My Morrin Lecture:
“Fending off the Americans for 250 Years”

Before Donald Trump in 2025, before James Madison in 1812, Benjamin Franklin had designs on Canada. Madelaine Drohan will talk about how he rationalized that desire, what he did about it, and why he failed. She will also discuss how the French Canadians played a pivotal role in the events of 250 years ago, and why the lessons learned then remain relevant today.

The Guest

Madelaine Drohan is a senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Policy, University of Ottawa, a former Canada correspondent for The Economist, and a former foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail. During her long journalism career, she covered politics, economics, and business in Africa, Asia, Canada, and Europe. He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada is her latest book.

The Book

Throughout his long and illustrious career, Benjamin Franklin nursed a not-so-secret desire to annex Canada and make it American. When he was not busy conducting scientific experiments or representing American interests at home and abroad, Benjamin Franklin hatched one plan after another to join Canada to the American colonies and then later to the United States. These were not solely intellectual efforts. He went to Montreal in 1776 to try to turn around a faltering occupation by American forces. As lead American negotiator at the 1782 peace negotiations with Britain in Paris, he made a last-gasp attempt to win Canada. Donald Trump’s repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state suggest the desire to possess Canada did not die with Franklin. There are lessons for Canada in Franklin’s failure that remain relevant today.

This event is presented through the My Morrin program.

This event is organized in collaboration with the Canadian International Council – Section Québec (CIC-Québec).