History Matters by Canadian Institute for Historical Education Madelaine Drohan on 250 Years of Canadians Fending Off Americans
Mar 12, 2026
Madelaine Drohan, journalist and author who covered global affairs for The Globe and Mail and The Economist, explores centuries of US designs on Canada. She traces 1775–76 invasions, Benjamin Franklin’s failed Montreal mission, and how the story was buried in national myth-making. The conversation also considers whether Canada needs a stronger founding narrative and how one might be built.
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Canada Has Long Been Targeted For Annexation
- American attempts to absorb Canada date back centuries, including invasions in 1775–76 and 1812, so “51st state” talk is not new.
- Madelaine Drohan traces repeated U.S. designs on Canada and ongoing rhetorical threats up to the early 1900s.
Why Franklin Wanted Canada In The American Fold
- Franklin's fixation on Canada combined security fears, population growth logic, and land speculation into a lifelong aim to bring Canada into Anglo-American hands.
- He argued colonial population growth destined Americans to occupy the continent, making Canada an obstacle to that vision.
Franklin's Late 1776 Mission To Montreal
- The 1775 invasion took Montreal and Trois-Rivières but failed at Quebec City, then collapsed when British ships brought reinforcements.
- Benjamin Franklin, aged 70, traveled to Montreal in April 1776 to salvage the campaign but left days after British warships arrived.
