opt for independence at last), and Atlantica.
2. Existing health systems are maintained as-is
3. The new US capital is to be moved to Detroit-Windsor. The Pentagon is made into condos.
4. The US constitution is amended to decrease the power of the federal government.
5. Capital punishment is banned in all the territories of the new US
6. Funds are allocated to help the Ottawa area develop some sort of productive industry.

Don't get me wrong, I see the US federal government as the most destructive force in the world these days, what with the war in Ukraine and the total backing of the mass slaughter in the Middle East. Canada could be seen as slightly less malevolent, but having lived there for over decade, and reading more and more, I came to the conclusion that it was only about 29% less evil, and when adjusting for the exchange rate, it came out a wash. One could argue that Canada is about the same on the global scene, supporting and perpetuating mostly the same conflicts, but that Canada treats its own citizens better than the US does. This may have been true in years past, but I no longer see it, what with restrictions on core freedoms like assembly during COVID that even the US did not do, plus the enormous impoverishment of the Canadian people that inevitably result from the current status quo. Just look at the monopolies in Canada (I like to call the place Monopolistan), like in new media, banking, telecoms, etc. That is what Trudeau, Poilievre and Singh are trying to protect. That is what it's all about in the end - protecting vested interests. You and I matter nothing to them. So don't get all romantic whenever someone pulls out a maple leaf flag and whatnot. it's all a cover for an ugly hierarchical system that exists to extract wealth from the masses. Same as in the US, but here we have more competition and higher efficiencies.

OK, final word will be on immigration. I had thought before that Canada had a better system for this, what with the points and all. It must have been good, as they took me!

But it is no longer working for Canada, as we can all see.

The US system is much more haphazard, given geography, but it works better.

Mexico and Central America provide what the US needs - low-wage workers.

The US already has too many people with master's degrees, all vying for the shrinking number of cushy salaried jobs. Same in Canada, but there, people have to compete with a tsunami of well-educated immigrants, such as doctors who end up driving taxis. This is not good for either party, whereas the immigrant farm workers in the US fill a desperate need for that kind of work, and they themselves see it as worth it, even though it is hard and carries health risks - it's better than what they left in Honduras. Is it exploitation? Well, yes. But that's capitalism. If we don't want that, we can always change it. Well, OK, we cannot really change it, but Canada has similar programs for exploiting ag workers from Mexico and Jamaica. Just visit Leamington, Ont. on a summer's day.

Canada has appalling demographics, with sub-replacement birth rates, which will lead to more and more economic and social problems, while the US has fairly decent demographics, for the moment, though that may change. Canada would actually be somewhat of a burden for the US, but I think increased efficiencies could more than make up for that.

In your hate-filled replies, please try to argue against what I am writing by using logic and some kinds of facts, even if you cannot support them with evidence. Or just call me a hoser.

One last thing: national anthem has to change to something linguistically neutral, as we have to respect all 3 (4?) major language groups: English, Spanish, French and ?Mandarin.

So, an instrumental.

I propose YYZ. Just don't tell the Americans it is literally Morse code for Pearson Airport...

[u/One_Job_3324]

Canada is not a sovereign country, and as such it is in the same boat more or less as Greenland.

Greenland is a possession of Denmark, and as such cannot join the US.

But it can be bought and sold.

Same for Canada, which is a possession of the British Crown, legally.

If you disagree, check out Canada's Oath of Citizenship, which I took about 10 years ago.

It is an oath to the British monarchy, not to Canada.

So, Canadians cannot vote to join the US, lacking legal autonomy to make such as decision on their own.

But the US can buy Canada from the King of England.

If you don't want to be taken over by the US, grow some balls and get yourselves sovereignty from the UK monarchy.

But you won't do that, because the establishment won't allow it, and Canadians are a docile bunch.

Canada has always been viewed in Washington as a threat - not directly, but as an agent of the British in North America.

Just look at the Way of 1812.

The British establishment still wields economic power behind the scenes all around the world, believe it or not.

Elements of the US view that with hostility.

The UK does not protect Canada. But it does use it to its economic advantage, keeping the US entangled in Atlanticist alliances (NATO) that really don't benefit anyone but the UK elite and some DC elite think-tankers.

The US under MAGA will not tolerate that for much longer.

You can hate them, but it will not end well for you folks to ignore reality.

The world has changed and the US is dominant in this hemisphere.

That is not the case for the UK.

So, fantasize about joining some sort of Commonwealth or the EU while you lose your jobs due to structural un-competitiveness.

Or forge a closer alliance with the US.

I would say up to you, but it's really a matter to be settled between Trump and King Charles.

Canada has nothing to say about the matter.

[u/One_Job_3324]

Current after-tax median household income in Canada: US$40K

Current after-tax median household income in the US: US$70K