AH Challenge: Make Canada a superpower

It wouldn't be hard to make Canada a much better draw for immigrants than America - simply kill FDR and lose R.B. Bennett. Butterflies mean that Canada pulls itself out of the Depression quickly and relatively painlessly while the U.S. slips into Second-world status (possibly losing a couple small states to make the humiliation complete without being ASB? Vermont and Oregon have always wished they were Canadian instead, and since Alaska wasn't a State by this time you could have America sell it off to Canada to help with its debts).
 
^ How would Oregon break away but not Washington? And why Vermont but not all of New England?

And also, America's industrial weight meant that no matter what, they will roar out of economic problems the moment Pearl Harbor happens.
 
Some Jet Advances?! Try one of the most powerful turbojet engines on the planet at the time, son. Gerald Bull's work was very advanced in the artillery department, shame his work wound up being more with Iraq and South Africa than with Canada.

So many countries, Canada and the UK among them, went for the idea of buying US equipment only to find out the industrial problems this creates. The Avro Arrow's canning resulted in Canada flying ancient F-104s into the 1980s while our F-18s were built. Why didn't they just build the Arrow, ditch the Widowmakers for our own ass-kicking interceptor, then buy the F-18s as the Arrows wore out? Or perhaps build a successor to the Arrow?

The UK canned the TSR.2 for the F-111, only to can that as well. Nice work, idiots. Pick one, stick with it.

Thanks for the detail. Can you imagine what the Space Race could have looked like with Canada putting up satellites with The Big Gun?:cool:

Even if the US is still the leading power, Canada could easiely carve out a significant role.

Especially if some of these advances led to US large scale purchases, thus supporting further advances.

Although non-US congressional district buying is almost ASB.:(
 
It wouldn't be hard to make Canada a much better draw for immigrants than America - simply kill FDR and lose R.B. Bennett. Butterflies mean that Canada pulls itself out of the Depression quickly and relatively painlessly while the U.S. slips into Second-world status (possibly losing a couple small states to make the humiliation complete without being ASB? Vermont and Oregon have always wished they were Canadian instead, and since Alaska wasn't a State by this time you could have America sell it off to Canada to help with its debts).

Thats an interesting idea. I know there was significant resistance to buying it, any for statehood?
 
Asb's set up Cylinder world, in 1933. The Mercator map sized Canada With a semi tropical Arctic coast, receives millions of Americans eager to move to the new Frontier. and escape the depression ridden US.
 
Some Jet Advances?! Try one of the most powerful turbojet engines on the planet at the time, son. Gerald Bull's work was very advanced in the artillery department, shame his work wound up being more with Iraq and South Africa than with Canada.

So many countries, Canada and the UK among them, went for the idea of buying US equipment only to find out the industrial problems this creates. The Avro Arrow's canning resulted in Canada flying ancient F-104s into the 1980s while our F-18s were built. Why didn't they just build the Arrow, ditch the Widowmakers for our own ass-kicking interceptor, then buy the F-18s as the Arrows wore out? Or perhaps build a successor to the Arrow?

The UK canned the TSR.2 for the F-111, only to can that as well. Nice work, idiots. Pick one, stick with it.

actually they used the F101 Voodoo for air defense, which was a decent all - weather interceptor, and the F5 Freedom Fighter for their NATO forces, which better the the Mig21 but certainly not an F4 or F18 in capability.
 
In the 1940's britain loses american support in the war and america demands money back in the mean time major british cities are leveled to the ground by german bombers.

canada does not scrap the avro aero and the tarsands get developed before 1979.

wall street falters in the 70's making people scared and the large amount of selling makes the markets crash overnight. Canada continues to become oil rich, but is hurt by the american stock crash.

To counter that canada spreads trade all over the world, the trade with countries previously untouched by the capitalistic world.

America cries foul once canada starts trading with the cccp. Soviet moves to protect canada. the soviet union thinking they have a friend in canada starts arming them, however canada has no intent to use weapons.

America still in a depression needs a war to get out and goes off to invade countries in the south pacific. They, the soviet union, and china clash until finances run completely out.
 
i think if canda increased trade,militray developments etc it would be a superpower. and rember in thew 30s canda wanted immegration so badly it said if u moved here u go a acre of land or somthing along those lines so if they keep doing that ecpally after ww2 then theyd have a huge population base
 
Future history - with advanced global warming, Canada becomes far more habitable. After the third US civil war (neo-Obamites vs. the Children of St. Reagan), Canda becomes a major destination of US refugees, joining refugees from Holland, Bangladesh, South China, etc. By 2115 Canada has nearly quadrupled it's current population and is one of the security Council powers (along with Greater Manchuria, the People's Republic of Argentina-Antarctica, The European ReUnion, and the Most Holy Sufi Republic of India-Iran).

Bruce
 
If the US were to:
a. Remain isolationist, or
b. Go to war earlier in 1939, but due to poor public opinion, bow out in 1943 or so (assuming everything else roughly follows OTL),

then Canada could be a very important nation against the USSR, seeing how they share a border to the north. While this might not be enough to get us to superpowerdom, it could get us beyond what the UK was after 1945.
 
as i said its possible that the us AND canda becoming superpowers and the ussr just theyd need to do some massive mao like brreng like rabbit thingts to get the populations up
 
I've always thought heavy urban/rural (55/45) funding, as in road/rail investment, such as mass transit/green spaces in the cities, community centre/agricultural college investment in the country, which they originally did, would of had a major effect on it's population growth.
As well as a deal to high school students, either join the military and get your trade, or go to university and get a degree, would help in the training of the growing workforce.

"Democratic socialism? Elected monarchy? that's the funniest thing I've ever read", a professor I had once.
 
How about having the Jews deported to a "homeland" in Western Canada?

Population boost, Einstein, and greater international ties.

Leads also nicely into the Canadian bomb idea.

Unfortunately, no.

It would be at an ASB level of unlikelihood.

Canadians at the time knew bad things were happening to Jews in the 1930's, before the war, and were approached as a safe haven for Jews trying to flee the Nazis.

The Cdn govt's position - and it reflected very deep public opinion was...and I quote: "one is too many". :(

We redeemed ourselves well later in the war but our record in the 1930's was pretty bad.
 
To make Canada a superpower with a 1930+ POD is very tough to do.

No way to grow the population enough to produce a superpower based on the numbers.

So the only other way is some technological breakthrough that puts Canada decades ahead of its time.

Nuclear weapons + rockets would be the only thing, if any country had ICBM's in the 1930's it would have ruled the world regardless of population.

I don't see even an implausible (never mind plausible) way to construct such a scenario though.
 

burmafrd

Banned
It takes a long time to build up a population that can maintain the industrial and commercial base to warrant a world power status.
And that population has to be educatedand maintained at a high level or you get something like Egypt or Pakistan.
So frankly you have to have major differences going back to the 1800's.
 
Unfortunately, no.

It would be at an ASB level of unlikelihood.

Canadians at the time knew bad things were happening to Jews in the 1930's, before the war, and were approached as a safe haven for Jews trying to flee the Nazis.

The Cdn govt's position - and it reflected very deep public opinion was...and I quote: "one is too many". :(

We redeemed ourselves well later in the war but our record in the 1930's was pretty bad.


Drat.

Ok, but you could still have a surge as it becomes apparent that the UK is going to be invaded. And afterward as it is more devasted than OTL.

Any way to get them involved in the Manhattan project?

I am still liking the idea of the Royal Navy transferring to Canadian control for a time because of german invasion of the UK.
 
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