BY MICHAEL LIVINGSTON
I know. It sounds crazy, but there are a lot of crazy ideas going around lately and this one may have some merit. Just hear me out. Minnesota should secede from the U.S. and join Canada.
Canada protects a woman’s right to abortion. Canada has a national health care system that provides basic care to its citizens. Canada welcomes immigrants. Canada is a functioning democracy with a federal system that gives the provinces considerable autonomy. Canada tends to stay out of foreign wars and doesn’t meddle in other countries affairs. Canada has high quality public schools and high quality university education that is more affordable than in the U.S. Sounds like a deal to me.
What does Minnesota have to offer? If they let us in, we would be the third richest province, in terms of Gross Domestic Product, after Ontario and Quebec, and just ahead of Alberta. We would be the third largest province in terms of population, again behind Ontario and Quebec and a bit ahead of British Columbia, and the Twin Cities would be the third largest metropolitan area, behind Toronto and Montreal.
And that’s not all! We have five great men’s sports teams and three great women’s professional sports teams. We have great museums and a terrific theater and music scene. What’s more: We are nice, just like the Canadians!
Face it: Minnesota is culturally and politically closer to Canada then we are to Texas or Florida.
Canada is a multi-party democracy with a prime minister. The head of state is the British monarch, currently King Charles — so as a freebee we get a King!
Of course, Canada has problems. They have a history of abuse toward the peoples of the First Nations (who we refer to as Native Americans), but they are trying to deal with that, at least more so than we are dealing with our own history of genocide and abuse. And then their biggest current problem is their half-crazed neighbor to the south.
Unlike California and Texas, which have independence movements, Minnesota cannot survive economically as an independent country. Unlike Hawaii and Alaska, which also have independence movements, we are not geographically isolated from the U.S. mainland. Our best bet is to join our neighbor to the north.
Becoming the 11th province sounds like a win-win to me! At least we should consider it. I mean, why not? Crazier ideas seem to be flowing like water after a spring rain. So, the question becomes: Do we want to be a small fish in a polluted pond, or a big fish in a clean pond? I vote for clean.
