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This article is about the modern nation of Canada. For other places and things named Canada, see Canada (disambiguation).

Canada
Canadamap
Dominion Canada

The Canadian Red Ensign used as de facto national flag between 1921 and 1957. A slightly modified flag was used until 1965. This is also the Canadian flag in most Harry Turtledove works, the most notable exception being the Southern Victory series.

Canada is a federation in North America comprising ten provinces and three territories. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with the Monarch of the United Kingdom as its head of state, although the monarch's role is nominal. Although legally independent of Great Britain as of 1982, Canada has been gradually gaining autonomy for most of its history. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages. The Canadian province of Quebec was a French colony until the 1760s; it still retains much of its original French culture.

Canada shares entire southern border and much of its western one with the United States. Historically, the relationship between the two has been complex. During the American Revolution, the rebelling colonies that made up the United States sought to include Canada both politically and militarily, leading to the failed invasion of Canada in 1775. The U.S. once again invaded Canada during the War of 1812, but did not successfully annex the country. Indeed, that Canada repelled the invasion saw early stirrings of Canadian nationalism. During that war, it was NOT Canadians who burned the White House in 1814.

However, in the nearly two centuries since that invasion, Canada and the U.S. have shared one of the most peaceful and stable relationships seen on the international stage.

Canada is the second or third largest nation in the world, according to interpretations depending on its lakes.

Canada in Atlantis[]

Canada was a region of northern Terranova. A type of goose was named after Canada.

Literary comment[]

Within the Atlantis series, the name "Canada" is used only in "Audubon in Atlantis," in reference to the goose. Other stories reference a British colony called the Dominion of Ontario. Neither entity's borders are ever defined, so Canada is placed here for convenience.

Canada in "The Breaking of Nations"[]

In 2031, Canada was still a relatively free and democratic country, though not as much as it had been.[1]

Canada in "Before the Beginning"[]

Canada was one of the first countries to convert to Judaism en masse when it was learned that the Jews were indeed God's chosen people.[2]

Canada in The Disunited States of America[]

Britain's remaining North American colonies followed the United States' pattern of independence and dissolution into several separate countries. Among them were Quebec and Ontario.

Canada in "Elder Skelter"[]

Canada balkanized early in the 21st century, leading to the Quebecois aggression crisis which the United States had to mediate.

Canada in The Guns of the South[]

In the years following the Second American Revolution, tensions between the United States and the Great Britain mounted, with politicians such as George McClellan advocating the annexation of the Canadas.[3] In 1866, the British increased the size of its garrisons in the Canadas, prompting President Horatio Seymour to pull troops out of the New Mexico and Arizona Territories.[4] War broke out not long after (during which, the Confederate States opted for neutrality).[5] The US, still heavily militarized from fighting the Revolution was able to successfully invade and hold the Canadas in short order.[6] Some reports suggested the U.S. had used its own version of the AK-47.[7]

Canada in The Hot War[]

During World War III, Canada came under attack on 2 March 1951, when a Soviet atom bomb was detonated in Newfoundland. The Soviets also atom-bombed Bangor, Maine in the USA as part of the same run.[8]

Canada in In the Presence of Mine Enemies[]

Canada became an occupied territory of the Greater German Reich along with its southern neighbour, the United States, after the Third World War in the 1970s.[9]

Canada in "Liberating Alaska"[]

When gold was found the Russian Alaskan city of Siknazuak in the early 20th century, the city almost immediately boomed as Russians, Canadians and Americans flooded the area, hoping for their share of gold. However, once the easy gold was dug out, the boom became a bust, and large chunks of the population returned to their respective homes.[10]

Canada in Or Even Eagle Flew[]

Canada declared war on Germany shortly after the outbreak of World War II. Consequently, Canada became a destination for U.S. citizens who wanted to volunteer on the side of the Allied Forces. As the U.S. was neutral, the government tried to curb this emigration. Nonetheless, several Americans made their way to Canada with ease. Among them was Amelia Earhart, who stopped in Montreal on her way to France in May, 1940. She could see the worried looks of the people in the street as the country continued to hear bad news from Europe.[11]

In late June 1940, some Canadian apprentice pilots were placed at the Croydon OTU with Earhart, and three other U.S. pilots: Red Tobin, Andrew Mamedoff, and Shorty Keough.[12]

Canada in "Shtetl Days"[]

The hangings of partisans by the Greater German Reich were often televised from Canada.

