I was reading this wikipedia article about the "Last Best West" campaign run by the Canadian government to settle western Canada.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Best_West
I quote:
"One of the key considerations for the government in this recruitment of settlers was the fear that Americans would stream North and settle the southern parts of what would become the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Canadian Government was afraid that what happened to Mexico regarding Texas and the United States could happen out in the west of Canada and worked hard to bring settlement to the area under Canadian Law."
Is it actually possible or likely that this situation could happen?
Also interestingly enough "while the frost-free season is shorter in Canada, a less arid climate compensates for this and the Canadian prairies have long been more productive than those of the Dakotas and Wyoming."
So basically the article says that the land was actually of a very high quality (better then the land on the US side of the border). I would have thought that this would have made it more likely for American settlers to want to settle there and yet it didn't happen. What needs to be done to change the situation? Perhaps tacit support by the US government? I read that part of the reason for the Spanish American war was that with the end of the Wild West the US wanted a channel for expansion. Maybe it could be directed here instead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Best_West
I quote:
"One of the key considerations for the government in this recruitment of settlers was the fear that Americans would stream North and settle the southern parts of what would become the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Canadian Government was afraid that what happened to Mexico regarding Texas and the United States could happen out in the west of Canada and worked hard to bring settlement to the area under Canadian Law."
Is it actually possible or likely that this situation could happen?
Also interestingly enough "while the frost-free season is shorter in Canada, a less arid climate compensates for this and the Canadian prairies have long been more productive than those of the Dakotas and Wyoming."
So basically the article says that the land was actually of a very high quality (better then the land on the US side of the border). I would have thought that this would have made it more likely for American settlers to want to settle there and yet it didn't happen. What needs to be done to change the situation? Perhaps tacit support by the US government? I read that part of the reason for the Spanish American war was that with the end of the Wild West the US wanted a channel for expansion. Maybe it could be directed here instead.