
For the first time in Canadian modern history, the U.S. President has been threatening to annex Canada by economic force. President Trump dreams of Canada becoming the cherished 51st state. He told it several times to the media and to the Canadian Prime Minister. Professor Aaron Ettinger, a Carleton University political professor, argues that Canadians must take these threats very seriously. In sum, Trump specifies that he will annex Canada through economic force, but not by a military invasion. Trump’s plan is unclear, and we can expect that Trump intends to coerce Canada so hard through tariffs and economic turmoil that Canadians will beg to join the Union of the United States. Canadian and U.S. law would allow Canada to join the U.S., but it is very unlikely that Canadians voluntarily decide to give up their sovereignty to become the 51st state. Canada wants to find new trade partners to stop being economically vulnerable to the U.S. Besides, Ottawa intends to remove all interprovincial trade barriers, and it wants to encourage businesses to export to new markets. Moreover, this is unlikely that Canada will merge with the U.S. because the U.S. Congress is unlikely to support it. Besides, Trump will never get the consent of Canada to join the U.S.
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