Canada in Southern Victory[]

Canadian Blue Ensign (1868–1921) svg

The Dominion of Canada was a massive but sparsely-populated British Commonwealth on the North American continent until 1917, when it was defeated by the United States during the Great War.

Relations with the U.S., 1862-1914[]

Since 1862 the United Kingdom and the United States had a strong animosity towards one another due to British support of the Confederate States of America. After the War of Secession, "Great Lakes Navies" were established by both sides, and mines were laid along the aquatic border. The British remained allied with the Confederates. When the U.S. and C.S. went to war in 1881 over the CSA's purchase of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua, Britain entered the war on the Confederate side.

Since the United States' strategy depended on capturing Louisville, Kentucky, few U.S troops were stationed near Canada. The British/Canadian forces entered Maine and Montana, and used Canada as a base to launch a successful raid on the San Francisco Mint, resulting in a major humiliation for the United States. The only major victory the United States achieved in the disastrous war was in Montana against the British/Canadian invaders. The American forces, including George Armstrong Custer's regular army and a young Theodore Roosevelt's "Unauthorized Regiment," used Gatling guns to force the British back into Canada. They were stopped from pursuing when they received word that a ceasefire had been declared. The battle cost Custer his younger brother Tom; Custer maintained a strong grudge against Canadians thereafter.

While the United States lost no territory to the Confederacy, it lost northern Maine to Canada. This was the home state of U.S. President James G. Blaine. The captured part of Maine was annexed to New Brunswick. This humiliation led to the downfall of the Republican Party throughout most of the US and the formation of the Socialist Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, which became the main opposition party in the U.S.

Concurrently, the Democratic Party developed a policy known as "Remembrance", which advocated the ultimate military defeat of U.S. enemies, the C.S. especially. As the C.S. had won with Britain and Canada's help, the U.S. cultivated an alliance with Germany, going so far as to adopt the so-called Prussian model for its military. Canada was driven to a militarization of its own, instituting conscription and heavily fortifying its southern border.

This led to a far stronger feeling of Canadian patriotism and nationalism, a nationalism focused on regarding the United States as a threat and Canada's main enemy. Conversely, there was a weaker tendency to assert Canadian independence from Britain, with the "The Mother Country" across the Atlantic perceived as Canada's main ally and source of support against "The Yankee threat". Previous Canadian history, especially the War of 1812 and the role of such national heroes as Laura Secord, was reinterpreted accordingly.

The Canadian Front of The Great War, 1914-1917[]

When war was declared in 1914 the United States, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire found themselves at war with the Confederate States, the British Empire, France, Russia, and Japan. The United States waged a two-front war on its north and south. In the north, they attacked Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. The United States encountered fierce Canadian resistance, especially near the strategically important city of Winnipeg. It was unable to cross the St. Lawrence River and was bottle necked around the Niagara Peninsula.

In 1916, the U.S. slowly continued its advance. Sabotage by Canadians in occupied cities was frequent and many Canadians were arrested and shot. The US's already poor treatment of Canadians increased, as did Canadian guerrilla resistance.

In 1917 George Custer unleashed the Barrel Roll Offensive capturing White House, Tennessee. This tactic was reproduced along many other fronts by the United States, including the Canadian one. In May of that year similar offensives with barrels led to the final capture of Winnipeg. For many, Winnipeg's capture marked Canada's defeat. Toronto was captured in a similar way and the British Empire requested a cease fire along all land and air fronts, which was granted by the USA.

Occupied Québec was declared an independent nation by the United States. It was recognized by all of the U.S.'s allies as well as the neutral Netherlands. While the Republic of Quebec was regarded by many as a puppet government, it spared the Québécois the fate of English-speaking Canada.

Eventually the Great War came to an end on all fronts. For the Confederacy and its allies (excluding Japan, which withdrew) it meant humiliation and hyperinflation. For the English speaking Canadians, it meant occupation.

The Occupation[]

The United States set up occupation headquarters in Winnipeg, headed by Custer. Custer still harbored hatred for Canadians, which made those under his occupation worse off. One Canadian farmer named Arthur McGregor decided to fight the occupiers. Occupation authorities had executed McGregor's son, Alexander, in 1916 on unsubstantiated charges of spying, and McGregor had since then been creating bombs and murdering Canadians he deemed collaborators as well as several American officers. McGregor decided to assassinate Custer in an attempt to free Canada.

