Whether President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign for Canada to join the United States is a negotiation strategy, a passing fancy, or reflects a genuine belief, it has provoked a defiant and fiery “Never!” from Canadian politicians and public figures across the spectrum.
But the backlash against the idea of becoming the 51st U.S. state exposes a deep contradiction in a country where in recent years there’s been a systematic effort to erase the Canadian identity and founding history.
