The collapse of US tourism could cost $21 billion in revenue for 2025

Happy New Year to you as well!!

Barbara, ever since I was a kid, I've thought that states and provinces that border one another have much more in common than they do with their same-country neighbors. BC is like Washington. Alberta is like Montana. The Maritimes are like New England. Et cetera.

And my understanding is that Canadian provinces have much more autonomy than US states. So we have close partnerships and common interests that cross the border and make it almost an unnecessary formality. I'd love to see the US--Canada border be like in the EU---just a sign saying "Welcome to...," no more. No customs, no checkpoints. Just wave as you drive by.

Continuing that thought, why not have a common currency, like the euro? That would render the need for currency exchange moot and would strengthen both economies. 

Now, echoing the concerns that were voiced in Europe back then, this would not affect the independence and autonomy of either country. We already closely coexist and are good friends. Why not be official as well as practical partners?

And of course, an open border and a common currency would render the idiot Turdiffs obsolete. 

Each country could run its internal affairs as it sees fit. But travel and trade back and forth--it should be like the EU.

I do like the idea of Cascadia, but I prefer "Pacifica." That would include BC, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. It would be the fourth largest economy in the world. We could trade with all the Pacific Rim nations. We would finally have universal single-payer healthcare. We would ABSOLUTELY be careful stewards of our environment. And we could tell Trump and MAGA to piss off once and for all.

One interesting and potentially troubling side effect of Pacifica's secession would be that the remainder of the US would become a Republican-controlled fascist state. New York and New England would probably break away as well. Atlantica!

What city do you think should be the capital of Pacifica? I vote for Vancouver!:Or maybe Point Roberts 😛

Point Roberts should have been part of Canada.  It would be my first choice as it could be neutral. But Vancouver would be the financial capital, just like Ottawa is the capital of the country but Toronto is the business centre. 

Our premier John Horgan loved travelling up and down the West Coast and considered us one economy a few years ago. I feel my closest neighbours are the Pacific Northwest, not Alberta.  And the east definitely has a different culture than the west coast.  I was born in Toronto, but drove across the country with my husband and a baby in 1976 to Victoria as I thought it was the Jewel of the Pacific and I wanted to spend my life there.  I never looked back.

I would love a common currency, of course!! My husband was Dutch and we found it much easier when the currencies all changed to the Euro when we were travelling through Europe.

Yeah, our family went to Europe three times in the 70s and all the currency exchange and customs stuff were a real bother and time-consuming. Then I returned after the EU/euro era began and wow, what a breeze!

If you consider the topography of North America, the continent is divided into long, skinny north--south strips. Pacific Coast, Coast Ranges, Great Basin/inland deserts, Rockies, Great Plains, etc. Culturally and in many other ways, inhabitants of the same strip are going to have more in common than inhabitants of adjacent strips, even if the former are in different countries and the latter in the same country. 

So given that and what you've just said about PNW commonality, would you rather live in Cascadia or Pacifica? California is in the same strip as we are. And we wouldn't let Trump have Hawaii.

Also, maybe you can answer a few questions I've always had.

Why is Victoria BC's capital, given its physical separation from the mainland? Isn't that massively inconvenient, particularly back in the early days of Canada when there was no air travel?

What made Victoria so veddy veddy British when the rest of Canada is decidedly not? (Not that I don't like tea and scones with clotted cream at the Empress.)

For that matter, why isn't Vancouver Island a separate province? Was that ever considered?

Are there significant cultural or political differences between the Island and the rest of BC?

Vancouver is an absolute melting pot. Is Victoria as well--or is it less culturally diverse?

What's the best Tim Horton's sandwich?

Pacifica is probably better. The whole west coast and Hawaii!!

Victoria was established before Vancouver because of its naval base in Esquimalt. Mainlanders preferred New Westminster but a contentious vote in 1868 solidified Victoria's status and it remained so when BC joined Canada in 1871.  Vancouver was a small fort at the time.  I think Vancouver Island is too small to be a province.

