Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

Proposed BC Toll & Impact on Alaska

• Legislation only authorizes tolls on through-traffic between the Lower 48 and Alaska; nothing is actually being tolled yet.
• Some argue only a small share of Alaska’s goods travel by road via BC, so revenue/pressure would be limited; others cite ~8% by truck and say forcing that to ship/air would be costly and disruptive.
• Several see tolls as mostly symbolic but potent in domestic politics and public perception.
• Side proposals include tolling high-axle-weight trucks using Canadian “shortcuts” between US cities, partly to recoup road damage costs.

Canada’s Strategic Response to US Tariffs

• Suggested tools: counter-tariffs, resource surcharges, procurement and media bans, diversifying trade to Europe/Asia, deepening interprovincial trade, and rearmament.
• One camp says Canada is not “cornered” and should actively reduce dependence on an unreliable US; another stresses the US is still by far Canada’s most important market and any pivot would be slow, painful, and recessionary.
• Game-theory framing: tit‑for‑tat (with eventual forgiveness) is favored by some; others say “appeasing bullies does not work.”
• Debate over “reciprocal” tariffs: some see them as fair in principle, others as economically stupid or cover for annexation pressure.

Annexation Rhetoric, Sovereignty, and Rising Nationalism

• Many Canadians report taking annexation talk very seriously, seeing it as part of a long-standing US strand that denies Canada’s legitimacy.
• Americans in the thread are split: some dismiss Trump’s language as trolling or theoretical “debate” about closer union; others see it as manifest-destiny-style economic warfare.
• The dispute is framed less as trade than as a sovereignty crisis; Canadians describe a sharp turn toward nationalism and long-term distrust of US reliability.

Risk of Military Conflict

• Some commenters float extreme scenarios (Canada “eliminating” the US; US invasion of BC).
• Others respond that invading a modern, 40M‑person country would be disastrous insurgency-style warfare, citing Vietnam and Afghanistan; any such talk is treated as wildly unrealistic escalation.

Reserve Currency and Global Realignment

• Large subthread asks whether countries bullied by the US should move reserves to euros or RMB.
• Points raised:
  • USD’s deep integration and US Treasuries’ depth make switching slow and potentially “cataclysmic.”
  • Euro or RMB each have structural problems (EU debt appetite, Chinese capital controls and CCP discretion).
  • Losing reserve status would raise US borrowing costs, hurt some sectors, and possibly help tradable manufacturing; opinions differ on net impact.
  • Some argue the US has used reserve status to sustain deficits and asset bubbles; others say it underpins American living standards and geopolitical leverage.

Canada–US Interdependence & Internal Logistics

• One commenter claims Canada relies on a single vulnerable road east–west; others correct this: there are multiple routes, but northern Ontario is a notable chokepoint and sometimes closes.
• Many east–west truck routes go through the US because they’re shorter, not because Canada lacks internal roads.
• Several argue reciprocal road tolls would raise costs on both sides and likely hurt Canada somewhat more, but the main effect would be mutual economic damage rather than strategic advantage.

Democratic Backsliding & Fictional Parallels

• Commenters link the trade/annexation rhetoric to perceived US democratic erosion, “madman” strategy, and normalization of lies.
• Multiple works of fiction are cited (Fallout annexation of Canada, Handmaid’s Tale, Neal Stephenson, Cyberpunk) as no longer feeling far-fetched, feeding anxiety about US collapse, regional fragmentation, or authoritarian drift.