'There's no Canadian dream': Meet some who want Canada to become the 51st U.S. state

Fakiha Baig · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 22, 2025 1:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Jordon Kosikowie has been reasoning a batch astir what would hap if Alberta joined the United States.

The 35-year-old works successful the lipid and state manufacture successful the Edmonton country and says beingness has been hard successful caller years. So he's unfastened to the thought if it brings much prosperity.

"If there's an accidental for maine to enactment much wealth into my pocket, wherefore not converse astir it?" said Kosikowie, who runs a Facebook radical for Albertans who privation to beryllium a portion of a 51st U.S. state. The radical has grown to 1,000 members since it was created a fewer months ago.

"There's nary Canadian dream. I inactive don't foresee myself owning a home."

Kosikowie represents a tiny fraction of Canadians who accidental they would ballot to articulation the U.S. successful a referendum, said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute.

An online institute survey of 1,653 Canadian adults successful January suggested 90 per cent wouldn't ballot for Canada to go a 51st authorities successful a hypothetical referendum.

"The 90 per cent is significant," she said.

"That truly does talk to a statement that crosses governmental lines, demographic lines, determination lines, property and sex demographics, and it's fundamentally the lone happening that Canadians hold connected close now."

But it besides suggests 10 per cent of Canadians would privation to articulation the U.S.

An online Leger canvass released successful March said 9 per cent of Canadians privation Canada to go the 51st state. Support was highest successful Alberta astatine 15 per cent.

The online surveys cannot beryllium assigned a borderline of mistake due to the fact that they bash not randomly illustration the population.

Kurl said her survey suggests those successful favour of joining the U.S. are mostly blimpish men surviving successful Alberta and Saskatchewan, and those who mightiness ballot for fringe parties and are "diet MAGA," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again movement.

"We're talking astir slices of the colonisation connected the margins," she said.

Kosikowie said helium would privation Alberta to articulation the U.S. due to the fact that much conservatives unrecorded successful Alberta and Albertans are opportunistic.

Many successful the state besides consciousness near retired from the remainder of Canada, helium said. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has regularly butted heads with the national authorities and says Ottawa has done thing but harm the lipid and state sector.

"I enactment statehood, but I enactment much of the conversation," Kosikowie said.

Dave Bjorkman has bigger dreams. He thinks each of Canada should beryllium portion of the U.S.

The 47-year-old from Edmonton started the Party of the Canadian Constitutionalists. He besides created a Facebook radical called "Canada the 51st State," erstwhile Trump archetypal made his annexation menace earlier this year. It present has 6,000 members.

Bjorkman said helium believes some countries tin prosper if they unite. He besides feels Canadians are unwilling to enactment with 1 different to turn the country's wealth.

"We don't adjacent emotion each other," helium said.

"I've been crossed Canada. All I perceive is, 'I was calved successful Alberta, I hatred Quebec, I hatred Ontario,' or, you know, 'I'm from B.C., I hatred Alberta."'

He said Canada tin payment from U.S. commercialized relations and the U.S. tin larn a batch from Canada's cosmopolitan wellness care.

The perceived economical payment is what's drafting immoderate Canadians to the 51st authorities movement, said Nelson Wiseman, a governmental subject prof astatine the University of Toronto.

"A batch of these radical are unhappy with the existent situation," helium said.

"They consciousness disconnected from the government. They deliberation the authorities conscionable serves large cities.

"But it's a chaotic idea."

Canadians mightiness presumption the U.S. arsenic much prosperous, helium said, but a merger would make important economical challenges.

"From a logistical constituent of view, an operational constituent of view, a pragmatic constituent of view, it would instrumentality astir apt a decennary for a merger of the 2 countries to happen," helium said.

"You don't conscionable question a magic wand and it happens, due to the fact that determination are each kinds of things that would person to beryllium sorted out."

This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Trump's threats to annex Canada request to halt earlier the 2 countries tin person broad bilateral conversations astir commercialized and security.

"We've called retired those comments. They're disrespectful, they're not helpful, and they request to stop," Carney said.

However, Kosikowie said Trump's comments person sparked ideas successful the minds of immoderate Canadians.

"We each look astatine things a antithetic way. We're each allowed to larn and inquire questions," helium said.

"It's the quality of Canada."