The Plans for a US/Canadian War - Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Summary

Everything Everywhere Daily: "The Plans for a US/Canadian War"

Host: Gary Arndt
Release Date: December 8, 2024

Introduction

In the episode titled "The Plans for a US/Canadian War," host Gary Arndt explores a fascinating and often overlooked aspect of North American history: the contingency plans for conflict between the United States and Canada. While today the relationship between these two neighbors is characterized by cooperation and friendship, Gary delves into a time when the prospect of war seemed plausible. This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions, historical insights, and intriguing plans that reveal the complexities of US-Canadian relations over the past two centuries.

Historical Context: Evolving Independence and Relations

Gary begins by highlighting the modern perception of the US-Canada relationship, noting that they share "the world's longest undefended border" ([00:00]). However, this tranquility was not always assured. For much of the last 200 years, Canada's path to independence was closely tied to Britain, making the relationship with the British Empire a central factor in US-Canadian dynamics.

Canada's Gradual Independence: While commonly believed to have achieved independence in 1867, Canada’s sovereignty was a gradual process. It wasn’t until 1899 that Canada could maintain a military, and only in 1982 did it gain full legislative independence from Britain ([00:00-02:00]).
19th-Century Tensions: Post-War of 1812, small skirmishes such as the Lumberjack War of 1838 and the Pig War of 1859 underscored the fragile peace. Additionally, during the American Civil War, certain British factions sympathized with the Confederacy, primarily due to economic interests in cotton ([02:00-04:00]).

The Seeds of Conflict: Defense Scheme Number One

The episode delves into a significant yet obscure chapter of Canadian military planning. In 1921, Lieutenant Colonel James Sutherland Buster Brown devised "Canadian Defence Scheme Number One," a proactive strategy to counter a potential US invasion.

Strategic Vulnerabilities: Brown identified Canada's lack of strategic depth as a critical weakness. Unlike Russia, which could retreat eastward to stretch enemy supply lines, Canada’s population centers were densely concentrated near the US border. This geographical disadvantage prompted Brown to propose a bold solution: a preemptive invasion of the United States ([04:00-08:00]).
The Five-Pronged Attack: Brown’s plan entailed a simultaneous assault from multiple fronts:
1. West Coast: Seize Seattle, Spokane, and possibly Portland.
2. Central Plains: Target Fargo, Great Falls, and Minneapolis.
3. Ontario Front: Capture Detroit and Niagara.
4. Quebec Assault: Move into upstate New York, aiming for Albany.
5. Eastern Campaign: Advance from New Brunswick into Maine ([08:00-10:00]).
Critical Flaws: The plan's lack of consultation with Britain and the oversight of defending vital Atlantic ports like Halifax rendered it impractical. British assessments at the time dismissed the viability of defending Canada, labeling a US-Canadian war as unwinnable ([10:00-12:00]).

The American Perspective: War Plan Red

Simultaneously, the United States was formulating its own strategies for potential conflicts. One such plan was "War Plan Red," developed in the 1930s as part of the broader "Plan Dog" Memorandum.

Mirroring Strategies: War Plan Red mirrored Canada’s Defense Scheme Number One, emphasizing a broad front to quickly overwhelm Canadian defenses. Unlike the Canadian plan, it incorporated a significant naval component aimed at neutralizing British control over Atlantic ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway ([12:00-16:00]).
Assumed Alliances and Tactics: The American strategy considered possible alliances between Britain and Japan, necessitating defense of the west coast from Japanese threats and the Mexican border. Notably, aviator Charles Lindbergh reportedly advised the use of chemical weapons, a stark violation of the Geneva Convention ([16:00-18:00]).
Mobilization Capabilities: War Plan Red assumed the ability to mobilize an army of 12 million men within 60 days, leveraging the advantage of fighting on home soil to rapidly gather troops ([18:00-20:00]).

Shifting Alliances and Mutual Defense

By the late 1930s, the strengthening of US-UK relations rendered both Defense Scheme Number One and War Plan Red obsolete. The onset of World War II saw Canada and the United States collaborating on mutual defense initiatives, culminating in agreements like the Ogdensburg Agreement of 1940, which formalized joint defense responsibilities ([20:00-22:00]).

