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Recently, Donald Trump has been speaking about Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States.
As a proud Canadian, I am disgusted by the very thought of being the 51st state. I live in the best country in the world—Canada. Canada is not perfect, but it is a far better place to live than the US.
I have outlined several reasons why I believe it is ridiculous even to consider the annexation of Canada by the US.
The US has the highest civilian ownership of firearms in the world. Some data states there are more guns than people in the US.
From 2020 to 2023, there were more than 600 mass shootings per year in the USA (a mass shooting is the murder of four or more people). In my opinion, one of the worst mass shootings occurred in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooter used a 30-round magazine and slaughtered 20 children ages six or seven years old and six adults.
Any sensible person would expect government action to prevent future mass shootings. Nothing meaningful happened. The killing continues. To this day, in the US, the right to bear arms wins out over the lives of innocent civilians.
In the US, the law of the land allows a convicted criminal to run for the office of president. Donald Trump was found guilty by a jury on 34 counts of hush money and influencing the results of the 2016 presidential election. Despite the conviction, in 2024, Trump ran for and won the office of president. Criminal conviction of Trump did not bar Trump from running for the presidency? I am not interested in living in a country led by a criminal.
The American constitution has checks and balances that prevent any one body of government (Legislative, Executive or Judicial) from having absolute power.
The US Supreme Court (Judicial Branch) has ruled that the president has absolute immunity for acts committed within the core president's constitutional responsibility. That means the president can do whatever he/she chooses while in office and be beyond legal prosecution. There is no check on the power of the president.
Other considerations are health care insurance (expensive), income inequality (the top one per cent of Americans hold over 30 per cent of the country's wealth), political division, and racism impacting housing, employment and education.
Canada is a sovereign country with strong democratic values, institutions and an internationally recognized government. Many years ago, we fought not to be part of the US and won.
I was born at the end of the Second World War. Until recently, there has never been a direct threat against Canada.
Threats of annexing Canada have awakened in me an understanding of how far I would go to defend my Canada. I believe I am not alone.
Canadians will never let Canada be annexed by the US.
Ron Tadman
Blue Mountains, ON
