If U.S. President Donald Trump fails in his stated goal of annexing Canada through economic force, what would happen if he ordered the world’s most powerful military to invade?

Some experts and academics say it’s a notion too preposterous to even contemplate. But Aisha Ahmad isn’t one of them.

“When you look at the power (imbalance) between the U.S. and Canada, an invasion would immediately result in the defeat of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said the University of Toronto political science professor, who last month published an essay on the subject in The Conversation.

“But a conventional military victory is not the end of this story. It’s just the beginning.”

  • boolean_sledgehammer@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    If conservatives ever get insane enough to actually try anything like that, understand that a fair amount of that hypothetical insurgency will be happening on the American side of the border as well. A lot of people who live near the border have a lot of Canadian ties. They would effectively consider any military action taken against Canada to be an attack on them.

  • imvii@lemmy.ca
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    2 days ago

    The modern US hasn’t fought a war with someone right next door, who looks and talks like them. Not only would it be hard to hold captured cities, but I think many Canadian fighters would walk across that massive unsecured border and start fucking up US resources like electrical stations, water supplies, subway systems, internet backbones, government buildings, . It is super easy to buy guns and ammo in the US, bombs are not hard to make. We would have a fair amount of local support as well.

    We Canadians could just walk around the US in public and you’ve never know it.

      • pleasegoaway@lemm.ee
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        Blue states understand that you can’t just go and TAKE a country’s sovereignty, and that trying to do so sets a dangerous precedent.

        Red states seem to forget that it goes both ways. Another country can try to TAKE the US (e.g., Russia, china).

        Red states seem to forget that they would be furious if another country tried to invade the US. They fail to look in the mirror.

      • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
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        Honestly you would have to go county by county. As someone from MN, there are rural areas that vote red and would probably be for war with canada if it came down to it.

        Then cities and people in blue counties would probably be the opposite.

        • Tiefling IRL@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          While true, I think people would easily drive a few counties to sabotage an invasion force, which blurs the map. I would consider the state level about even

          • imvii@lemmy.ca
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            1 day ago

            There would also be civilian targets. Those huge retirement towns filled with MAGA boomers in Florida - the ones where they drive golf carts around - those will burn to the ground.

    • TylerBourbon@lemmy.world
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      Not to mention so very many of the Americans in the states that border Canada would probably be more than willing to aid the Canadian efforts.

    • Montreal_Metro@lemmy.ca
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      It’s stupid because a lot of Americans have families in Canada and some Americans actually live in Canada and loads of American businesses have offices and branches in Canada so they’d literally be bombing themselves.

    • Cyclist@lemmy.world
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      Sabotaging the Canadian power stations that send power to the Eastern Seaboard would be a start.

    • Justus@lemmy.ca
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      Canadians were known as the most ruthless wartime force. I will bring that back to protect my daughters right to her body. Our neighbour should never mistake kindness for weakness

    • apprehensively_human@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      I feel like this has to be the case. America is a disaster but I cannot fathom the populace or even the military being complacent as they march over the border.

      • Fenrisulfir@lemmy.ca
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        Look up Kent state shootings. They fired on their own. The people in the military are maybe there for an education but mainly to get paid and some to shoot people. They’ll have no issue attacking us at all.

        If it comes to that, those that would have an issue will have left on their own or been purged by that point.

  • Alpha71@lemmy.world
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    All I know is, there are alot of natives kinda hoping they do invade. Imagine being legally allowed to shoot white people. 😂

  • riyehn@sh.itjust.works
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    I don’t know why everyone assumes the use of military force to annex Canada would take the form of a massive conventional invasion. Hybrid warfare approaches like spreading misinformation, covert ops, stirring up local pro-American militias, etc. could do 95% of the work, without the sort of overt violence that generates insurgencies.

    It’s very possible to defend against hybrid threats, but only if we recognize the threat exists instead of assuming a US invasion would necessarily be a catastrophic strategic blunder.

  • Ilixtze@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Come on USA : Invade Canada during winter and kneel under the barrage of exploding hockey pocks.

  • GingaNinga@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Do you have any idea how hard it is to focus on school/studying when this is the kind of news that keeps popping up?

