Canadian Politics Redux

Zod · February 5

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

To be honest, I think it's mutually beneficial. The American's would defend us against the goodness in their hearts, it's a tactical situation. Right now only two countries share a land border with them, Canada and Mexico. If a foreign power wanted to attack the US they'd either have to go by water which would be really hard, or through Canada/Mexico. The US doesn't want a foreign power to get a foothold in either country. They benefit from have allies on both sides.

Does their military spending change, if someone else occupied Canada or Mexico? I'd argue it would probably cost them even more money if an enemy controlled our lands.

We're a big country with a smaller population. It's impossible for us to defend our borders. If someone truly wants our country we'd be like first European countries that occupied in world war ii.

I dunno, I think the Canada/US relationship is mutually beneficial. If you have an enemy at the border instead of friend, that requires more spending not less. I'm not sure the US's military budget really changes if were here or not.

We freeride on the US's reputation of if's military might, but does it actually cost the US anything any extra for us to freeload off their reputation. I dunno. I always figured at some point as planetary resources shrink, someones coming for our resources, it could even be the US some day.

Parksy · February 5

Lerxst1992 said:

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

Canada does contribute to NORAD, and does benefit from the US having the technology necessary to provide that protection. As you said, Canada is about one third below its required NATO funding. And a big part of the economy is relying on an extremely large neighbor importing its products. Canada does receive tremendous benefit from having the US next door.

IMO, the repulsion perceived from Canadians about annexation is the wrong way to treat this. It’s all about virtue signaling. No one survives trying to take down 47 publicly. The better way is to argue it’s more cost effective to remain allies…is it’s too expensive to join our countries, it’s wasteful, creates a larger US federal government. Plus, we should point out to him that if Canada were to sign up, do you really want to give Canada a bigger voice than Texas or Florida in the Electoral College?

That should shut him up real quick.

agreed

Parksy · February 5

Zod said:

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

To be honest, I think it's mutually beneficial.   The American's would defend us against the goodness in their hearts, it's a tactical situation.   Right now only two countries share a land border with them, Canada and Mexico. If a foreign power wanted to attack the US they'd either have to go by water which would be really hard, or through Canada/Mexico.   The US doesn't want a foreign power to get a foothold in either country. They benefit from have allies on both sides.

Does their military spending change, if someone else occupied Canada or Mexico? I'd argue it would probably cost them even more money if an enemy controlled our lands.

We're a big country with a smaller population. It's impossible for us to defend our borders.   If someone truly wants our country we'd be like first European countries that occupied in world war ii.

I dunno, I think the Canada/US relationship is mutually beneficial.   If you have an enemy at the border instead of friend, that requires more spending not less. I'm not sure the US's military budget really changes if were here or not.

We freeride on the US's reputation of if's military might, but does it actually cost the US anything any extra for us to freeload off their reputation.   I dunno. I always figured at some point as planetary resources shrink, someones coming for our resources, it could even be the US some day.

The irony of the US not wanting another country to get a foothold in Canada is interesting. If Trump continues his push.... I can see Canada turning to another dance partner... which would put pressure on the U.S.

All things considered... that's why I don't understand Trump's play here. You can put pressure on a country to get a better deal, for sure... but pissing people off while doing it is a terrible idea especially considering the political climate in Canada with an election around the corner.

Zod · February 6

Parksy said:

Zod said:

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

To be honest, I think it's mutually beneficial.   The American's would defend us against the goodness in their hearts, it's a tactical situation.   Right now only two countries share a land border with them, Canada and Mexico. If a foreign power wanted to attack the US they'd either have to go by water which would be really hard, or through Canada/Mexico.   The US doesn't want a foreign power to get a foothold in either country. They benefit from have allies on both sides.

Does their military spending change, if someone else occupied Canada or Mexico? I'd argue it would probably cost them even more money if an enemy controlled our lands.

We're a big country with a smaller population. It's impossible for us to defend our borders.   If someone truly wants our country we'd be like first European countries that occupied in world war ii.

I dunno, I think the Canada/US relationship is mutually beneficial.   If you have an enemy at the border instead of friend, that requires more spending not less. I'm not sure the US's military budget really changes if were here or not.

We freeride on the US's reputation of if's military might, but does it actually cost the US anything any extra for us to freeload off their reputation.   I dunno. I always figured at some point as planetary resources shrink, someones coming for our resources, it could even be the US some day.

The irony of the US not wanting another country to get a foothold in Canada is interesting. If Trump continues his push.... I can see Canada turning to another dance partner... which would put pressure on the U.S.

All things considered... that's why I don't understand Trump's play here. You can put pressure on a country to get a better deal, for sure... but pissing people off while doing it is a terrible idea especially considering the political climate in Canada with an election around the corner.

