Geopolitics expert and award-winning journalist Diane Francis presents a political argument and business case for merging America and Canada into a geographical, political, and economic superpower.
As she says no two nations in the world are as integrated, economically and socially, as are the United States and Canada. They share geography, values, and the largest unprotected border in the world. Regardless of this close friendship, the two countries are on a slow-motion collision course—with each other and with the rest of the world. While they wrestle with internal political gridlock and fiscal challenges and clash over border problems, the economies of the larger world change and flourish. Emerging economies sailed through the financial meltdown of 2008.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that by 2018, China’s economy will be bigger than that of the United States; when combined with India, Japan, and the four Asian Tigers—South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong—China’s economy will be bigger than that of the G8 (minus Japan). Rather than continuing on this road to mutual decline, our two nations should chart a new course.
Francis proposes a simple solution:
What if the United States and Canada merged into one country?
The most audacious initiative since the Louisiana Purchase would solve the biggest problems each country expects to face: the U.S.’s national security threats and declining living standards; and Canada’s difficulty controlling and developing its huge landmass, stemming from a lack of capital, workers, technology and military might.
The merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country builds both a strong political argument and a compelling business case, treating the two countries not only as sovereign entities but as merging companies. We are on the cusp of new world order. She argues, together, by marshaling resources and combining efforts, Canada and America have a greater chance of succeeding. As separate nations, the future is in much greater doubt indeed.
Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America Should Become One Country
About the Book Author: Diane Francis is the author of nine books, including the #1 bestsellers, Who Owns Canada Now and Bre-X: The Inside Story. An award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and entrepreneur, she has been a columnist for Maclean’s magazine, The New York Sun, and the Financial Post, and is currently Editor at Large at the National Post and a blogger for The Huffington Post. Francis was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy and a Media Fellow and participant at the World Economic Forum for 20 years. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management. A native of Chicago, she divides her time between Toronto and New York City.
After Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea, the thoughts in this book are even more fascinating. The central argument is this:
Canada is vast, with vast natural resources, and barely inhabited. There is no way Canada can protect its borders if push came to shove with the Russians or the Chinese. America has a mighty military machine but is likely to use full force only if its borders were under attack. America also has the know-how and human and capital resources to take care of and develop the vast hinterlands of Canada. Whether this “feasibility study” can be any more remains to be seen, but the argumentation is fascinating.
Moreover, interestingly she discounts the 3 times more populated than Canada’s neighbor to the real south; Mexico!
She says Mexico will never be ready to merge with the USA and Canada even though Mexico is the fastest growing, is the 4th largest exporter of automobiles in the world, and has a significantly younger population that will grow into a larger workforce than the USA and Canada go grey and become worker weak.
Moreover, most leading world economists believe that Mexico will be a top 5 economy in 25 years yet Francis is steadfast in declaring that Mexico is disqualified.
So to this author’s view, if she truly advocates for a real stronger Union, then Mexico must be part of the equation because they will be a Top 5 economic power in 25 years while Canada and the USA bounce along struggling to meet the needs of their greying workforce. So yeah, it is strangely curious that she only advocates for just 2/3rds of what most in the elite already know to be our future; that is the North American Union which includes Mexico.
I wonder who she’s working for?
