A group of students are standing around an older woman, with grey hair and glasses. They appear to be asking questions. In the background, an image of a book cover is projected on a screen. The book is He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada.

I worry sometimes that young people might not be interested in history. That certainly wasn’t the case yesterday, when I talked about my book at Nipissing University in North Bay, ON.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution

Black and white etching of Benjamin Franklin wearing a fur cap. He is wearing spectacles, a dark jacket and a white neck cloth.

#OTD March 20, 1776, Benjamin Franklin received official instructions from the Continental Congress on how to govern Canada.

He was to travel to Montreal, then occupied by the Continental Army, and salvage the faltering American invasion.

#hedidnotconquer #Canada #history #books #America250

When I first started researching my book on Benjamin Franklin and Canada it seemed like a niche topic.
Why would anyone care than an American icon wanted to possess Canada?

#hedidnotconquer #CIHE #canada #history #books #cdaus @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Photo of a man using his phone to take a picture of three people: a female author, seated at a table and signing books, with two men standing behind her smiling.

What a pleasure to talk about my book to members of the Canadian International Council, Waterloo branch, last night at St. Jerome's University. An engaged and thoughtful audience!

There are a lot of people to thank for making it happen.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #cdaus

A black and white etching of Silas Deane, the agent sent to Paris in 1776. He is in profile, and his grey hair is tied back.

Donald Trump is not the first American to use trade for political ends. #OTD March 2, 1776, Benjamin Franklin and others decided to offer France access to American trade if it would support the American Revolution.
#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution #america250

Black and white etching of Charles Lee, an American general during the revolution. He is wearing an army uniform and hat.

One of the reasons the Americans failed to conquer Canada in 1775-76 was they under-estimated how hard it would be and did not allocate sufficient men, money, weapons, and provisions.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

An oil painting of French printer Fleury Mesplet, who was active in the American Revolution. He has grey hair and is wearing a dark jacket and white collar. He is surrounded by books.

#OTD February 26, 1776, the Continental Congress agreed to pay the expenses of French printer Fleury Mesplet and to give him “25 Half Joes to remove Himself, his Family and Types to Canada and there set up a free Press.”

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #montreal #quebec Dundurn Press

This is a portrait of John Adams, former US president and founding father, painted by Mather Brown in 1788. He is wearing a brown jacket and matching waistcoat, with a white neckerchief. He has some papers in one hand and a quill in the other. He is wearing a grey wig and has a serious expression.

“The Unanimous Voice of the Continent is Canada must be ours. Quebec must be taken.” So declared John Adams in a letter sent #OTD Feb. 18, 1776, to fellow revolutionary James Warren.
#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #America250 @dundurn

Portrait of a portly Benjamin Franklin. He is wearing what looks like a grey silk suit, with matching waistcoat and white neckerchief. His hair is long and still brown. He looks serious. His lips are pursed.

This is a portrait of Samuel Chase. He has abundant, long, grey hair. He is wearing a dark jacket and white neckerchief. He is gazing directly at the viewer and has a serious expression.

This is a portrait of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He has a patrician air. He appears to have short grey hair. He is wearing a dark jacket and has a white neckerchief. He has a serious expression and is gazing directly at the viewer.

#OTD Feb. 15, 1776, the Continental Congress asked Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton to go to Canada to ask the French Canadians to join the American Revolution.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

America’s roots are showing. That does not bode well for Canada There are alarming echoes between 1775 and our present moment

There’s an ongoing guessing game about how far in the past Trump is trying to drag the US. I argue it’s 1775, the year Americans began their revolution and invaded Canada.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history @dundurnpress.bsky.social @theglobeandmail.com

General Lee never got a chance to test Franklin’s theory in Canada because he was reassigned March 1 to protect the 13 colonies against an anticipated spring attack by the British.

#hedidnotconquer #history #cdaus @todayinamrev.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revolution250.bsky.social

In Conversation with Stephen Harper and Jean Chrétien – February 2, 2026 At a ceremony in Ottawa, former prime minister Stephen Harper receives a gold medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) in recognition of his career in public service. Following the ...

It is heartening to see two former prime ministers, from different parties, have a friendly conversation about Canadian unity in the time of Trump.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #americanrevolution @dundurnpress@twitter.piriklub.eu

Really enjoyed speaking with Larry Ostola of the Champlain Society about my book and its relevance to Canada-US relations today.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #cdaus #americanrevolution
@dundurnpress.bsky.social @revolution250.bsky.social

Opinion: Carney picks the wrong battle in Quebec City Another historic confrontation is more perfectly suited to this moment — the defeat of American invaders in 1775 by combined forces.