Declassification and Modern Perception: These historical plans remained classified until 1974, and their release has since been met with amusement and disbelief on both sides of the border. Contemporary references in popular culture, such as the films "Canadian Bacon" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut," reflect the absurdity with which these plans are now viewed ([22:00-24:00]).

Current Status: A Undefended Border

Today, the US-Canada border remains the longest undefended in the world, symbolizing the enduring peace and cooperation between the two nations. The episode underscores that while contingency plans existed, they were never acted upon and were ultimately rendered irrelevant by evolving geopolitical realities ([24:00-26:00]).

Insights and Conclusions

Gary Arndt concludes that the notion of a US-Canadian war, once a serious consideration within military circles, is now relegated to the realm of comedy. The episode serves as a compelling reminder of how international relations can transform dramatically over time, influenced by economic shifts, war alliances, and mutual interests.

Notable Quotes

Gary Arndt [00:00]: "The United States and Canada share the world's longest undefended border."
Gary Arndt [04:30]: "Strategic depth is a military and geopolitical concept referring to the distance between a nation's front lines or borders and its vital centers."
Gary Arndt [16:45]: "Input on the plan came from a wide variety of sources, including the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh."
Gary Arndt [24:15]: "The US-Canadian border is 8891 km, or 5525 miles long. It is not only the longest border in the world, but it is also totally undefended."

Production Credits

Executive Producer: Charles Daniel
Associate Producers: Benji Long and Cameron Keever

Gary extends gratitude to Patreon supporters and directs listeners to the show's merchandise and online communities for further engagement.

This episode of Everything Everywhere Daily offers a captivating exploration of a "what-if" scenario that highlights the fluid nature of international relationships and the importance of strategic planning. For intellectually curious minds, Gary Arndt provides a thorough and engaging narrative that brings to light an obscure yet intriguing facet of North American history.

Transcript

Gary Arndt (0:00)

