Canada lawmaker suggests letting 3 US states join, get free health care

As a Washingtonian, I’m so fucking sold.

I think a lot of us in Washington and Oregon would be all for this. And we can leave the eastern sides out. Northern California is obviously welcome.
- Northern California is obviously welcome.
  Except for Silicon Valley, right? Or does Canada have better antitrust and worker's rights regulations and enforcement too?
- Trade NorCal for New England and it’s a deal.
Same fucking here!

Minnesota welcomes Canada with the traditional poutine and tatortot hotdish border potluck

Please don't leave us behind

Imagine the US losing the pacific coast?
- They would never let it happen.
Do you remember that time Minnesota annexed the upper peninsula? Yeah crazy, but that means we get to be Canadian too
- When was that? I’m a native Yooper and I never heard about MN annexing Da Yoop even as a joke.

Vermont... I think we could get this done pretty quick... In fact, I bet the rest of the US wouldn't even notice... Bonus, we'll bring Bernie.

Vermont is already a honorary Canadian province for producing so much maple syrup.
- Making maple syrup is my favorite late winter activity! I suck at it and have no real setup so it always has an ash flavor... But sitting around a fire all day watching sap boil is very relaxing... Almost everyone taps a tree or two at least.
Can Maine come too?
- Maine can go to Spain, after all we already blamed the Maine on Spain.
- Gotta get your politics in line... Ranked choice voting was a good start... Is that still a thing?
- Yeah, I think all of New England is down for this. Please.
I'm so down for this.
American here. What's a Vermont?
- Lol... It's where Bernie kicked off the revolution
- I think it's a term for small, destructive animals?
- It's where some maple syrup comes from. The capital is Montpelier.
  That's the full extent of my Vermont knowledge.

It's funny how much more favorable the comments are on this compared donnie's original comments.

Canadians on joining the US: "oh hell no!"

Americans on joining Canada: "me too please!"

Sooo, as a Canadian, I'm pretty sure I have the authority to speak for all of us, and as much as I'd love to have you all, I'd rather not tempt fate and accidentally start a war.

Also, Indiana, Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming, you're expressly not allowed in.

You're not going to allow states that don't border you but you're okay with Montana? And I wouldn't say North Dakota is a bastion of progressivism either.
- Pfft. Everyone knows nobody really lives in Montana. They just pretend they do on paper so they can incorporate LLC's there and put license plates on their dirt bikes and quads. Montana's entire population is actually in Kentucky and Florida.
  Just think of all the moose you could farm in that space, or whatever it is the Canadians want to do with it.
- Yeah, NoDak is pretty strong red hat territory. They wouldn't be a good fit.
- There's hope yet for Montana's future.
I think Alabama is one where the feeling is mutual.
I wonder what Hawaii and Alaska would think.
- As a Canadian, Hawaii really don't feel Canadian. Would they be better off as their own thing?
  I thought Alaska could join as a territory and not a province but then realized that Alaska has more population than the 3 territories combined and then it's still over 6 times more.
Also, Indiana, Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming, you're expressly not allowed in.
There's far too many MAGA hats in Montana and North Dakota for them to be welcomed either.

entire west coast: let us in!

I don think you’d have to become part of Canada to join the Commonwealth so maybe there’s a chance?

Oregonian here. I am ready to pledge allegiance to the king any minute
I feel like Michigan is a bit too swingy for that, they went red again (by a small margin) last election. I would really like it tho, it would make visiting my in-laws feel a bit less daunting.
- Governor and State Senate legislature are blue, just not the state house. Overall Michigan is pretty purple with a small majority left which I think blends well with Canada.

Yes. One million times yes. Let's watch the GOP fucking implode when the largest GDP State (CA) leaves their ass. It's insane they are whining about our fires... Idaho was far more on fire this year than us in California. And that was all forest, not literal neighborhoods that 100% raked their fuckin leaves.

Take Oregon and Washington and the USA is left without a Pacific Coast...LOL!
- Keep it down. We don't want them figuring it out! (Also Alaska)
- But my manifest destiny!
I live in WA and I want this more than anything.