My take on the historical aspects of the prime minister’s Quebec speech.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #cdaus @dundurnpress.bsky.social

A portrait of a corpulent gentleman in the 18th century. His grey hair is tied back with a black bow. He is wearing a black jacket and a white neckerchief. He is seated at a table and holding a piece of paper in his hand. His expression is serious.

American politicians have regarded Canada as a pawn to be played in their power struggles for quite some time. 250 years to be exact.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

Image shows a two-page spread in a commemorative issue of Time magazine of the major events in the American Revolution. It begins in April 1775 with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord and ends in April 1789 with the inauguration of George Washington. It does not include the invasion by the Americans of the British colony of Canada, which began in September 1775 and ended in failure.

Notice something missing from this chronology of the American Revolution in a commemorative edition put out by Time magazine?

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books

The most popular coin in circulation was the Spanish silver dollar (pictured). British pounds and German thalers were also used. People used to cut the Spanish dollar into halves, quarters, and eighths. Hence the term piece of eight.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books @revwar250.bsky.social

If anyone had any doubts about where Trump intends to go next, these faked photos, which MSN says Trump posted last night, make it clear.
Take a look at the map showing Canada covered by the American flag.
#hedidnotconquer #canada #cdaus #history #books @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Black and white etching made to appear old-fashioned of Benjamin Franklin with a birthday cake in front of him. He is wearing spectacles and is pursing his lips.

Benjamin Franklin received a disappointing birthday present when he turned 70 years old #OTD January 17, 1776. He and fellow delegates to the Continental Congress learned that the Continental Army failed to take Quebec City by storm more than two weeks earlier.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history

America’s Roots are Showing with its Threat to Greenland – Centre for International Policy Studies Canada's leading centre for analysis and debate of international affairs.

Trump is not inventing a new foreign policy with his threats to Greenland. He’s resurrecting an approach that is 250 years old.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #cdaus #history @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

Rubio Tells Lawmakers Trump Wants to Buy Greenland

Benjamin Franklin once proposed that the United States buy Canada from Britain. This was in the autumn of 1776, after the Americans had tried and failed to conquer the British colony.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

traitors to their country, and as such, punished with severity, made prisoners and even banished from the province if their case requires it.”

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Opinion: We need to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. uses military coercion against Canada After the capture of Venezuela’s president and Trump’s musing about Greenland, Canada must prepare for the worst-case scenario

There are a lot of lessons Canada can learn from the American invasion of 1775-1776, including that it could happen again.
I wrote about that invasion in my book He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada.
#hedidnotconquer #history #books

The forgotten history of how Benjamin Franklin tried to annex Canada Donald Trump is not the first American to want to possess Canada. At the very birth of the U.S., Benjamin Franklin pushed that same agenda.

I was pleased and surprised to see The National Post ran an interview with me today about my book.

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

The idea that Canada should be American did not begin with Mr. Trump and it is unlikely to end with him.

#hedidnotconquer #history #canada #books #americanrevolution @revwar250.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social

Photo of a woman with short grey hair and glasses, with headphones on. She is wearing a checked shirt. She is smiling.

Why should Canadians care about Benjamin Franklin’s failure to annex Canada?
I make the case to Antonio Michael Downing on CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter. My bit starts 10 minutes in.

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

#hedidnotconquer #canada #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

(Image is of a 1937 mural of Sir William Johnson, the British agent, conferring with First Nations)

#hedidnotconquer #history #canada #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

Photo show a book, He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada, beside a holiday arrangement of cedar branches, fairy lights and tree ornaments.

Do you have a special person on your list who is always difficult to buy for? Get my book. It puts Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state into context.

#hedidnotconquer #history #books #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social

This is a black and white engraving showing Quebec City in 1775. The view is from the ramparts, high above the St. Lawrence River. There is a British flag flying from a flagpole and a few people looking over the edge at the river below. There are boats in the river and a few low hills in the distance.

#OTD December 16, 1775, officers in the Continental Army decided to storm Quebec City. Their men, ill-equipped for a winter siege and decimated by smallpox, were threatening to go home.

#hedidnotconquer #history #books #canada #americanrevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social @revwar250.bsky.social

A picture of two women and four men smiling and holding copies of the book, He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada. They are wearing business dress and standing in front of a screen on which is projected the lyrics to O Canada!

When French Canadians refused Benjamin Franklin’s invitation to join the American Revolution in 1776, it was a foundational moment for modern Canada. I loved discussing it today with the Rotary Club of Old Montreal.
#hedidnotconquer #history #canada #AmericanRevolution @dundurnpress.bsky.social