Francis argues for Canada/U.S. Economic Union at Cusli lecture

What if Canada and the United States merged into one country? Award-winning journalist Diane Francis explored this intriguing and provocative topic before a full house at the annual Canada-U.S. Law Institute Distinguished Lecture.

In her lecture “Merger of the Century: Why Canada and America should become one country” (also the title of her latest book), Francis argued that a union between the two nations not only makes good economic sense, but that it’s inevitable.

Francis laid out a compelling business case for a union, saying it would be the best option for the two countries to survive the new economic reality.

“In order for Canada and the United States to keep their standard of living and maintain national security, a merger between Canada and the United States has to be considered,” she says.

She argues that Canada can neither defend itself nor amass the capital to develop its natural resources because “Canada has a balkanized economy; we don’t have a big national market.”Francis proposes that Canada create a Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission to unify Canada’s fragmented market.

But combined with the U.S., she says, the two countries would be the “superpower of superpowers.”

Francis is Editor-at-Large with the Financial Post and the author of 10 books. She is currently a Distinguished Professor at Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management.

“The question of a Canada/U.S. merger always lingers and has tantalized the Canadian imagination from time to time,” said Professor Chi Carmody, Canadian Director of the Canada-United States Law Institute. “Diane took that issue to the foreground in an exciting new way.”

More stories from
Western Law 2015 Alumni Magazine