A Democratic state legislator in New York is urging a coalition of northeastern states to secede from the union and join Canada as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.
State Senator Liz Krueger (D), who also has a plan to withhold up to $300 billion in federal taxes, defended her ideas in a conversation with Politico. “It’s not unreasonable to think outside the box,” says Krueger, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
Left-leaning lawmakers have been pushing unsuccessfully for a special session in December to pass measures aimed at protecting illegal migrants and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. It’s clear which groups matter most to left-leaning Democrats.
Krueger is one of these. She’s worried about Donald Trump’s second term and what that means for a state where many Democrats value their role as a sanctuary for “vulnerable” groups.
In September, Kreuger spoke to City and State New York.com about a four-state secession from the union if Trump won, in which New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut would join Canada:
– I know Canada has said: “Yeah, we won’t let you in if he wins.” As individuals, they made that clear. But that’s why I thought: “Why do I have to leave this country? I love this country, and if Trump wins a second term, it’s actually not my fault or the people of New York.”
– So I thought I would propose to Canada that instead of all of us trying to cross the border illegally at night without them noticing, which is quite difficult because there are a lot of us, that instead they should agree to let us be the southeastern province, a new province of Canada, and I offered, even though I hadn’t got consent from other states yet, that I thought New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, would merge and become a great new province as the southeastern province of Canada.
Krueger believed this was a good solution, since almost “everyone in these states is a progressive Democrat”, which would therefore “fit quite well into the political philosophy” of most elected officials in Canada.
But this could soon change as Canada approaches another election that will likely mean the end of Justin Trudeau’s term.
Krueger has contacts in Ottawa, and claims that politicians there are likely to support the proposal.
– I suggested that this could be an option and I got back some unofficial responses and heard that this is probably sellable in Ottawa, and look, if we were Europe, in the time that we’ve been a nation, for Canada, if we were European countries, our borders would have moved about 20 times by now, right?
Donald Trump, for his part, promises to help make New York “safe, strong, beautiful, affordable and vibrant again”. To achieve this, Trump is set to work closely with the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, and the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams.
