🧭 Beyond Queen’s Park: Fortress AMCAN – From Union to Merger

In the 1990s, Canada knocked on Washington’s door with a bold proposal: a North American Union, complete with open borders, shared infrastructure, and coordinated economic policy. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, alongside Mexico’s Carlos Salinas, envisioned something closer to the European Union.

At the time, Europe was setting the global example. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty officially created the European Union, transforming the European Economic Community into a full political and economic union with shared institutions, a common market, and a roadmap to a shared currency.

Canada and Mexico saw that future — and wanted a version of it in North America.

The U.S. wasn’t interested. It didn’t need Mexico’s growth or Canada’s energy.
NAFTA was the compromise — a trade agreement, not a union.

🧭 2025: The Roles Have Reversed

Three decades later, it’s the U.S. doing the asking.
And the idea now comes wrapped in a different package — not a supranational bureaucracy, but a business deal.
Welcome to Fortress AMCAN: Trump’s merger model for Canada.

Donald Trump has never used the phrase Fortress AMCAN — that’s Doug Ford’s vision, first laid out years ago.
But Trump is signaling alignment in every direction:

• Calling Canada the “51st state”

• Saying the border is artificial

• And most revealingly, telling Canadians:

  “I love O Canada. It’s beautiful. Keep it.”

🧾 Not a Buyout — A Merger

When Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump “Canada is not for sale,” the former president famously replied, “Never say never.”

That wasn’t a rejection of Canadian sovereignty — it was a negotiation opener.
This isn’t about annexation. It’s about a strategic merger — the way two large corporations combine for mutual gain.

• Canada brings resources, proximity, stability, and Arctic access.

• The U.S. brings capital, consumer scale, and military reach.

Trump sees a win-win — a union where Canada keeps its anthem, flag, and Parliament, but joins a bigger machine.

🌎 Why Now?

The world is fragmenting into blocs:

• BRICS is expanding.

• The EU is tightening.

• And China is setting trade rules across Asia and Africa.

Trump knows America needs continental strength — not just allies, but assets.
Canada is the perfect strategic partner:

• Vast untapped resources

• Arctic positioning

• And a population already culturally aligned

This time, the U.S. doesn’t see Canada as a tag-along. It sees it as the final piece in Fortress AMCAN.

📌 Final Word

Canada once pitched a union. The U.S. passed.

Now the U.S. is offering a merger — and Canada, facing affordability crises and global realignment, may be ready to accept.

This time, it’s not about buying a neighbour.
It’s about fusing two economies for the 21st century — under new terms, with new stakes, and a chance to negotiate from strength, not surrender.

📍 Beyond Queen’s Park runs every Tuesday in GTA Weekly, tracking the quiet formation of Fortress AMCAN — and what it means for Canada’s future.