The United States and Canada share the world's longest undefended border. The United States and the United Kingdom have shared what has been called a special relationship since the Second World War. The idea of these countries going to war with each other today is unthinkable, yet this was always not the case. There was a time when this was very thinkable, and that time was far more recent than most people realize. Learn more about the planning for a U.S. canadian war and and how both sides made plans to invade each other on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. This episode is sponsored by Quince. Finding the perfect gift can be pretty overwhelming. This year I found the perfect spot for timeless gifts made from premium materials. So you gotta check out Quince. Quince lets you treat your loved ones and yourself to true quality at an affordable price. I got a cotton fisherman throw blanket from Quince and I literally use it when I am writing many of the episodes for this podcast. I also have some Turkish cotton bath towels from Quince that I absolutely love. By partnering directly with top factories and cutting out the cost of the middleman, Quince passes the savings on to you. Quince is also on the nice list. They only work with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and they use premium fabrics and finishes for that luxury feel in every piece. Gift Luxury this holiday season without the luxury price tag. Go to quince.com daily for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's quinc.com daily to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com daily. This episode is sponsored by Masterclass. If you're listening to this podcast, then you are someone who is curious about the world and loves to learn. And if you want to give the gift of learning and knowledge this Christmas, you can't do better than Masterclass. Masterclass offers online classes from some of the most successful instructors in the world. In their fields. You can learn cooking from Gordon ramsay, conservation from Dr. Jane Goodall, disruptive entrepreneurship from Sir Richard Branson, mathematical thinking from Fields Medal winner Terence Tao, and diplomacy from former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice. You can access over 200 classes across 11 different categories. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com everywhere for the current offer. That's up to 50% off@masterclass.com everywhere. Once again, that's masterclass.com everywhere. The idea of a war between the United States and Canada seems ridiculous today and it is. However, relations were not always so good. To understand why, you need to understand that for much of the last 200 years, Canada and Britain's interests have been very intertwined. In fact, for the purpose of this episode, much of the talk about Canada is really just a proxy for Britain. In a previous episode, I discussed when Canada truly became independent. Most Canadians will tell you that they became independent in 1867, but that date is far from cut and dry. Canada wasn't allowed to have a military until 1899, and every piece of legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament had to be approved by the British Parliament. Up until 1982, Canada didn't even have an embassy in the United States until 1927, as it was represented by the United Kingdom. So while American independence was sudden and very cut and dry, Canadian independence was more of a process. So while the land we know of as Canada is very much front and center of what I'll be talking about in this episode, the concern wasn't Canada so much as it was Great Britain. British American relations were cordial, but far from harmonious. In the century after the War of 1812, the British had the biggest empire in the world, and the United States was a rapidly growing country. There were a series of small skirmishes that took place in the 19th century. The Lumberjack War of 1838 and the Pig War of 1859 were two such border skirmishes. Britain didn't outright support the Confederacy during the Civil War, but there were powerful factions who sympathized with them because they wanted cotton for their textile mills. In 1866, a group of Irish American immigrants hatched a plan to invade Canada with the intent of holding it ransom to get the British to leave Ireland. The US Turned a blind eye to this activity during the war, but ended it during the Grant administration. By the late 19th century, the United States had overtaken the United Kingdom as the world's largest economy. They didn't have as powerful an army or navy, but they were starting to exert their influence on the world stage. Events such as the Venezuelan crisis of 1895 brought tensions to a peak when the United States invoked the Monroe Doctrine to challenge British influence in Venezuela. Britain ultimately backed down, but the incident showcased how imperial ambitions could lead to friction. None of these conflicts ever came seriously close to starting a war. With the advent of World War I, the two countries were close allies in the fight against Germany. You'd think that after the First World War, whatever differences the two countries had would be put aside once and for all. But that was not the case, the first plan for a war between the United States and Canada was actually hatched by Canada. After the war, Britain owed the United States a tremendous amount of money, $22 billion. And that was back when $22 billion was a lot of money. The two countries had serious disagreements as to the payment terms, and there were concerns among some Canadians that the Americans would seek payment in the form of territory. This wasn't actually ever considered by the United States, but it's the job of military planners to consider all eventualities. So one Canadian military officer, Lieutenant Colonel James Sutherland Buster Brown, began to consider what Canada could do if it were ever invaded by the United States. In 1921, Brown personally conducted reconnaissance by crossing the border into New York State, donning a disguise and scouting the area across the border. Much of his scouting consisted of buying maps at gas stations. And why he had to wear a disguise, I'm not really sure, because he could have just crossed the border and told everyone he met exactly who he was and what he was doing, and no one would have really cared. After a careful analysis of the situation, Lt. Col. Brown created what was known as Canadian Defence Scheme Number one. Brown made a critical observation with regards to Canada's the country lacked no strategic depth. Strategic depth is a military and geopolitical concept referring to the distance between a nation's front lines or borders and its vital centers of population, industry and military resources. A good example of a country with a lot of strategic depth is Russia. When France and Germany invaded them, they were able to just retreat eastward, extending the enemy supply lines until they could regroup and counterattack. Canada, too, is