I don't get it either. I don't see the win in any of it.

Spunkie · February 6

Zod said:

Parksy said:

Zod said:

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

To be honest, I think it's mutually beneficial.   The American's would defend us against the goodness in their hearts, it's a tactical situation.   Right now only two countries share a land border with them, Canada and Mexico. If a foreign power wanted to attack the US they'd either have to go by water which would be really hard, or through Canada/Mexico.   The US doesn't want a foreign power to get a foothold in either country. They benefit from have allies on both sides.

Does their military spending change, if someone else occupied Canada or Mexico? I'd argue it would probably cost them even more money if an enemy controlled our lands.

We're a big country with a smaller population. It's impossible for us to defend our borders.   If someone truly wants our country we'd be like first European countries that occupied in world war ii.

I dunno, I think the Canada/US relationship is mutually beneficial.   If you have an enemy at the border instead of friend, that requires more spending not less. I'm not sure the US's military budget really changes if were here or not.

We freeride on the US's reputation of if's military might, but does it actually cost the US anything any extra for us to freeload off their reputation.   I dunno. I always figured at some point as planetary resources shrink, someones coming for our resources, it could even be the US some day.

The irony of the US not wanting another country to get a foothold in Canada is interesting. If Trump continues his push.... I can see Canada turning to another dance partner... which would put pressure on the U.S.

All things considered... that's why I don't understand Trump's play here. You can put pressure on a country to get a better deal, for sure... but pissing people off while doing it is a terrible idea especially considering the political climate in Canada with an election around the corner.

I don't get it either. I don't see the win in any of it.

I guess we can chalk it up to small man big truck syndrome.

Parksy · February 7

Spunkie said:

Zod said:

Parksy said:

Zod said:

Parksy said:

I have very mixed feelings on the whole issue. And King Trump is not helping.

On his rhetoric of Canada becoming the 51st state... just no.
On his rhetoric about Canada being a threat with regards to fentanyl and illegal immigrants... just no.

On his putting pressure on Canada and threatening us economically.... well ... here may lie an unpopular opinion.

(Disclaimer.. I have no love for Trump.. I'm just trying to be unbiased here)

Keeping in mind I don't know ALL of the facts and numbers especially with regards to trade etc. BUT ... if the shoe were on the other foot... and I felt my neighbour was basically a freeloader... would I want to continue helping that neighbour? Honestly no. We as a country have been delinquent in our targets for NATO and our defense spending. It's embarrassing. When you combine this with an inept, virtue signaling federal government.... it might not be a bad thing for us to have a wake up call... even if it is from the orange D-Bag.

I don't think for a second that he cares about drugs or criminals... I think he wants a better deal for his corporate pals. Worst case scenario however..... is that he wants our land for monetary reasons (water, minerals, arctic passage) If he plans on squeezing us for that... we'll call him an evil dooshbag... but we may also have ourselves and our government to blame.

Breaking it down into crayons... if we need the USA to protect us (and I believe we do)... all the while we're not doing anything to earn this protection (fact check me please)... then should it come as any surprise that perhaps the country turns around and wants something better in return or just flat out uses the might of said protection to just take over the country? If he has the numbers to support it, it's not beyond rationale that he gains support from within to essentially take over Canada. Especially if facts support a trade discrepancy and a history of NATO funding delinquency.

How the worst case scenario will play out however... is very ugly. Most Canadians do not want to be Americans and a lot will fight and die for our independence. It would do well for Trump to know and understand that and stop the 51st state rhetoric.

To be honest, I think it's mutually beneficial.   The American's would defend us against the goodness in their hearts, it's a tactical situation.   Right now only two countries share a land border with them, Canada and Mexico. If a foreign power wanted to attack the US they'd either have to go by water which would be really hard, or through Canada/Mexico.   The US doesn't want a foreign power to get a foothold in either country. They benefit from have allies on both sides.

Does their military spending change, if someone else occupied Canada or Mexico? I'd argue it would probably cost them even more money if an enemy controlled our lands.

We're a big country with a smaller population. It's impossible for us to defend our borders.   If someone truly wants our country we'd be like first European countries that occupied in world war ii.

I dunno, I think the Canada/US relationship is mutually beneficial.   If you have an enemy at the border instead of friend, that requires more spending not less. I'm not sure the US's military budget really changes if were here or not.

We freeride on the US's reputation of if's military might, but does it actually cost the US anything any extra for us to freeload off their reputation.   I dunno. I always figured at some point as planetary resources shrink, someones coming for our resources, it could even be the US some day.