Here's a nice compromise position - Canada becomes a republic; in exchange, the West Coast and the East Coast down to Maryland (or Virginia) join as unincorporated territories or whatever the Canuck equivalent is.

please save us from Y'All Qaeda

I remember seeing something similar in the W days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesusland_map
It is the fact that the US is a republic that is the problem. If any US states join Canada they do it as a province of the federation.
- I refuse to have anything to do with having a m*narch on my money 😤
  I'm fine with being a province, but it's republic or bust
Canafornia, a Democracy with no need for an electorial college, and free of having the monarch on their money.
If anything was really done, I assume it'd be just opening up (+incentivizing) immigration. Skilled labor/health/money probably will still be huge barriers, so I think the most effect it could have would be brain drain.

California should totally join Canada.

Having similar values, California will finally be able yonreally become what it wants under Canadian law. It being a ginormous economy is nice too for Canada and would just plain bankrupt the US in one go.

They can have Alberta in return if they want

Only if we get autonomy that rivals the Quebecois, after all Canada will benefit far more from California's economy than California will from Canada. Also we demand all the dot CA domains.
- Sorry, you only get .ca.ca.
- On the flip side...
  California subsidizes the shit out of the rest of the USA, and relatively speaking gets less in return. Imagine no longer having to finance just about everything of failed religious states like Kentucky and Mississippi.
  Also you wouldn't have to deal with racist religious extremists. Like any country, we have our crazies but we're not even close to the level of the US.
  Financially it would be hugely beneficial to California to be part of Canada.
  Also, get free healthcare, which is fucking awesome
  We can equally share the .ca domains, it's not like there are that many left anyway
The rest of Canada would never have a vote worth anything ever again. California and Canada have about equal populations.
- Those are just solutions in waiting, I don't see that as a barrier form California to join
  Also, Canada NEEDS more citizens, getting a huge influx of higher educated people isn't a bad deal.
  Add the enormous economy and we have a winner

As a Washingtonian, I would LOVE for this to happen. It’s a shame she’s joking.

I mean, as a Canadian I would say come on and get this going. Hell Alaska can join as well.
Then tarriff the shit out of Trump for anything being shipped through new Canada from China lol.

Speaking at a press conference last week in Ottawa, May called out the president-elect, saying, "Hey, Donald, have we got a deal for you? You think we want to be the 51st state huh? But maybe California would like to be the 11th province. How about it? California? Oregon? Washington?

I live in California and I'd like this. But then the USA would never have a non-GOP president ever again and that's against my conscience.

The "United States" is done anyway, there's no way, ironically, to make America great again.
- If there was only a way
Washington would fit right in. Western Washington is already a lot like British Columbia, and Eastern Washington is already a lot like Alberta.
- Alberta, aka Hellberta, aka the Texas of Canada.
At some point it stops being a game of "save everyone", and starts becoming "save as many as you can".

Not just three, all the Blue States would like to switch to province.

I think each individual state should be able to choose whether they stay in the US or not. Every ten years, the citizens of the state voted. If you vote to leave, you can’t come back for ten years. It would take place at the same time as the census.

Yes, the one aspect of the civil war that I have never agreed with was that a stare can not choose to leave the Union. If a terratory can vote to join the Union, I see no reason why they couldn't vote to leave it. On that note, I would also support the idea that the other states should have the right to vote out a state they no longer want in the Union.
- You’re right. Self determination is a right we all have.
- Which state is the Weakest Link?

As an American, let me just say, 🎶 Oh Canada... 🎶

Some required listening before joining: A Canadian comedy debate on whether O Canada is the best national anthem

If the whole "annex Canada" stuff was just a distraction, this might become a reality, fascists like Trump are highly irrational, and might give them the 3 most western states, especially California.

Am Californian, would seriously consider joining Canada.
Trump could reflexively say whatever (as he does) but so much cargo comes through here his business people wouldn't let him do it. Too much of a tariff risk.
- California has gone blue every 4 years since 1992.
  If your 54 EC votes leave, this country is absolutely doomed. Please take us with you.

