In this file photo, President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he arrived at the White House, Wednesday, October 11, 2017, in Washington. Trump has said repeatedly that he’d like Canada to…
In this file photo, President Donald Trump greets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after he arrived at the White House, Wednesday, October 11, 2017, in Washington. Trump has said repeatedly that he’d like Canada to become America’s 51st state.
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AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Julian Vikan Karaguesian: Geography, Population, and Productivity Growth Equals Richer U.S. Economy
I’m not making the case for Canada joining the U.S. as the 51st state, but rather directly answering a straight question about whether that would make the U.S. richer.
It would make the U.S. economy richer for three key reasons.
First, the U.S. would gain a geographic area slightly larger than the U.S., and one that is endowed with immense amounts of fresh water, energy (including uranium), critical minerals, and land. Canada is a natural resource superpower, and this fact would become part of the U.S.
Second, Canada has vast unexploited potential, which would further boost U.S. GDP and GDP per capita over the medium-term.
Furthermore, Canada’s 41 million people would be added to the U.S.’s 343 million, making the population of the hypothetically enlarged U.S. almost 400 million, with over $27 trillion GDP—the largest economic area in the world, however one measures economic size.
This would give the U.S. even more global and regional heft than it has already. Moreover, with Canada’s riches in natural and other resources, the U.S. would be more self-sufficient than it is already.
Third, the U.S.’s higher rate of productivity growth would spread to Canada by virtue of the U.S.’s scale and more competitive markets, boosting job opportunities, profits, and incomes.
How good this would be for the U.S. would depend on the terms of the union.
Julian Vikan Karaguesian is a lecturer in the Department of Economics at McGill University and worked for Canadian Ministry of Finance for more than 25 years.
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Publish date : 2025-01-10 02:27:00
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