McGregor's first attempt on Custer's life was in Winnipeg. He destroyed a steakhouse Custer was dining in, despite the presence of many Canadians McGregor did not deem collaborators. Custer was saved when he left before the explosion due to damage to his false teeth. McGregor attracted the suspicion of Custer, but when American troops searched the McGregor farm, no incriminating evidence was found.

McGregor lay low until 1922. That year, Custer announced his (forced) retirement from the military and held a series of parades. When McGregor learned his hometown of Rosenfeld would host a parade, he decided to try another assassination attempt. McGregor, amongst the crowd, threw a bomb at Custer. The aging general was saved by two things. The first was that he was already paranoid about McGregor and was ready to catch the bomb when he saw it had been thrown. The second was that McGregor had cut his fuse a little too long. It took longer to explode than intended. Custer reflexively threw the box back toward McGregor, at whose feet it exploded. Custer was unharmed, though many Canadians were killed, including Arthur McGregor.

Resistance and Japan[]

In the inter-war period, the American political system adopted a bi-partisan policy of keeping Canada under a permanent military occupation, offering Canadians no prospect of regaining their independence but also not seriously considering the option of annexation and of extending civil rights and the protections of the US Constitution. This was justified with the claim that an independent Canada posed a danger to the security of the US, and that there must never again be a situation of two-front war. Instead, Canadians were reduced to living as effectively second-class citizens in their own country, subject to harsh repression if they tried to resist. The policies of the occupation military authorities seem virtually unchanged by the identity of the administration holding power in Philadelphia, even during the administrations of otherwise humane and well-meaning presidents such as Upton Sinclair and his successor Hosea Blackford.

In a particular aspect of the above, following the war Americans dominated the Canadian justice system. Their rulings were often unfair and their defense of clients was rather poor. An exception was an American lawyer named Jonathan Moss, a former fighter pilot who flew against Canadians during the war. However even Moss was ridiculed, as was his Canadian wife Laura Secord (named for her ancestor Laura Secord, a Canadian patriot in the War of 1812). Canadian hatred for Americans in Canada led to a nationwide revolt in 1924, encompassing the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. While the revolt was easily put down, it led to even more hatred.

Many Canadians carried out guerrilla actions against Americans similar to those of Arthur McGregor's. Many more were contacted by Japanese agents. The Japanese had reached an uneasy peace with the United States at the end of the Great War, and were hoping that if the Americans were too busy with Canada, they would pay less attention to the growing Japanese Empire. In 1931 a traffic accident in Vancouver revealed to the United States the vast smuggling operation. The next year, the USS Remembrance, while patrolling the British Columbian coast, caught the Japanese red handed. The Remembrance was attacked by the Japanese but managed to stay afloat. The resulting Pacific War was fought mostly around the Sandwich Islands and ended in stalemate.

Canadians found other ways to resist without Japanese help. Arthur McGregor's daughter Mary McGregor Pomeroy was responsible for several bombings of American property in Canada, even against non-military personnel. In 1940, Mary sent a mail bomb to the Laura (Secord) Moss, killing her and her young daughter Dorothy. Jonathan Moss left Canada soon after to renew his career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.

The Second Great War, 1941-1945[]

Shortly before the outbreak of the 1941 War, US forces across Canada were withdrawn for duty against the Confederate States; their replacement with soldiers from the Republic of Quebec outraged Canadians. The Québécois, who had prospered since the Great War, were an unpleasant reminder of Canada's own problems; linguistic difficulties added to the Canadians' sense of being a conquered people.

The Canadians spent 1941 and most of 1942 as a sullen but acquiescent population. Confederate attempts to spark off an uprising were unsuccessful, as the Canadians viewed both the CSA and USA as tyrannical states. Still, the weakened position of the US and the arrival of Confederate forces at the southern shores of the Great Lakes might have encouraged the Canadians. Confederate President Jake Featherston eventually convinced British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to foment a revolt. Though Britain was bogged down in western Germany, some supplies and arms slipped through the US blockade. The widely publicized execution by firing squad of the bomber Mary Pomeroy might have been the final spark setting off the revolt.

The uprising began just as the CSA launched Operation Coalscuttle in Ohio. The Québécois garrison largely proved ineffective in containing the revolts, and Winnipeg was in the hands of the rebels by the end of 1942. However, as the U.S was able to force back the C.S., it returned its attention to Canada, and once again broke the rebellion.

