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Should the USA and Canada be one country?

Should the USA and Canada be one country?

  • Yes, the benefits for both countries is too much to pass up

    Votes: 12 16.4%

  • No, leave well enough alone eh?

    Votes: 61 83.6%
  • Total voters
    73
Bob Blaylock said:
So what? It's an important part of my heritage as an American, and as a descendant of some of the great men who participated in that conflict. It is part of the history that has shaped and defined the culture in which I live today, and which makes this culture different from the other culture to the north, which was founded on cowardice and treason.
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Wow man.

First of all, you realize that nearly every American and Canadian is descended from the scraps who couldn't hack it back in Europe, right? Not that that's a bad thing, but to come on here beating your chest about your proud heritage and then belittling that of other people is just laughable.

America has never been about birthrights and bloodlines. We're a nation of outcasts and scrubs. Our national pride comes from being self-made.... picking ourselves up by our bootstraps and being the best we can be.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
The premise of this thread seems to be that Canada has a ton of natural resources, the United States has a lot of natural resources, but neither nation has as much as Russia, so we need to merge in order to compete.

Per capita GDP for Russia: $18,408

Per capita GDP for the United States: $54,980

Per capita GDP for Canada: $44,656

I don't think we have anything to worry about competing with Russia. Natural resources can help with economic growth, but many nations that are very rich in natural resources are poor. Innovation is far more important in today's global economy and the United States and Canada have it in spades. Hell West Virginia has abundant Natural Resources and it hasn't done that much good at all economically.

As to this notion that Canada needs the United States to help exploit its natural resources. That assumes that Canadians want to develop every square in of their country. They don't. They like having a low population density with a massive wilderness. As others have pointed out, I do think we will become more economically united over time as we already are to a large degree. I would imagine it will get even easier for Canadians to live and work here and for Americans to live and work there, but I don't think we will ever become one country.
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Per capita GDP of Qatar: $98,814
Per capita GDP of Luxembourg: $78,670
Per capita GDP of Singapore: $64,584
Per capita GDP of Norway: $54,947
Per capita GDP of Brunei: $53,431


Perhaps per capita GDP isnt't the best measure...
 
Quag said:
Japan is a case in point for rich country poor in natural resources.
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Right but.... Japan is dependent on it's exports to the United States, it's also dependent on the United States for national security.

I don't want that kind of model for my country. I want something more solid, a more internal-based economy.
 
Carjosse said:
Well you would start having to otherwise you are discriminating against Francophones.
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It would only be discrimination if we included Spanish and English, but not French. Since we treat all languages equally, there is no discrimination.
 
Peter Grimm said:
Per capita GDP of Qatar: $98,814
Per capita GDP of Luxembourg: $78,670
Per capita GDP of Singapore: $64,584
Per capita GDP of Norway: $54,947
Per capita GDP of Brunei: $53,431


Perhaps per capita GDP isnt't the best measure...
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It's a great measure of prosperity for a country. The only countries that exceed ours our small countries usually sitting on a ton of oil, or city states that are centers for trade and finance. The per-capita GDP of Singapore would be more accurately compared to that of NYC which by the way is $111,386.
 
Sherman123 said:
It is our manifest destiny. Onwards to Toronto!
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Good start. Toronto might be the only place in Canada where a lot of people want to be Americans.
 
shrubnose said:
Leave bad enough alone.

This will not happen.

Don't take my word for this,just wait and see.

There's a lot better chance of Quebec seceding from Canada then there is of Canada ever joining the USA.
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D'accord.
And there's no chance of Quebec leaving Canada.
 
Peter Grimm said:
Free access to the 50 united states (would you want to retire in Edmonton or Ft Lauderdale?)

Access to a bigger pool of jobs

Access to the wealthiest and largest consumer market in the world

Access to the biggest and best universities and research facilities in the world

Access to the biggest and best military in the world

Protection, people, and resources to develop their natural assets, such as the Arctic regions

Access to warm water shipping ports


The list goes on and on, but I have to assume you're joking. The USA is the wealthiest country on earth, you don't have to stretch your mind very far to figure out why hitching your wagon on to a winner might be a good idea.
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So what's the bottom line, dollar-wise? How much would it take for you, for example, to sell out your country?
 
Peter Grimm said:
Right but.... Japan is dependent on it's exports to the United States, it's also dependent on the United States for national security.