    • AJ1@lemmy.ca
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      I remember being constantly terrified of nuclear annihilation during the cold war in the 80’s, when every night after dinner, Peter Jennings would tell America how close we were to MAD. Now I live in Canada and I have that same existential dread that I had 45 years ago living in the US, except somehow it’s even worse

      • GingaNinga@lemmy.world
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        worse than nuclear annihilation? I guess that would at least be quick. I was complaining to my parents about how shit just being alive is right now and they replied with “every generation has their struggles”… I had to cut the conversation there, I couldn’t even be bothered to respond to that.

        • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          As you grow older you learn how to have control over your brain, ie: you can, through practice, tell it to shut the fuck up when it’s screaming all your fears at you all at once.

          Your brain can either be like a spoiled child running around creating chaos, or a fairly well behaved child who listens to your requests and needs. Choose wisely.

          • ag10n@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            As someone who is in their 40s this has been my life since about 2006. Crisis after crisis, all the while boomers got theirs and all future generations are fucked from it

            Just turn it off and stop caring i guess, it’s the boomer way

            • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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              I guess if you wanna turn it off that’s your choice.

              I prefer to teach it some manners and self-control instead.

              • ag10n@lemmy.world
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                3 days ago

                Take life head on. Don’t shut out your feelings or ignore what’s happening

                Entire generations are losing to a “I got mine mentality”. Now is the time to fight. Fuck manners and self control. It’s time to organize and destroy facism again

                • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                  I’m not avoiding life. I’ve simply taught my brain to stop ranting about future and present fears that I can’t do anything about.

                  That’s how I have the time to sleep peacefully and prepare for what’s coming, instead of freaking out.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        2 days ago

        Having life suddenly end in a brilliant flash sounds scary, but struggling through decades of war torn hell sounds depressing. And believable. :(

      • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
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        One of those fears is of the mad cruelty of a few men, the other is of the mad cruelty of thousands, if not millions, of attackers and supporters.

    • npcknapsack@lemmy.ca
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      I know a few people who’ve had to limit their news consumption so that they could focus on life. It might help.

    • GreenCavalier@lemmy.ca
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      we’ve instituted Analog Sundays at our house. No screens of ANY kind. No computer, no tablets, no tv, no phone. Books, boardgames, sketch books, musical instruments. It makes for a great brain reset and lowers those cortisol levels a titch.

    • lobut@lemmy.ca
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      I have a job that’s repeatedly being reminded that it’s going to be taken over by AI in my news feed. Between Marvel Rivals and Penn and Teller Magic Tricks I get reminded of constant tariffs and war.

      Do yourself a favour and find different outlets and ways of getting information. Mental health is important dude.

  • Mallspice@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Because going to war with people who like the cold is always a good idea.

    Smh

  • atro_city@fedia.io
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    3 days ago

    It would another Vietnam or Afghanistan. They’d invade, kill a few thousand maybe million people, mire around, and then retreat again with their funds drained and thousands of crippled veterans with PTSD.

  • Match!!@pawb.social
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    3 days ago

    decades long is an understatement. unless they mean the US itself will collapse

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      Maybe not collapse, but they sure as hell won’t ‘win’.

      In a recent article published in The Atlantic magazine, (American military historian Eliot) Cohen used a tongue-in-cheek approach to warn Americans against invading Canada, pointing out that previous attempts led to dismal results.

      His review of American military failures starts in 1775, when U.S. troops invaded Quebec, where they distributed pamphlets — translated into French — awkwardly declaring: “You have been conquered into liberty.” The campaign ended in disastrous defeat for the American Continental Army in December 1775.

      During the War of 1812, former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson said conquering Canada was “a mere matter of marching.”

      “This was incorrect,” Cohen wrote. “The United States launched eight or nine invasions of Canada during the War of 1812, winning only one fruitless battle. The rest of the time, it got walloped.”

      • Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca
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        There was a certain light colored house that got lit on fire by retaliatory forces back in 1812.

    • Comment105@lemm.ee
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      This being something to talk about is fucking incredible.

      They’ve gone completely off.