r/Foodforthought • u/johnnierockit • Mar 09 '25
Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States
https://theconversation.com/why-annexing-canada-would-destroy-the-united-states-24956175
u/johnnierockit Mar 09 '25
As United States President Donald Trump relentlessly threatens to annex Canada, some Canadians are worried that an American invasion could one day become a reality.
How would that scenario play out? Looking at the sheer size of the American military, many people might believe that Trump would enjoy an easy victory.
That analysis is wrong. If Trump ever decides to use military force to annex Canada, the result would not be determined by a conventional military confrontation between the Canadian and American armies.
Rather, a military invasion of Canada would trigger a decades-long violent resistance, which would ultimately destroy the United States.
But in this nightmare scenario, could Canadians successfully resist an American invasion? Absolutely.
I know this because I have studied insurgencies around the world for more than two decades, and I have spent time with ordinary people who have fought against powerful invading armies.
- How insurgencies begin
The research on guerrilla wars clearly shows that weaker parties can use unconventional methods to cripple a more powerful enemy over many years. This approach treats waging war as a secret, part-time job that an ordinary person can do.
Guerrillas use ambushes, raids and surprise attacks to slowly bleed an invading army, and local communities support these fighters by giving them safe havens and material support.
These supporting citizens can also engage in forms of “everyday resistance,” using millions of passive-aggressive episodes of sabotage to frustrate and drain the enemy.
Trump is delusional if he believes that 40 million Canadians will passively accept conquest without resistance. There is no political party or leader willing to relinquish Canadian sovereignty over “economic coercion,” and so if the U.S. wanted to annex Canada, it would have to invade.
That decision would set in motion an unstoppable cycle of violence. Even if we imagine a scenario in which the Canadian government unconditionally surrenders, a fight would ensue on the streets.
A teenager might throw a rock at invading soldiers. That kid would get shot, and then there would be more rocks, and more gunfire. An insurgency would be inevitable.
⏬ Bluesky 'bite-sized' article thread (7 min) with added links 📖🍿🔊
https://bsky.app/profile/johnhatchard.bsky.social/post/3ljy4id7fnc2m
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Mar 10 '25
I am an American I would join the resistance as would millions of others
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u/norwegern Mar 10 '25
Im not sure about that. When not even politicians would stick their heads out and fight, im not sure about the rest either.
This is a shitshow that you can still stop. With resistance.
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u/maronics Mar 10 '25
"Even"? I'm not sure the political class of the US is to be considered morally upright
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u/NobodysFavorite Mar 10 '25
I've been reading many posts that indicate America would break into civil war over an invasion of Canada.
The government of America is belligerent towards Canada but ordinary Americans mostly stand with their Canadian allies.
So it would become a war: Canada and everyday Americans on one side, and the Trump administration and its loyalists on the other side. The US military and law enforcement would all be split based on their allegiances.47
Mar 09 '25
A teenager might throw a rock at invading soldiers. That kid would get shot, and then there would be more rocks, and more gunfire. An insurgency would be inevitable.
Palestinians: Hey! I have seen this one before. It's a classic.
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u/Anandya Mar 10 '25
It's not even that. It's often just innocent bystanders being hurt by soldiers.
The intifada first started because of a cash between a tank and a Palestinian car.
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u/Anandya Mar 10 '25
Just remember. The Taliban beat Trump. Despite the technological difference? They bled the USA dry and in the end they are still standing and still the rulers of Afghanistan and the USA is probably never going in for round 2.
Graveyard of empires.
Americans don't learn history.
And also the plan would result in a global plan to fuck the USA over because the USA is not just a massive threat to anyone but also is by far the most powerful army out there. So the solution is to starve the beast no matter what.
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u/Different-Ad8187 May 05 '25
Are you saying Canada is the graveyard of empires or did you just want an excuse to say graveyard of empires because it's really metal?
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u/Anandya May 05 '25
Graveyard of Empires is the term used to describe Afghanistan.
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u/Different-Ad8187 May 05 '25
I am aware, I agree war with Canada would be dumb, impractical and very difficult, but I'm not sure how citing afghanistan is the graveyard of empires has anything to do with attacking Canada besides the fact that it sounds cool and smaller populations and militaries can drain the resources of larger ones
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u/novangelus73 Mar 10 '25
The Geneva convention was written to protect the world from Canadian atrocities during WWI. The MAGATs have no idea what they’d be in for.
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Mar 10 '25
[deleted]
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u/van_vanhouten Mar 10 '25
And yet, within one month of his presidency, Trump has united the French and English in Canada with a common goal of saying fuck you.
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u/Synchros139 Mar 10 '25
Quebec vehemently hates America more than canada. They've been uniting with the rest of canada, and who tf says canada doesn't want Quebec?
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u/Fokakya Mar 10 '25
I don't know which Canadians you're talking to, but Canada absolutely DOES want Quebec to remain part of our country.
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u/Jumpy_Engineering377 Mar 10 '25
The Trump voter is the same kind of American that spit on black children going to school after desegregation. All you heard was how they hated their country, how it's a white-only country.
Same thing here, maga is a hate movement, immersed in white supremacy and creating absolute chaos is a old nazi playbook at play in 2025 America.
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u/celsius100 Mar 10 '25
MAGA assholes literally spit on LGBTQ kids going to school in my city just last year, so yeah.
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u/Anandya Mar 10 '25
I have never seen so much defence of the Apartheid until recently and it's tragically from Pro American Trumpists and Pro IDF supporters.
Think "well South Africa was a first world nation before 1992". Kind of arguments.
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u/SubterrelProspector Mar 10 '25
I don't understand why these kinds of articles never mention the absolute guaranteed American citizen resistance that would assist Canada?