I don't want that kind of model for my country. I want something more solid, a more internal-based economy.
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Nothing wrong with wanting your country to do well or to work a certain way.
It doesnt change the fact that Japan is a wealthy nation with few natural resources
 
Alright, let's get this sale underway. Present we have Japan, China, Russia, the US and the European Union. For sale- Canada. The bidding will be in dollars-per-Canadian and opens at $1M. Who'll open the bidding?
 
Quag said:
Nothing wrong with wanting your country to do well or to work a certain way.
It doesnt change the fact that Japan is a wealthy nation with few natural resources
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True, but it's completely dependent on the United States, so one has to wonder how sustainable or safe that wealth really is in the long term.
 
Peter Grimm said:
Being a bit over-dramatic there? Who said anything at all about "selling out your country."
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You did. "The USA is the wealthiest country on earth, you don't have to stretch your mind very far to figure out why hitching your wagon on to a winner might be a good idea."
So money should be enough to make a Canadian want to be an American.
 
Peter Grimm said:
True, but it's completely dependent on the United States, so one has to wonder how sustainable or safe that wealth really is in the long term.
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Most of the western world is basically dependant upon the USA for defence. Many can defend themselves against the smaller powers but who else can deter Russia and China? it is simple a matter of scale.
Same thing works the other way as well. There are many states that have depended upon Russia/China for their defence.
 
Grand Mal said:
You did. "The USA is the wealthiest country on earth, you don't have to stretch your mind very far to figure out why hitching your wagon on to a winner might be a good idea."
So money should be enough to make a Canadian want to be an American.
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I would think that prosperity, security, and personal freedom would be valued by citizens of any country.

Did your ancestors sell out when they moved to Canada from wherever, or were they just looking for a better deal?
 
Quag said:
Most of the western world is basically dependant upon the USA for defence. Many can defend themselves against the smaller powers but who else can deter Russia and China? it is simple a matter of scale.
Same thing works the other way as well. There are many states that have depended upon Russia/China for their defence.
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That is true, but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I wouldn't want to have to depend on the whims of another country for my own security. In my opinion, that's the best thing about being an American.

The countries of East Asia are a special case (this includes China, Japan, Korea, and smaller economies) because they are ECONOMICALLY dependent on the United States as well. Their economies are based on exports to the US, so much that if their biggest customer (USA) were to stop buying their goods, their entire nations would collapse.

Again, I wouldn't want to be in that position. We're lucky enough in the United States that we're not entirely dependent on anyone else.... save for maybe the Saudis.
 
The US and Canada, despite proximity and many similarities, are still separate cultures with many differences in law and custom.


In short, no. In particular, I don't think most Canadians would be too keen on the idea, and I can't really blame them.
 
Peter Grimm said:
I would think that prosperity, security, and personal freedom would be valued by citizens of any country.

Did your ancestors sell out when they moved to Canada from wherever, or were they just looking for a better deal?
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You've got an exaggerated opinion of the value of what you're selling- not a good place to be if the folks you're trying to sell to aren't very motivated to buy.
I've got prosperity, got security, got personal freedom at least equal to yours and my country has a damn-sight brighter future. Canadian children are looking at a lifetime of growth, prosperity and expanding opportunities. You don't have enough of anything left to buy that.
My ancestors helped make this country and I'm here now. Why would I want to go anywhere else?
 
Peter Grimm said:
That is true, but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I wouldn't want to have to depend on the whims of another country for my own security. In my opinion, that's the best thing about being an American.

The countries of East Asia are a special case (this includes China, Japan, Korea, and smaller economies) because they are ECONOMICALLY dependent on the United States as well. Their economies are based on exports to the US, so much that if their biggest customer (USA) were to stop buying their goods, their entire nations would collapse.

Again, I wouldn't want to be in that position. We're lucky enough in the United States that we're not entirely dependent on anyone else.... save for maybe the Saudis.
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The US imports twice as much oil from Canada as from Saudi Arabia.
Net Imports of Total Crude Oil and Products into the U.S. by Country
 
Grand Mal said:
Good start. Toronto might be the only place in Canada where a lot of people want to be Americans.
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Don't worry we're coming to Vancouver too. All Canada will fall before the righteous onslaught.
 
Peter Grimm said:
Yeah, but the Saudis sell all of their oil in US dollars, no matter who the customer is. That creates an artificial demand for the US dollar, which allows us to borrow at less than 0 percent interest when you account for inflation.

The Saudis make us very rich.
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That's working out pretty good, is it? I mean, the Saudi oil bubble has been inflating since when, 1965, 1970?

Saudi_Oil_Production.png

The US has been getting rich since then?
 
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