The destruction of Confederate cities by the US superbombs in 1944 was instrumental in putting an end to the Canadian rebellion. When an uprising began in Saskatoon, the U.S. threatened to stop it by dropping a superbomb on the city. Though the US had no intention of using superbombs in Canada, the rebels could not be sure of that. Rather than see such destruction visited upon Canada, the remaining rebels agreed to surrender in return for a promise that they be treated as prisoners of war, and a promise that the U.S. would not deploy a superbomb.

Thus, Canadians remained for the indefinite future in the status of occupied and disenfranchised subjects, with Confederates joining them in the same situation, and the US in a possession of military superiority but no political solution to offer.

Canada in The Two Georges[]

See North American Union and Canada (The Two Georges)

Literary comment[]

In this novel, the region known as in OTL as Canada is not separated from the OTL United States ("Lower 48" only); they (and OTL Baja California) are the single entity North American Union. One of the Provinces of the NAU is called Canada; it corresponds to OTL Ontario.

Canada in "Vilcabamba"[]

Shortly after the Krolp attacked Earth, Canada and the United States merged in order to pool resources against their alien foe. It didn't do either much good. Within a few years, both Canada and the US were reduced to a rump state along the Rocky Mountains and the Wasatch Range. The U.S. President also doubled as Prime Minister of Canada.

Some 50 years after the Krolp dominated most of North America, Canada and the U.S. were completely defeated once and for all.

Canada in The War That Came Early[]

Canada joined the British Empire in declaring war on Germany in October 1938, and immediately started helping England in her war effort, shipping men, materiel and food across the Atlantic.[13] Throughout the rest of the war, Canada continued on in its support of the United Kingdom, both directly fighting against the Germans in Europe and the Atlantic, whilst providing the U.K. with food, and materiel until the European chapter of the war ended in 1944.

Canada in "The Weather's Fine"[]

An Old Front from Canada swept into the United States in the 1980s. This had the effect of reverting entire regions to the turn of the century.[14]

Canada in Worldwar[]

In mid-1942, Canada was primarily engaged in fighting Germany and Italy in the skies of England and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean as World War II raged across the globe.

When the Race arrived at the beginning of June 1942, Canada was one of the few nations lucky enough to avoid the full force of the Race's military might, thanks in part to the US absorbing the brunt of the invasion, and having a good chunk of their forces still within their borders.  Despite this, the Race did make it to Canada, invading Southwestern Ontario. Due to stiff resistance from the Canadian Army, that was as far as the Race ever got in their conquest of Canada. Throughout the war the US, which had effectively been cut in half by the war, relied on Canadian infrastructure to transport men and materiel from west to east. When the war ended in 1944, Canada was allowed to maintain its independence under the Peace of Cairo. Its cold climate made it relatively undesirable to the Race, and the US, which would already share one border with the Race in Mexico, feared encirclement. Canada fell firmly within the US orbit. The two co-administered Iceland and Greenland.

In the years after the war, Canada saw an influx of immigrants as Canadian immigration rules were laxer than US laws. Many citizens of the United Kingdom and its former empire flocked there, including David Goldfarb, Jane Archibald and George Bagnall. Many Canadians were very grateful to the US for absorbing the brunt of the Race's invasion, and expressed their gratitude in a number of ways, such as not changing the name of ships bought from the US even though they were referencing to places or things American. The Race itself didn't care too much for Canada because of its extreme cold climate and it never was the target of surveillance by the Race. This in turn allowed Canadian technology firms to study and reverse engineer Race technology without fear of the Race observing them. One such firm, the Saskatchewan River Widget Works, Ltd., designed popular items like the Furry and caller ID, both of which were given Canadian patents.

References[]

  1. And the Last Trump Shall Sound, pg. 38, loc. 534, ebook.
  2. Futureshocks, pg. 107.
  3. The Guns of the South, pg. 264.
  4. Ibid., pg. 375.
  5. Ibid., pg. 404.
  6. Ibid., pg. 498.
  7. Ibid., 550.
  8. Bombs Away, pg. 159, ebook.
  9. In the Presence of Mine Enemies, pg. 25, HC.
  10. Asimov's Science Fiction, July/August, 2018.
  11. Or Even Eagle Flew, pgs. 1-5, loc. 48-172, ebook.
  12. Ibid., pg. 35, loc. 428, ebook.
  13. West and East, pg. 38 Kindle.
  14. Kaleidoscope, pg. 65, MPB.
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