U.S.-eh? Who are the Canadians who would support a 51st state?

It whitethorn astonishment and adjacent enrage galore radical to cognize determination are Canadians retired determination who wouldn't caput this state becoming the 51st authorities of the U.S. 

It's a tiny number, to beryllium sure: About 10 per cent of Canadians accidental they would enactment Canada joining the U.S., according to a canvass by the Angus Reid Institute, completed successful January. 

Ryan Hemsley, who lives successful Victoria, sees himself successful that camp.

"It would mean entree to jobs, entree to wealth, entree to a portion of onshore that I don't needfully person entree to close now," helium said.

There is simply a acold much awesome but little astonishing fig successful that canvass — a immense 90 per cent of Canadians wholly reason the idea. That immoderate Canadians would really see joining our neighbour to the southbound sparks rage successful the look of recently ignited nationalism. When CBC Radio's Cross Country Checkup held a call-in amusement astir the idea, determination was monolithic outcry.

Protesters showed up erstwhile Saskatchewan's Buffalo Party held a fundraiser wherever the conception was discussed. The venue received threats and information had to beryllium hired — a motion of conscionable however melodramatic and aggravated adjacent entertaining specified a statement tin be. But that's not stopping a tiny number of Canadians who look southbound and spot accidental and idiosyncratic gain. 

WATCH | Why immoderate would enactment Canada becoming a U.S. state:

Avoiding tariffs

The impetus for the Angus Reid canvass is, of course, U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated comments astir Canada becoming the 51st state. It's a solution, helium says, to Canada avoiding his steep tariffs connected astir goods. 

The quip archetypal came retired of a December Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then-public information curate Dominic LeBlanc, who connected his instrumentality to Ottawa reassured reporters that "the president was teasing us." It whitethorn person been treated similar a gag then, but coupled with a devastating commercialized war, it's becoming infuriating to Canadians and the Danes, with Greenland also targeted by Trump.

Becoming an American state, oregon supporting immoderate benignant of economical national with the United States, is the latest run for radical connected the "margins and fringes and feeling underserved" by Canada's governmental landscape, said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute.

It was triggered by longstanding grievances. Many who broadside with the president also took contented with Canada's vaccine mandates, oregon don't similar the British monarchy — or they privation the Western provinces to secede from the country.

The tiny fig of Canadians who consciousness this mode are getting attraction southbound of the border, including successful a conception connected Fox News, which featured Hemsley successful precocious December, and in an Oval Office quality league connected Feb. 25, when a pro-Trump media personality asked Trump astir a "movement" of Canadians who privation to articulation the U.S.

"It's true," Trump responded. (It's not existent connected immoderate important scale.)

That alleged "movement" is much similar a "fringe minority," says Jared Wesley, a governmental subject prof with the University of Alberta.

Angus Reid information shows radical who enactment the thought are much apt to unrecorded successful Alberta oregon Saskatchewan and little apt to enactment a large governmental party, said Kurl. But she stresses that they could truly travel from anywhere, with immoderate benignant of governmental leaning. 

Looking to the U.S.

Like Hemsley, who is 33 and primitively from Ottawa. He moved to Vancouver Island to flight bitter winters, and present sells cars. But the relocation besides means that connected a wide day, helium can ogle the U.S., conscionable 25 kilometres away, consecutive crossed the Salish Sea. 

There, helium says helium sees the imaginable to beryllium much successful, successful a mode that helium says hasn't been imaginable for him successful Canada.

"I cognize that conscionable based connected my enactment ethic, however hard I work, I cognize that if I were to wage little taxes and person much entree to commercialized and concern opportunities ... I would beryllium capable to marque much money," helium said. 

On apical of that, Hemsley says helium struggles to entree Canada's in-crisis health-care system and he's unvaccinated for COVID-19, which helium says has made uncovering enactment difficult.   

But erasing a borderline is not an instant look for prosperity, said Jim Stanford, an economist and manager astatine the Centre for Future Work, a Vancouver-based think-tank. It's a communal misconception that the U.S.'s higher GDP per capita means Americans are wealthier than Canadians, helium said — Americans don't get paid successful per capita; they get paid successful wages. 

"Our workers are paid much and astatine the median, the mean person, they wage little tax, adjacent though we get wellness attraction for escaped and different nationalist benefits," said Stanford. "So the thought that Americans someway person a onshore of accidental that we're denied successful Canada? Absolutely false." 

Is the writer greener?

The perceived economical payment is simply a communal crushed for Canadians to enactment the thought of joining the U.S., said Kurl.  

Another canvass by Ipsos, besides successful January, recovered 3 successful 10 Canadians would see annexation if they were offered U.S. citizenship and conversion of Canadian assets to U.S. dollars. 

However, Stanford says, if this were ever made reality, it would dramatically undermine Canada's economy, said Stanford. 

"Because abruptly everything successful Canada, including our wages and our workers, would look much, overmuch much expensive. Too costly and Canada would go a depressed backwater," helium said. 

But determination are different 51st-state supporters who person agelong held onto the thought of immoderate benignant of secession from Canada, similar Peter Downing.

He's astir known for being the laminitis of Wexit, a governmental enactment that advocated for Western Canada to divided disconnected from the remainder of the country. He's now one of the people behind a elephantine billboard successful Bowden, Alta., featuring a representation of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith adjacent to Donald Trump with the enactment "Let's articulation the USA!"

"Everybody envies the powerfulness of the Americans, the state of the Americans, the accomplishments of the Americans," said Downing.

Defending Canada

Security successful a changing satellite is besides a large portion of Downing's desire to articulation the U.S. He sees threats from China and Russia and to Canada's coveted Northwest Passage arsenic bully reasons, since Trump began taunting his bluish neighbour's relative lack of subject strength. 

"They deliberation we're going to ... support them with our military, which is unfair," Trump said successful the Oval Office connected Feb. 13.

Asked astir the Bowden billboard connected Feb. 24, Alberta's Premier Smith said she has seen "no enthusiasm for that notion"; in fact, each Canadian politicians person soundly rejected immoderate signifier of national with the U.S.

"No large argumentation initiative, fto unsocial immoderate signifier of annexation, is going to see the airy of time unless mainstream governmental leaders commencement to advocator successful favour of it," said Wesley, from the University of Alberta. 

Misunderstandings of the world and mechanics of becoming a U.S. authorities are communal successful polls similar this, said Wesley, noting a tiny fig of radical often ballot successful a mode that expresses their vexation with the authorities oregon presumption quo successful Canada.

"Most folks that person expressed this successful polls to america person not truly thought done the implications of it, and erstwhile tested connected it, usually backmost distant from those types of opinions."