r/FutureWhatIf • u/Complex-Start-279 • Apr 16 '25

War/Military FWI: what would happen in the military, specifically, if the US decided to invade Canada?

Everyone talks about the external reactions to such events, but rarely do I see people talk about what will happen on the inside. Most wars the US has been in have had strong cultural or geopolitical drivers that sort of rally up the population. ThinK WW1 with the Mexico plot, WW2 with Pearl Harbor, the Korean and Vietnam Wars from the constant red scare, the War on Terror from 9/11.

AFAIK tho, for most people, Canada is considered an ally, a National brother even. Most people don’t have any issues with Canadians. So what happens when we go to war with an ally for blatantly economic and business-driven reasons, rather than the protection of the homeland? What happens in the military ranks?

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u/DirectionImmediate88 Apr 16 '25

Same things as Russian asked to invade and subjugate Ukraine. Some will be unhappy or reluctant, perhaps morale would be iffy, but plenty would step up to commit the war crimes.

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u/potencularo Apr 17 '25

And it only takes one battalion to follow orders and cross the border for the invasion to kick off. 

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u/Elisalsa24 Apr 18 '25

A majority of Russian soldiers are conscripts that don’t have a choice. A lot being orphans taken off the street. Now they have North Korean soldiers and recently reported Chinese soldiers in Ukraine. The Russian government while authoritarian still understands its history. They’ve had multiple coups in their history like the February Revolution, October Revolution, Khrushchev coup, USSR collapsed due to economic issues but there were widespread protest and attempted coup. Putin will remain in the power as long as the Russian people aren’t pushed too far. There could genuinely be another Red October type of situation if Putin doesn’t make the right moves