Suppose it did happen. Peacefully or through force, by vote or by violence.聽
What would the aftermath look like?
Welcome to sa国际传媒, USA.
We鈥檇 have more guns and more murders, but by some measurements we鈥檇 be richer. We鈥檇 be a younger city, but with a lot more homeless people. We鈥檇 be a more colourful city, with 10 per cent fewer white people.聽
And we鈥檇 probably vote for Trump.聽
Okay, okay, letsa国际传媒 not get ahead of ourselves.聽
Every day, U.S. President Donald Trumpsa国际传媒 coveting of Canada as Americasa国际传媒 51st state seems less like a joke and more like something hesa国际传媒 serious about.聽
Forget both the seeming absurdity of the notion and our overwhelming determination to remain our own country. Discount, if you can, whatever horrible consequences might immediately follow any hostile takeover.
If a union achieved through 鈥渆conomic force鈥 is possible, as Trump muses, so too is an after-the-fact landscape of civil strife, insurrection, and guerrilla war. Oh, Canada, indeed.聽
But strictly as a mind game, letsa国际传媒 imagine what sa国际传媒 might be like if the 49th parallel was even more imaginary than it is today, and was of zero political importance. Itsa国际传媒 at least conceivable we might resemble Spokane, Wash., a city thatsa国际传媒 a five hour drive away.
The City of Spokane has a population of about 250,000, comparable to the greater sa国际传媒 area, though its metro population, called Spokane County, is around 600,000.聽
If sa国际传媒 was just like the City of Spokane, here are 10 ways we鈥檇 be different:聽
- We would have had almost 100 shootings last year, with 45 people sustaining some kind of gunshot injury. Nineteen of us would have been murdered, 10 dying by gunfire. (In sa国际传媒, there were actually 21 murders from January 2019 through December 2023)
- Our median single-family home price would be $425,000 U.S. instead of just under $1 million Can
- sa国际传媒 2,000 of us would be homeless. The BC governmentsa国际传媒 most recent estimate for the number of homeless in sa国际传媒 is 999.聽
- Eighty-one per cent of us would be white. In our sa国际传媒, just over 90 per cent of us are white聽
- Our median household income would be $65,745 US, instead of $85,000 Cdn (The average annual household income, a different measure, in Spokane is $84,416, while the comparable figure for sa国际传媒 is $106,000 Cdn)
- We鈥檇 be a younger city, with 16.4 per cent of us over age 65, compared to about 22.6 per cent
- There鈥檇 be fewer of us in each household, 2.3 people, compared to 2.7聽
-Six per cent of those of us under age 65 would not have health insurance. Every Kelownian, and every Canadian, of course, gets necessary medical treatment without paying a fee at the hospital or doctorsa国际传媒 office聽
- about the same number of us would be without work, as the current unemployment rate is 4.8 per cent in Spokane and 5.3 per cent in sa国际传媒
- We might be a smarter city, with 32.6 per cent of us aged 25 or older having a Bachelor degree or higher credential. In real-life sa国际传媒, the comparable figure is about 25 per cent聽
Some of these comparisons suggest life wouldn鈥檛 be so different under the Stars and Stripes. But theresa国际传媒 one huge difference.
Last November, 51 per cent of voters in Spokane County cast their presidential ballot for Trump. Right now, 74 per cent of Canadians say they have an unfavourable view of Trump, while 27 per cent of Canadians say they even view the U.S. as an 鈥渆nemy鈥.聽
sa国际传媒 USA? No way.聽
- Ron Seymour is a sa国际传媒 Courier reporter