The irony of the US not wanting another country to get a foothold in Canada is interesting. If Trump continues his push.... I can see Canada turning to another dance partner... which would put pressure on the U.S.

All things considered... that's why I don't understand Trump's play here. You can put pressure on a country to get a better deal, for sure... but pissing people off while doing it is a terrible idea especially considering the political climate in Canada with an election around the corner.

I don't get it either. I don't see the win in any of it.

I guess we can chalk it up to small man big truck syndrome.

Small.... deranged, greedy, drunk with power man-child bug truck syndrome lol

DE4173 · February 7

dignin · February 10

dignin said:

PJ_Soul said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

brianlux said:

dignin said:

The Canadian government has been warned if we retaliate the US will hit us harder.

Chin up fellow canucks. Fuck them and let's dig in.

So, does that mean "fuck you" to all of us in the U.S., even if we are strongly against the tariffs, even if, as I just did above, acknowledge our feeling friendly toward Canada and Canadians, even if we abhor what is being done. Great, just a big "fuck you" to all of us? Jesus Christ, man. Fuck that.

I don’t think that’s what dignin meant.

Definitely not. The beef is with the current American government and every American who voted for it.

You are both correct, thank you.

I did write a comment just before that comment that I thought made it clear.

"Fuck Trump and any tool that voted for that criminal.

Putin's puppet is doing everything he can to tear apart western democracies.

Looks like we are going down the hard road of eliminating our economic dependency on the US.

Our neighbors to the south can no longer be trusted"

I still stand by that comment.

We've only been given a 30 day reprieve, this shit will be back in the news in a couple of weeks.

This isn't about the border.

I figure it's one of 2 things, the orange dummy actually thinks he will take Canada or he's doing exactly what Putin told him to do. Either way this isn't over.

The goal posts will keep moving.

Trump says Canada’s and Mexico’s responses to his tariff threats are ‘not good enough’

https://fortune.com/2025/02/09/trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-border-security-illegal-drugs-fentanyl/

HughFreakingDillon · February 10

Well cuz now he’s been told how he got rolled by both of them.

Spunkie · February 13

Yay! More drugs for us

Tim Simmons · February 14

Don’t worry Canadians. We aren’t gonna add you as a state.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trumps-remarks-on-canada-becoming-the-51st-state-raise-a-lot-of-questions

Tim Simmons · February 14

TL;dr

too many legislative requirements for the US to allow it and if they did, you would overwhelmingly make the US more democratic and throw off the balance of congress.

don't sweat it. It’s a grifter just throwing ideas and words out there to distract from the real stuff happening. It’s empty content.

Zod · February 14

I don't think it would happen, at least not willingly, but if they did, I think they would more likely to make us a territory rather than a state, so we don't get representation in the house and senate (kind of like Puerto Rico). Republicans wouldn't give give us statehood and the votes that come with it.

dignin · February 14

Tim Simmons said:

TL;dr

too many legislative requirements for the US to allow it and if they did, you would overwhelmingly make the US more democratic and throw off the balance of congress.

don't sweat it. It’s a grifter just throwing ideas and words out there to distract from the real stuff happening. It’s empty content.

That's all assuming the US will still be a functioning democracy.

DarthMaeglin · February 15

Happy 60th birthday to our flag!

hunterh75 · February 15

DarthMaeglin said:

Happy 60th birthday to our flag!

You're welcome...signed, the USA

DarthMaeglin · February 15

hunterh75 said:

DarthMaeglin said:

Happy 60th birthday to our flag!

You're welcome...signed, the USA

Careful, lol, don’t forget why the White House is white, lol.

Halifax2TheMax · February 15

hunterh75 said:

DarthMaeglin said:

Happy 60th birthday to our flag!

You're welcome...signed, the USA

Because the SA has been so, so very ripped off. So ripped off.

josevolution · February 16

Good on Canadian hockey fans keep booing the American national anthem!

Lerxst1992 · February 16

josevolution said:

Good on Canadian hockey fans keep booing the American national anthem!

They’ve played this all wrong. Instead of disrespecting us, they should have played trump at his game.

Hey Mr Trump, we’d love to join you! We can’t wait to get our 45 electoral votes and congress members to DC! Also, a bunch of us will be moving to Florida, NC and Texas and can not wait to vote!

And if he was to take that seriously and go forward with the annexation , he has shown the world how to win the legal game. The four year clock is always ticking down, and anything must be approved by congress. Just keep kicking the can til his term runs out. That’s how he beat all federal indictments.

If the argument is US democracy is done, then it makes no sense to argue, he will get his way. We need to have faith the US system will hold again.

Instead we got more insults, which makes him more determined.

Canadian Politics Redux

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