Will Canada, the US and Mexico ever combine?

[zEmini]

Mexico's government is far too corrupt. It would have to be completely replaced. Probably a good thing.

[Yvaelle]

Geopolitically there will be no superpower threat to the US within the next ~50+ years at least.

Without a unifying peril to our existence, there will be no reason for the US and Canada to formally merge.
As it stands, North America is already a Free Trade Union - and much of the major businesses in both the Mexico and Canada are US owned. To illustrate this, consider the North American (excluding foreign trade) inter-state/province trade profile of BC (as example, since it's where I'm from) - our top trading partners are roughly:
1. California (US)
2. Washington (US)
3. New York (US)
4. Oregon (US)
5. Texas (US)
6. Alberta (CA)

This is likely similarly true for Alberta and Ontario (our other major provincial economies). The Yukon's (CA) main trading partner is Alaska (US). The Canadian economy at this point is already better integrated with the US, then it is with the rest of the Canadian economy.

The Canadian and American Tax Services (IRS and Revenue Canada) are already fully integrated - they use the same database so it's impossible to evade one country by going to the other, etc.
The intelligence networks of both the US and Canada are already fully integrated under Five Eyes - combined further with the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. So from an intelligence framework there is again no reason for us to further merge.

From a military perspective were both NATO allies, and there is again no purpose in further integration. When the US entered WW2, we created the Permanent Joint Board on Defense: a North American combined defense initiative. At the end of the war we founded the Military Cooperation Committee: greatly strengthening this arrangement. NORAD - North American Aerospace Defense Command - was founded as our first shared agency going back to the 50's with the start of the Cold War.
We also have the Tri-Command Framework - in which three of our military defense networks are able to function as a single seamless unit in the event of large-scale attack (NORAD, USNORTHCOM, CJOC). Then there is the CAN-US Civil Assistance Plan - in which in the event of a catastropic emergency, military members from either nation may function under civilian emergency authority (ex. FEMA) in either nation. So if something went horribly awry in New York or Seattle for example, the first military on the scene might be Canadian, not US (and vice versa for Ottawa and Vancouver).

Lastly on military points - JSOC - Joint Special Operations Command - which coordinates all US Special Operations - has an incredibly strong working relationship with Canada's elite special forces. In fact, when JSOC deploys a group, they call it a Task Force (if you played Call of Duty, you may remember TF141 being Soap's unit from the Modern Warfare series) - that terminology is actually a reference to Canada's SO unit: Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2). Notice the allusion both in the usage of Joint (despite that JTF2 has no joint operation with any other Canadian unit), and Task Force, and 2 (implying there is a 1). Technically JTF2 is beholden to an entirely different government than the rest of JSOC - in practice - they function as though they are a singular unit: and given JTF2 has even less visibility and accountability to the US than the rest of JSOC (and are invisible to Canadian accountability) - speculation often implies we're being used for the most off-book / dirty work.

Geopolitically, North America is a continent with access to both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans: these are like moats around the US. The US cannot be invaded, but the US can invade anyone. The US Navy has unparalleled force projection over the world's great oceans - which means no other superpower can rise. 90% of world trade occurs by sea. Read that again and let it sink in. You can't be a rival superpower if you are market capped at 10% of world trade, and you essentially have to ask the US Carrier Battle Group for permission to trade in any of the world's oceans: if they don't like you, your ability to develop economically is basically fucked (swear for emphasis).

That won't change any time soon - the US has more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world combined - and the potency of the US carriers blows everyone else out of the water (literally). If global trade occurs only so long as the US wishes it to continue - then an opposing superpower will really struggle to rise and project even any regional control: let alone challenge the US for command of the seas.

Understanding the significance of sea power and the grip it has on trade is essential to understanding modern politics. For example, the move in Crimea was in no small part about Russia wanting to capture the Ukranian naval fleet - they took 50 Ukrainian vessels stationed in Crimea with their first strike: everything after that was just dick-stroking. They want to command the Black Sea - that's what Crimea was really about. The Chinese flexing on the Japanese islands is about China wanting to control the South China sea - the US says "no", etc.

[Independent voter]

We have free trade, probably free travel is next up. We used to have free travel pretty much until all this terrorist stuff started up.

[zenkai]

H E double hockey stick NO

[Yvaelle]

We have free trade, probably free travel is next up. We used to have free travel pretty much until all this terrorist stuff started up.

I'm not sure travel will get much easier than it is now. What may happen is that the prevalence of systems like NEXUS may allow frequent travellers to walk across the border easily - but only because the Five Eyes have full access to the persons internet history, bank records, retinal scans, drug testing, and polygraph interrogation: all part of the NEXUS application process.

People may become more willing to give up their freedoms when they feel the Five Eyes knows the above anyways - so it may start to feel easier - but only because of an improvement in the screening process (pre-screening, via NEXUS): not because the screening process reverts to being less thorough (pre 2001).

[thatmikeguy]

Only after some large disaster where one are all are threatened. Outside of this no, because the economies are extremely different. So hopefully, no.

[Redasurc]

Why would Canada and Mexico want to team up with usa?

[Deleted]

This question...
Why would they do this? Do you think usa and canada want to pay billions to bring mexico closer to their economic level?

[Tyrianth]

This question...
Why would they do this? Do you think usa and canada want to pay billions to bring mexico closer to their economic level?

Canada doesn't want to spend billions bringing the US up to speed with social infrastructure and metrification. We already did that.

[stross01]

H E double hockey stick NO

I'm with this guy.

Canada has 'free' things, but the taxes are out of control.

And Mexico is a twisted hellscape.

[Lupinemancer]

Combining the Canadian Justine Beaver with the Stupidity of USA, and you get a really fucked up country.
No, let's not do that!

[Calzaeth]

M of mexico
U for u know the US
Ri for puerto rico and
Ca for canada

Hah! Nice one ^^

[Blur4stuff]

everyone seemed okay with it when it was star trek

so why not do it for real

[Tyrianth]

I'm with this guy.

Canada has 'free' things, but the taxes are out of control.

And Mexico is a twisted hellscape.

"Taxes are out of control"? According to OECD, Canada has a lower tax burden than the US.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/think-c...gain-1.1771575

Canada comes at 26th with a tax burden of 31.1%, the US at 25th with 31.3%. Belgium takes 1st with 55.8%.

The US is the one that taxes literally everything, even non professional gambling.

[Faroth]

It has already begun. Mexamerica is reality!

Next step, Meximericanada

[Slant]

Sure, once the whole of Canada learns English and the US stops condescending the Mexicans... ie. never.

[nToxik]

The War of 1812
Canada - 1
USA - 0
Don't make us come down there and burn your little 'whitehouse' down again!

[Drekker17]

Yeah maybe the US will take over if we want more land. I doubt it would happen in our lifetimes though.

[jackofwind]

Why would USA ever want to merge with Mexico? And why would Canada want to merge with USA?

We wouldn't ever want to be American.

We sell you our stuff and send our national rejects down to you.

Why would we want to amalgamate with our own garbage dump?

[OneSent]

If you look on a map, they're already combined.