Bruce County Memories: History shows that trying to annex Canada is doomed

By John C. Carter

This timely piece on annexing Canada is by a guest author, historian John Carter. He holds a PhD in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester and is the Peninsula director of the Bruce County Historical Society. He is the author of “The Perils and Pitfalls of the Steamer Ploughboy” (2018) and “Piratical Doings on the River St. Clair: Some Reflections on the 1838 Upper Canadian Rebellion” (2020). He lives in Sauble Beach.

You’ve heard that United States (U.S.) president Donald Trump is calling for the annexation of Canada as the 51st state. As a historian, I can tell you that any such attempt is doomed to failure. Over and over, Canadians have driven off American invaders.

For starters, take the War of 1812. It began in July, 1812, when an American army crossed the Detroit River and occupied Sandwich (Windsor), only to abandon it and return to Detroit when supply lines were cut off by Tecumseh and his alliance of First Nations warriors.

It was the first of many incursions into Canadian territory. The U.S. launched these invasions based on long-standing differences with Great Britain, such as trade restrictions and impressment of sailors. Underlying these reasons was its desire to expand in North America, in fact, to annex some or all of Canada (then Upper Canada and Lower Canada).

For more than two years, the hostilities continued. There was the Battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed; the attack across the Niagara River and the defeat at Queenston Heights; the burning of York (Toronto); Laura Secord’s 20-mile trek through enemy lines to warn the British of an impending American attack.

When the smoke cleared and a peace treaty was signed, more than two years of war had yielded no change — the U.S. failed to annex one square inch of Canadian soil.

The following years saw more invasions, only this time the aggressors were a private group not sanctioned by the government. The “Patriots” were groups of armed men on both sides of the border seeking to overthrow British rule in Upper Canada and set up a republican government. They believed Canadians would join them but, in fact, much of the Canadian population was loyal to British institutions and decidedly against overthrowing them.

During the Patriot War, at least 19 armed incursions from the U.S. into Upper Canada were recorded between December, 1837, and December, 1838.

For example, William Lyon Mackenzie and a group of armed men occupied Navy Island in the Niagara River in December, 1837, and declared the island the Republic of Canada. Up to 500 volunteers joined them, to no avail. A heavy bombardment by the British persuaded the invaders to retreat to Buffalo, where they were captured by the U.S. Army.

Again, in January, 1838, the Patriots shelled Fort Malden and Amherstburg from the schooner “Anne.” After she grounded, Canadian militia opened fire and captured the vessel and crew. Then in February, Patriots from Navy Island and Ohio occupied and held Pelee Island until they were driven out by British and Canadian forces.

Other losses followed. Not convinced by these defeats, in December an armed group of Patriot invaders crossed the river from Detroit and took possession of Windsor. Again, they were routed by loyalist forces. This was the last incursion in the Patriot War.

These and other attempts to conquer Canada, failed miserably. Which brings us to the Fenian raids of 1866 and 1870.

Fenians were a group of Irish-Americans, many of whom were battle-hardened veterans of the Civil War. They invaded Canada, intending to seize territory that they could trade to Britain in exchange for Irish independence.
 

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Ready to defend his country from Fenian invaders, private Absalom G. Allison (far right) served with militia volunteers from Brighton, Canada West; period tintype, Sue Allison, Shallow Lake

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June 1, 1866, more than 1,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River and captured Fort Erie, but fled to Buffalo at the approach of large numbers of Canadian militia and British soldiers.

Further raids followed, all unsuccessful. One thousand Fenians marched into Pigeon Hill, Canada East, in 1866 but Canadian forces chased them out the next day.

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The Fenian incursions set off a wave of patriotic feeling, uniting the provinces against threatened invasion, and were one of the factors leading to Confederation in 1867.

None of these armed attempts to violate Canadian sovereignty was successful, ending only in defeat for the Americans.

The military defeats didn’t stop inflammatory writers from stirring the pot of annexation. In 1854, you could read about the “Annexation of Canada” in such papers as the “New York Daily Tribune” and “Putnam's Monthly Magazine.” Their argument was based on their belief in Manifest Destiny, that the United States was morally destined to expand and bring republican government to the whole of North America.

From the 1840s through to Confederation, further attempts to annex Canada surfaced in the form of public meetings, circulation of petitions, threat of trade wars and tariffs, and frequent editorials in border state American newspapers — all to no avail.

Less hostile and more co-operative bilateral initiatives actually bore fruit.

The original Reciprocity Treaty was negotiated, agreed to, and operated between 1854-66. This measure eliminated custom tariffs and resulted in an increase in trade between the two countries.

Similar treaties were replaced in 1948 by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, itself replaced in 1992 by the North American Free Trade Agreement, now in its second iteration.

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From the 19th Century, a patriotic motto on silk; John C. Carter

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Other successful joint projects began as early as 1853. In that year, work began in Michigan to build the Soo Locks. They were completed and opened in 1855. The Sault Ste. Marie Canal was built in 1895. Both of these initiatives improved shipping on the Great Lakes. A more modest shipping improvement occurred at the St. Clair Flats, starting in the 1860s. Both nations contributed to work and funding to facilitate a better route between Lake Huron and the Detroit River.

The St. Lawrence Seaway proved to be the largest such joint venture. Construction began in 1954, and the Seaway was opened in 1959.

Co-operation has proved to be of mutual benefit to both Canada and the U.S. No annexation was required.

Faced with Trump and his threats to annex Canada, all I can say is, we’ve seen it all before, and it didn’t work.



Local militia gathered at Owen Sound in 1866 to counter Fenian raids; 1972.008.010, Grey Roots Owen Sound