this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2025
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[–] NotSteve_@piefed.ca 8 points 2 days ago (5 children)

I'm not really sure how this would work (ignoring that Trump would never let it happen). Do all the people living there get citizenship? I'd imagine a flood of people trying to move there just to win Canadian citizenship if it was announced ahead of time, so the only thing I can think is that it'd be anyone who's lived there for a certain length of time or up until the announcement date. But then, do family members get citizenship as well? Like what if the child of a family there is off at college when it goes through. It'd be unfair to split up the family so the children would need citizenship as well.

Maybe I'm overthinking it though considering its such a tiny underpopulated area

[–] kahnclusions@lemmy.ca 1 points 14 hours ago

You’re definitely overthinking this. IF such a deal was made, and that’s a massive if, the treaty would spell out exactly what happens to the people living on the land and those details would be points of negotiation.

Frankly the ideas of the other commenters that they would only be granted PR are ridiculous.

If we annex a chunk of land then we need accept the residents as our citizens. The finer details are an open question for treaty negotiations. I would guess there are requirements like it only applies to US citizens whose primary residence is within the territory at the time of signing the treaty, or at the time the handover occurs, or something in between. Maybe the residents have a choice: exchange American citizenship for Canadian, or keep American and get Canadian PR.

These questions are easily solvable but exactly how they’re solved is up to Ottawa and Washington. I doubt the US would ever give this land to Canada though, they will want something in exchange.

Why would you give them citizenship at all? They would be given PR status and we would probably offer to buy out anyone who didn't wish to become a Canadian PR.

Pretty easy, if they want citizenship they can do what every other American has to do.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

IF it could happen, and became part of Canada, I assume the American citizens living there would gain Permanent Residence status. Then would need to apply for Canadian Citizenship

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Do they retain American citizenship, then? Not making people stateless is a pretty big thing in international law.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Do they retain American citizenship, then?

There's an entire Internet full of facts you can look up. This fact is one of them.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

How do you look up something from a made-up hypothetical?

There isn't even modern precedent for ceding territory from the US to Canada, and pre-1900 all kinds of things were different, including borders all being open.

[–] k0e3@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm guessing they're talking about looking up rules regarding permanent residency. Or maybe dual-citizenship in Canada.

As a PR of Canada, I can confirm you can have your original citizenship and PR. Even when I become a Canadian citizen eventually, I don't have to give up my original one since Canada is ok with dual-citizenship.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 day ago

Oh, well I knew that. There's dual or multiple citizens everywhere.

[–] Muscle_Meteor@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah why wouldnt they? It said in the article that most of them have dual already.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Because they're from a place that's (now) Canada, not the US. I mean, you could look at it either way.

You'd have to include provisions to stop them from being deported the same way other permanent residents can, but it could be done.

[–] Muscle_Meteor@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Im confused why they would ever be stateless, Its not like they would lose their US citizenship, so they still wouldnt be stateless.

Yeah there are multiple ways to do this i dont even understand how it was a question. Transfer of the territory and giving residency/citizenship to the people on it would have to happen simultaniously. Its not like they would do one, drag their heels on it for 30 years and then the other.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago

I was kind of thinking it would be a swap situation. Like, if they're just a US citizen they'd be just a Canadian citizen afterwards.

The more I think about it the more unlikely that seems, though.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Maybe I’m overthinking it though considering its such a tiny underpopulated area

^

Once they get their citizenship there'd be no particular reason not to use the normal rules around things like family. And according to the article half are dual citizens anyway.

[–] isVeryLoud@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You could make it so that anyone who was born in or had an address in Point Roberts for at least a year from the date the peninsula is absorbed into Canada is automatically considered a Canadian citizen.

[–] aarch0x40@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago

YES! But give me a minute to move to Point Roberts first.

Can't we just saw it off like Bugs Bunny did with Florida?

[–] Sunshine@piefed.social 5 points 2 days ago

Who wants to be in that American mess?

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 21 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Canada is slowly going to annex parts of the US.

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 19 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Southwest Territories

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The hard part is moving the Americans off it once we get it.

[–] Sunshine@piefed.social 0 points 2 days ago

Nah just offer MAGA free flights to Russia.

[–] GuyLivingHere@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Just the blue states, please. We'll give them Alberta and Saskatchewan as a trade. (joking, of course. We need the potash, and probably the oil as well).

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Cascadia welcomes our mapled liberators

[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Trump is more likely to annex Vancouver than he is to give up any US territory.

[–] Sunshine@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

He needs to militarily subject and autocratize America first.

[–] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

He's working on it.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 13 points 3 days ago

why would only they get to be a part of canada. unfair.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 days ago

Calder points to the United States’ transfer of the town of Rio Rico from Texas to Mexico in the 1970s as a precedent that could be followed.

TIL.

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Nah, Northern California is MAGA

[–] Sunshine@piefed.social 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That’s Denmark’s territory ;) Enjoy higher standards with proportional representation and eu regulation.

[–] resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

We’ve done our best. Eg California GDPR.

Pretty remarkable with all the tech HQs here, really.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 days ago (1 children)

No thank you. We have enough fucking idiots.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 days ago

I don't really have a reason to think there's more than average in that area.