A British architect Francis Rattenbury spent most of his career in B.C. where he designed the legislative buildings and the Empress. Significant numbers of settlers arrived in the late 1800s which influenced the city's culture. We have Craigdarroch Castle, Hatley Manor and other stately buildings which are very British.

The city's protected harbour facilitated import and export services.  Also, we have the 2nd oldest Chinatown in North America. The oldest is in San Francisco. 

The Island is definitely left politically.  More so than the rest of the province. We are becoming more culturally diverse now which is makes it interesting to live here.  It is becoming less British.  I still love High Tea and it's very popular in town.

I'm not sure what's the best Tim Horton's sandwich.  At the Vancouver airport I usually pick up a bagel and cream cheese.  That's pretty boring!.  Tim's is not as good as it once was.  I used to love their soups, but not so much now.

Thanks, Barbara! Now, feel free to pepper me with questions about Oregon and Washington.

My kind of fuzzy recollection of Canadian history is that Canada was formed in 1867, so was BC NOT part of Canada originally? If so, what was it? independent?

I also seem to remember learning, upon visiting the museum at Craigellachie, that BC's condition to join Canada was that the Canadian transcontinental railroad would extend all the way to Vancouver. That also suggests why Victoria was such an important trade hub: it was better positioned than Vancouver as a Pacific harbor, which would have been the only way to get goods in and out pre-railroad. Mirrors our own history, actually. Do I have all that sort of correct?

And here's something I strongly suspect but can't verify: that the British saw how ax-crazy the US was as they observed the Civil War, and more or less foisted independence on British North America because they feared that otherwise, we would eventually eat it, and their preoccupation with their colonial empire as well as the Monroe Doctrine meant that they weren't going to send any armies to North America. 

I'm interested in all this because as you're probably aware, people in the US are pretty ignorant of Canadian history/geography/everything. So whatever I learned about Canada, I didn't learn in school. And you guys are so peaceful and self-effacing, you never invaded or blew anything up or even uttered a harsh word. You just sat up there quietly and offered help if and when we needed it. I can't think of any other two countries that have shared a border for over a century and never even thrown rocks at each other.

UNTIL THAT ASSHOLE TRUMP CAME ALONG, OF COURSE 🤬

Vancouver does resemble San Francisco in many ways: physical setting, culture, roles in their respective nations, and yes, Chinese food!!! I was born in SF and grew up across the Golden Gate in Marin county. In a time when you could only get cashew chicken, chow mein, and sweet and sour pork in a Chinese restaurant everywhere else (that was IT), we went to Chinatown frequently and got the real thing. Then I went to Vancouver and said, oh my God, I'm home. 

I went to Granville Island and had the best Chinese meal of my life. Can't remember the name of the restaurant though.

I watched all of Virgin River (Netflix) and knew that the setting wasn't Northern California; it looked like BC to me. (Not the first time that I found out a TV or movie had actually been filmed there.) The scenery in the show and the fictional town's setting were amazing and I wondered where it was. I learned that it was Bowen Island. Is that a Vancouver backyard destination? There must be a ferry. I'd love to check it out.

It's beginning to look like this year's Canada trip is going to take me all summer.

Thanks for the kind words about Canadians. You are correct about B.C.'s history.

The colony of B.C. was founded in 1858 in response to the Fraser River Gold Rush.  The colony established a government in 1864 and merged with the colony of Vancouver Island in 1866.

B.C. joined the Dominion of Canada in 1871 and became the 6th Province to join Confederation. They joined after Canada planned to build a transcontinental railway and assumed B.C.'s debts. There was a strong desire to remain British as they didn't want to be annexed by the Americans, so joining Confederation secured British sovereignty.

Vancouver is very similar to San Francisco.  Vancouver gets much more rain than Victoria, due to the mountain ranges.  San Francisco seems to have its own weather system too.