This. This is how you fight trump

:O take us away pls

I doubt they'll take #Arkansas, so I'm screwed either way until my familial duty is complete.

NWA here, yeah our guv'na is a fascist demon ready to put all non white christians into concentration camps

I am Soooooo down for this!!!!!

I think it's all noise to distract from issues US should solve on its own.

As someone who lives in California, I would love this.

We'd love to have ya!
Have a chat with Hawaii, okay? Mom wants to go before she dies but she won't go with Trump in charge. Get them on board and even the flight's domestic. Woot!
As someone who lives in Texas, I would also love this - once I gtfo of Texas

Pick me! Pick me! oh oh oh!

What about New Mexico?
If the US can have Alaska, we can join Canada, right?

Should join Mexico, change the name to Old Mexico
- That would be ideal. But they didn't offer
No... Tis a silly place
- Yah... Twas afraid of that

Those aren't the states I picture as being closely connected to Canada, but maybe that's because I'm jealous

As a Georgian, I badly want to be included no matter how irrational it would be.

no fair man. illinois. illinois.

Everybody hates Illinois. People who live there even hate it. I was born there and promptly left.
- Also lived there, also hated it. Never again

Maryland. I'm in. It's closer than you think.

Yeah, right. If California joined they’d be subsidizing health care for the rest of Canada through transfer payments since every province would be considered a “have not province” compared to California.

This is like inviting your billionaire uncle to move in with you and also open a joint bank account.

Edit: just to put some numbers on my point, the GSP (gross state product) of California is $4 trillion, nearly twice that of the GDP of Canada which is $2.18 trillion. Canada’s economy would effectively triple in size by bringing in California.

She's trolling trump. It's not a serious proposition.
- One can still fantasize about a brighter future, can they?
- Plus, while May is a parliamentarian, she is also the leader of a party of one elected person.
Isn't this kinda already the case when you compare California to other states? In terms of subsidizing the rest of the country, not healthcare.
- Canada has a massive program of equalization transfer payments where taxes collected in rich provinces go to subsidize poor ones. The US does not have anything like this. None of the state governments have their budgets subsidized by other states.
- I wonder if Canada sending its water bombers so that California doesn't get burnt to a crisp counts as a transfer payment.
Yes subsidized healthcare is the goal.
- Mostly ours is single payer, except for prescriptions, etc.
  Although it has been moving further towards private because of the right-wing provincial governments (who control healthcare spending).
So?
Do you understand the goal of transfer payments? Because from what you just said you already don't understand how it works.
Our population would double too
- And we wouldn’t have to cross the border to fight wildfires anymore!
Better balance all that by including New England. In Massachusetts, we’re already closest to universal healthcare

Calling Elizabeth May a lawmaker is the most credibility the federal Green party has ever gotten

Hey, take illinois. Its connected via the great lakes, and we may be #12 in terms of GDP, about 50-60%% of goods travelling by rail or road through the US have to go through us.

The Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways are busy in the Chicago area.

Minnesota is basically already there

Hey... don't forget Vermont!

Let the negotiations begin xD kek

Can we get a relocation care package for all of the reasonable people stuck in red state hell-holes!? I'd move to literally any blue state if I had the resources and reassurance it won't be sucked into US federal far right bs. So done with this scam country.

Technically that would make king charles my head of state seeing as I live in California. Not into that. A lot of pros/advantages though, I'll say that much.

Except seeing him on money he affects Canadians in zero ways. And y'all have Jackson on your money so I wouldn't go throwing stones.
- Is he even on our money yet? I haven’t used cash in months so I wouldn’t know
- Every major currency has at least one jerk face on it.
King Charles has much less power than King Trump. Multiple orders of magnitude less.
- I am aware, but it makes me finicky. Irks me irrationally.

Elizabeth May, you’re swell!

North Carolina please

What a Sucker Punch ! I like that

Maybe they can swap the US Alberta for them

That's where all their oil is... Don't give Trump any ideas.