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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 the faltering occupation by American forces. As lead American negotiator at the 1782 peace negotiations with Britain in Paris, he held the fate of Canada in his hands. Ill health and other American priorities then forced him to abandon his decades-long campaign to possess Canada.
Franklin’s elevation to the status of an American icon has pushed this signal failure into the far reaches of collective memory in both Canada and the United States. Yet it shaped the future of North America and relations between the two neighbours over the next two and a half centuries.
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 the faltering occupation by American forces. As lead American negotiator at the 1782 peace negotiations with Britain in Paris, he held the fate of Canada in his hands. Ill health and other American priorities then forced him to abandon his decades-long campaign to possess Canada.
Franklin’s elevation to the status of an American icon has pushed this signal failure into the far reaches of collective memory in both Canada and the United States. Yet it shaped the future of North America and relations between the two neighbours over the next two and a half centuries.
Price: $22.99
Pages: 296
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
30 September 2025
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781459754188
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
HISTORY / Canada / Pre-Confederation (to 1867), History of the Americas, HISTORY / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical
Madelaine Drohan has written a very timely book. Canadians said "non merci" to Benjamin Franklin in 1776. And we continue saying it — loud and clear — to those who threaten our independence 250 years later!
A bold and timely reassessment of one of the most revered figures in American history ... Drohan’s writing is crisp and accessible, blending archival research with journalistic clarity. Her background as a foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail and The Economist lends the book to a global perspective, situating Franklin’s ambitions within the broader currents of empire, revolution, and diplomacy. She also brings a distinctly Canadian voice to the narrative, one that resists the gravitational pull of American exceptionalism.
Madelaine Drohan spent most of her journalistic career as a foreign correspondent, reporting on Europe for the Toronto-based Globe and Mail and then on Canada for the London-based Economist. She is a senior fellow at the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa. She lives in Ottawa.
- A Note About Terminology and Map Sources
- Introduction
- Part One: Canada as the Enemy
- 1 The Threat from the North: Boston 1706–1723
- 2 Papist Conspiracies: London 1724–1726
- 3 A Dangerous Man: Philadelphia 1726–1748
- 4 Casting a Covetous Eye: Philadelphia 1749–1756
- Part Two: Canada Captured
- 5 Ravings of a Mad Prophet: London 1757–1773
- 6 A New Papist Army: London 1774–1775
- Part Three: Canada in Play
- 7 A Neighbourly Invasion: Philadelphia 1775
- 8 A Nest of Hornets: Montreal 1776
- 9 The Final Attempt: Paris 1776–1783
- Epilogue: Letting the Losers Write Canada’s History
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix: Wars and Treaties Mentioned in This Book
- Notes
- Selected Bibliography
- Map Credits
- Index