The Two Times We Invaded Canada
The Political Orphanage
Andrew Heaton
5 • 951 Ratings
🗓️ 10 July 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ever wonder why Canada didn’t become the 14th colony during the American War of Independence? It turns out, America invited Canada to join.
Then, when they turned down the invitation, invaded.
Then again in 1812.
In this episode we return to States that Weren’t: Canada. Plus, how Nova Scotia and Newfoundland almost became states.
www.ThePoliticalOrphanage.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Have you ever wondered why Canada wasn't a part of the Revolutionary War? |
| 0:05.2 | Why weren't our northern neighbors sending down friendly folks to Philadelphia, |
| 0:09.6 | bearing arms and jugs of maple syrup and witticisms to tell Benjamin Franklin? |
| 0:15.4 | Why were there 13 American colonies and Canada? |
| 0:20.9 | It might surprise you to learn that this was a question which also occurred to America's founding fathers, |
| 0:27.0 | a query which ultimately compelled them to invade Canada. |
| 0:31.6 | Twice. |
| 0:33.0 | Canada. |
| 0:34.1 | The state that wasn't. |
| 0:36.8 | Today, right here on The Political Orphanage. |
| 0:44.0 | Hello and welcome to the political orphanage, a? |
| 0:52.4 | A home for plucky misfits and problem solvers. |
| 0:56.1 | I'm your host, Andrew Heaton, and you know what? |
| 0:58.2 | I like Putin. |
| 0:59.8 | In fact, I quite like Canada. |
| 1:01.5 | I don't want to brag, but I've been to Canada three times. |
| 1:07.7 | Toronto is great. |
| 1:08.5 | It's basically like if New York were run by NPR. And while I basically had to flee Montreal, the weekend I was there due to a romantic escapade going sideways, I got along fine with all the Quebecers. |
| 1:22.5 | So good neighbors, those Canadians. I'm a fan. I like them. Last week, on the show, we covered states |
| 1:28.8 | that weren't in American history, Franklin, Nickajack, and Westylvania. On the accompanying |
| 1:35.1 | bonus episode, we delved into the topic of, why is it hard to make new states? There have been |
| 1:41.0 | attempts to make new states, like the state of Jefferson or Lincoln, all for not. |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 22 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Andrew Heaton, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Andrew Heaton and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.