We Canadians will never be American. We're European.

The Mass Illusion

In response to a DW video discussing the possibility of Canada joining the EU, one random user remarked,

Hey US, Canada used to be the only nation who didn't secretly hate you. No longer true. But we never wanted to be you. Still true.

Do Canadians really hate the US? I can’t answer that because Canadians tend to be more nuanced than that. But in an 1986 survey, 78% of Canadians strongly or somewhat disagreed on the more specific question of whether “Canada and the United States should someday unite into one country.”

According to a reputable public opinion monitoring program in Canada, in 2022, disagreement with that statement rose to 90%. Canadians didn’t want to be Americans while President Biden was in office, either. Nor did they want to be Americans when President Obama was in office.

Canadians of different political persuasions disagree on many things, including the independence of one of their own provinces, Quebec. On the topic of Americanization, however, Canadians are united.

But how non-American are Canadians, really? After all, even their national defense was intertwined with the US.

Canada was built on the labour of Europeans who came here with nothing. Our parents built cities, borrowed to buy homes and paid off their mortgages. Their kids grew up to form unions and write labour laws. Many of them speak 2 or more languages. We have socialized healthcare and affordable higher education. When we take pride in being "not American," it's not because we lack our own identity. It's because we understand American 'culture' as no other nation can, which is why we recognize the importance of remaining distinct.

Any guess as to what it might be in 2026?

To appreciate the current Canadian sentiment, it helps to understand a bit of history, starting with the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. As American financial institutions were securing hundreds of billions in high risk mortgages and making obscene amounts of money, Canadian banks refused to enter the game. When asked why, Canada’s official stance was, "because we don't understand it." Perhaps that was their polite way of saying they knew it was garbage.

It was garbage. The US government ended up bailing out several major banks following the financial crisis, including all the big actors (Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, BNY, American Express, Blackrock and JPMorgan Chase). Hundreds of billions were disbursed.

Canadian banks did not need government bailouts and enjoys the status of the only industrialized country in the world with not a single bank failure.

Job losses: If a company fails, it may result in significant job losses, which can have ripple effects throughout the economy. Unemployment can lead to reduced consumer spending, decreased tax revenue, and a higher burden on social safety net programs.

Economic instability: When a large company fails, it can cause economic instability, particularly if it has significant ties to other companies or industries. This can lead to a domino effect, with other companies failing and causing even more economic damage.

Loss of investor confidence: Allowing a company to fail can erode investor confidence and lead to a wider loss of trust in the financial system and stock market at large. This can make it more difficult for other companies to raise capital, potentially leading to a downward spiral in the economy.

Legal complications: The process of allowing a company to fail can be complicated and messy, particularly if the company has many outstanding debts or complex legal obligations. This can result in lengthy legal proceedings that can be costly and time-consuming.

Overall, while allowing a company to fail may be a necessary and unavoidable outcome in some cases, it is generally seen as a last resort and is often avoided through bailouts or other forms of financial support.

Examples of Bailouts

The U.S. government has a long history of bailouts going back to the Panic of 1792. Since that time, the government has assisted financial institutions during the 1989 savings and loan bailout, rescued insurance giant American International Group (AIG), funded the government-sponsored home lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and stabilized banks during the 2008 "too big to fail" bailout, officially known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA).1

U.S. Congress. "Public Law 110-343, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008."

Further, the financial industry is not the only one to receive rescue funds throughout the years. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation (LMT), Chrysler, General Motors (GM), and the airline industry also received government and other bailout support.

Economic crisis largely averted.

Now it's 2026 and US markets are artificially inflated again, since they did nothing to mitigate the risks following 2008. Do we want the Canadian economy to cut all substantive ties with its southern neighbour? Yes every day of the week and twice on Sundays. I enjoy the rule of law. Do we love European cultures? Yes. At least to the extent that there is one such thing as European culture(s). To articulate what that is would require a dissertation, or at least another post. Suffice it to say here that I am referring to food quality, and current mechanisms in place to support human rights, protections and privacy (insufficient but superior to American standards).

Do we want to adopt the Euro as our new currency? Not if consumer prices are going to double as they did in Europe following the elimination of national currencies. With strong safeguards in place, maybe we can do it. Can sacrifice a little today so that everyone's standard of living can eventually be improved? Maybe with some strong financial and economic safeguards.

Canada can share in our abundant natural resources and energy, and Europe can help us eliminate poisonous foods from our diets through regulation and enforcement, to start. If in doubt as to the reasonableness of this desire, contrast North American and European food labels. What we’re eating isn’t always food.