Turks and Caicos, Caribbean and Canada
I never took the 'Turks and Caicos joining Canadian Confederation' movement seriously, seeing it as an amusing side show. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a very short thread.
After shallow digging, I see there is a wee bit of historical reason for such a proposal. There is a shared British colonial heritage.
But the administrative practicalities and ramifications make the expansion of Confederation to the Caribbean implausible. Would Canada and Canadians be ready to defend the islands militarily? Or police them with integrity under the Canadian criminal code? Or subsidize/financially support them in any way?
Who comprises the main constituency in Canada that brings up the Turks and Caicos in Confederation topic anyways? Tax-haven-loving bankers? Religious groups?
funny, this issue first arose in I think the 1970s, and was quiet for a long time ..
funny, this issue first arose in I think the 1970s, and was quiet for a long time ..
There was an NDP MP, Max Saltsman, who championed provincehood for Turks and Caicos, as well as a couple of far-right Tory MPs who took up the cause(Dan McKenzie is the name that comes to mind). And if you go to Alternate History websites, you can find a few threads speculating about parallel worlds where Canada has a Caribbean province.
Personally, the idea seems kinda hare-brained to me. It'll work to keep Canadian toursit dollars in Canada only if significant numbers of Canadians start going to Turks And Caicos after provincehood is attained. But why would they?