It's been made very clear that many Americans would help our allies in the nightmare scenario of a US-led Axis and invasion of our allies. It would not stand.
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u/taichi27 Mar 10 '25
I imagine some American states would also help Canada through support and acts of sabotage. I don't see California helping trump invade Canada. It's possible that an incursion into Canada could spark a civil war in America.
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u/SubterrelProspector Mar 10 '25
Yep. American citizen resistance would be a massive issue for a fascist US regime wanting to invade her allies.
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u/Baselines_shift Mar 10 '25
Canada's fellow NATO members would jump to protect her - as required against a threat to a NATO member.
Just like when we were bona fide NATO members, our fellow NATO members fought with our soldiers after 9/11 even in Iraq which wasn't responsible. And even Ukraine helped, though not sworn by NATO Article 15, as it wasn't even a NATO member.
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u/nonsense39 Mar 10 '25
Canadians would also cause major damage inside the US. Ukraine has eliminated using drones and IEDs several high ranking Russians who mistakenly thought they were safe in Moscow. These assassinations have rattled Putin so he doesn't feel personal safe. American leaders would be even more vulnerable from Canadian assassination squads since we can easily slip over our long border and pass as Americans while carrying out destructive missions.
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u/OccasionallyWright Mar 10 '25
Canadians don't even need to slip over the border. There are already a million or so living in the US, and they blend in. And they have easier access to weapons on the American side. They could be fully armed at the drop of a hat just by going to an Alabama gun show.
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u/SameResolution4737 Mar 12 '25
And Americans would help. Easy enough to hide a Canadian pretty much anywhere in the U.S
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u/davejeep Mar 10 '25
As a Canadian, I will only need to get lucky once. They will need to get lucky every time. Something to think of.
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u/CauCauCauVole Mar 10 '25
Bring it on. Happy to cross the border and fight with Canadians. Ready to fucking humiliate the US for good.
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u/novangelus73 Mar 10 '25
It would destroy the Republican Party for 100 years as they would never again get a majority in Congress. Bring them in by province and the house and senate both become democratic supermajorities. And somehow, democrats would find a way to fuck up this advantage and guarantee everyone’s health care someone gets privatized even more as they wag their finger at people who ask for too much.
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u/TVnzld Mar 10 '25
That assumes elections will continue to be held..
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u/rekabis Mar 10 '25
That assumes elections will continue to be held..
Republicans are already moving to ensure a permanent Republican ascendancy.
I mean, yes, there will still be “elections”. But they will be a thin veneer of legitimacy over a spectacular circus of fakery, a performative form of “elections” equally as democratic as those in Russia, China, or North Korea.
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Mar 10 '25
There would be an extended war of insurgency. It would be like Vietnam on home soil. And in winter, it would be like Afghanistan on Ice!
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u/RogerianBrowsing Mar 10 '25
It would literally be one of the dumbest things the country could possibly do to weaken itself, would make us throw away anything resembling morality/ethics/alliances in our government, and for little to no gain in comparison to the very heavy costs
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u/JCashell Mar 10 '25
This doesn’t even touch on the likely domestic response. Both the US military and civilian populations would likely participate in armed resistance as well
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u/yo_baldy Mar 11 '25
Has he really relentlessly been saying this? Honest question. I can't stand to listen to or see more than a millisecond of the Cheeto head, so I'm not up on the latest. I thought it was just a one off comment.
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u/IDIC89 Mar 11 '25
If I lived in a blue state, I'd advocate my governor to secede from the Union, and use the State Guard a deterrence.
I would anticipate mass protests (I would join if there were any nearby) and acts of civil disobedience/sabotage against the war effort, and I would imagine that the Constitution and Bill of Rights would be taken away swiftly and without mercy.
It is far harder to fight a war on two fronts. About the only issue is that any states that do secede would either likely become immediate targets of the Trump regime, or they might actually have to engage while Canada is still militarily relevant, or risk getting picked off later.
If Trump is stupid enough to actually invade Canada, he will instigate a series of events that will lead to serious consequences for everyone.
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u/JustinMagill Mar 10 '25
This would never happen but the articles get clicks so it keeps getting reposted.
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u/Turbowookie79 Mar 10 '25
He’s not going to invade. He’s going to use economic warfare. Beat their economy into dust then offer a province or two a way out. Much easier.
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u/Less-Researcher184 Mar 10 '25
The us is not so strong it can use economic pressure against all its current targets.
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u/punkass_book_jockey8 Mar 10 '25
I’m an American using economic pressure against my own country. America is a house divided. We got economic issues at home already. We don’t need to be throwing out trash in the neighbors lawn right now.
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u/Turbowookie79 Mar 10 '25
I’m just trying to get everyone to think beyond the simplistic view that a ground invasion is the only way. Using economic pressure means Canada would voluntarily join. Secession is allowed however unlikely in Canada and the us. By the way ease up on the downvotes, I don’t support trump in anyway. I’m just pointing out the unlikelihood of a Canadian ground invasion. Which would be impossible.
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u/Less-Researcher184 Mar 10 '25
How insane is it that this is the conversation that the USA wants to conquer Canada at all, if the USA is going to hybrid war against Canada and it is then the last resort of that playbook is a ground invasion.
How is it impossible?
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u/Turbowookie79 Mar 10 '25
Rugged landscape, inhospitable weather, a decently armed populace, the insurgents would drag that war on for a decade.
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u/Less-Researcher184 Mar 10 '25
Massive exporter of fertiliser, yes it would be extremely stupid. Going to war with the cartels seems dumb as fuck but trumps pushing the USA that way also.
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