an enormous country, but almost all of the population centers lie within 100 miles of the US border. Whereas Russia was able to retreat to the east, Canada can't really retreat to the north other than in the Great Plains. They quickly run into forests and lakes which are difficult to maneuver in. Brown realized that this lack of strategic depth meant that Canada would be overwhelmed quickly by any American invasion. To solve this problem, Brown's recommendation in defense scheme number one was audacious and simple. Canada should conduct a preemptive invasion of the United States. The goal would be to try to disrupt American forces before they could fully mobilize and invade Canada. The plan was not to conquer the United States, but to buy time for Canada to prepare its defenses and for British reinforcements to arrive, which the plan just assumed that they would. It would also buy the Canadians the strategic depth that they lacked and they would have the element of surprise, because if Canada ever attacked the United States. Everyone would be surprised. Brown proposed a five pronged attack on the United States. Prong one would take place in the West. Forces would come out of British Columbia and attempt to seize Seattle, Spokane and possibly Portland. Prong 2 would come out of Manitoba or Saskatchewan. They would attempt to take Fargo, Great Falls and if possible, Minneapolis. Prong 3 would come out of Ontario and try to take Detroit and Niagara. Prong 4 would come out of Quebec into upstate New York and try to take Albany. And Prong five would come out of New Brunswick and try to take Maine. That would be an enormous front. It would be far larger than any front maintained in any war in history, simply because there aren't many places on earth where you can even have a front that long. There were several problems with Defense Scheme 1, the biggest of which was that he in no way consulted the British, on whom the entire plan ultimately relied. The second problem was that he totally ignored the defense of important Atlantic ports such as Halifax. What Brown didn't know was that in 1919, the British conducted their own assessment of a conflict with the Americans and concluded that they would not fight to defend Canada. It wasn't considered vital to the Empire at that point, and moreover, they believed such a conflict to be unwinnable. Their report noted the Empire would be committed to an unlimited land war against the USA with all advantages of time, distance and supply on the side of the USA. In 1928, the Canadian military put an end to Defense Scheme no. 1 and ordered most of the documents destroyed. However, this is only half the story. In a previous episode, I mentioned the Plan Dog Memorandum. This was a series of military plans that the American military created in the 1930s to prepare for any eventual conflicts that might arise. In that episode, I spoke about the plans for an eventual war with Germany or Japan and how they served as advance planning for the Second World War. However, the United States also created a plan for a possible conflict with the British Empire and this became known as War Plan Red. There's no indication that the Americans were aware of Canada's Defense Scheme Number One, War Plan Red was developed independently. One possible scenario that the Americans considered was an alliance between the British and the Japanese. If a conflict were to break out, then the Americans assumed that the British would seek the aid of Japan and possibly Mexico. The American plan involved an invasion of Canada to deny the British a staging location for attacks on American territory as well as resources for their war effort. The planned invasion strategy was almost a mirror of the invasion plan developed by Lt. Col. Brown years earlier for Canada A broad front was needed to take out Canadian cities close to the border and take advantage of the lack of strategic depth that Brown had recognized. It also called for creating military bases along the border and using civilian airfields for military purposes. Unlike the Canadian plan, the American plan had a major naval component as well. It assumed that the British Navy was superior in that it had to stop the British from controlling major Atlantic ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Americans also assumed that the British would try to blockade New Orleans and shut down the Mississippi River. In addition, it would require defense of the west coast from a possible Japanese invasion, as well as of the Mexican border. The Americans assumed that they could mobilize an army of 12 million men in a matter of 60 days, and this was out of a population of about 110 million at the time. And 12 million was more than the entire population of Canada. One reason why they believed they could mobilize so many so quickly is because, unlike the First World War, they'd be fighting at home. Many more men would volunteer because they would be fighting to defend their home and could move quickly with their own transportation and, if necessary, their own weapons. Input on the plan came from a wide variety of sources, including the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. Supposedly, he recommended the use of chemical weapons, which were in violation of the Geneva Convention in an invasion of Canada. By the late 1930s, War Plan Red was rendered obsolete as American and British relations strengthened. Before the start of the Second World War, Canada and the U.S. began collaborating on mutual defense plans, such as the ogsburg Agreement of 1940, which established the Joint Defense of North America. It was filed away and forgotten until it was declassified in 1974. Today, both War Plan Red and Defense Scheme no. 1 are looked at with humor on both sides. There's no reason to believe that there are any such plans today, even theoretically because of the joint security concerns of all countries involved. When the plans were released, it didn't impact relations between the United States and Canada as both sides realized it was just contingency planning, and the plans were never taken seriously. The 1995 movie Canadian Bacon is a satirical comedy starring John Candy. In it, a US President fabricates a conflict with Canada to boost his approval ratings. And the 1999 South park movie also uses an American Canadian war as a plot device. So the idea of an American Canadian war is now pretty much just the subject of comedy. The US Canadian border is 8891 km, or 5525 miles long. It is not only the longest border in the world, but it is also totally undefended. So while the idea of a rematch of the War of 1812 is almost impossible, if something should ever happen, each country does have a plan that they could always dust off just in case. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Keever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day, and also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere Daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to Everything are in the show Notes.