Guys, where's your creativity - a time traveller could do it, armed with hindsight, therefore it should be possible for anyone else by more or less randomly making the right decisions.
Several measures to strengthen Canada:
- Get as many immigrants as possible and keep as many people as possible from emmigrating - easy visa, a well running economy with lots of available jobs, high growth with high standard of living (done by others, not impossible to achieve), different political philosophies in the different states and cities to attract all kinds of people, keep locals happy to avoid anti-immigration sentiments, and so on.
- Make Canada a good place for saving taxes for American companies and money - the US might even prefer Canada over the Caymans. Draw lots of money and investments from other countries, too.
- Rationalize as much as possible as fast as possible. Outsource all unimportant jobs. Make sure the jobless quickly get new jobs by investing in the necesary amount in infrastructure, military, research, education, technology, and so on - preferably via suitable tax breaks.
- Set the right conditions to make sure Canadian companies get all the information necessary to compete - easy sharing of know-how, constantly knowing all about all their competitors and markets, and so on - by supporting use of advisors, by increasing and sharing intelligence information, and so on.
- Collect all Data about the US - first whatever is publicly available, then whatever is available on other channels, finally everything that can be obtained without starting a premature war.
- Make sure to control a few consumer markets with day-to-day articles like food, drinks, sweets, radios, and so on, so that everyone has contact to them.
- Make sure to have some computer programs installed on nearly every US computer (if necessary by buying a US company) - with some security leaks only known to the own responsible department.
- Collect as much information as possible about US citizens without awaking suspicion - a navigator-phone which is connected to a navigation company in Canada could do a lot, for instance. So could a credit card company, and others.
- Make sure to be able to quickly get rid of any potential vulnerability by the US - replacing software, hardware, ressouces, and so on by safe alternatives as soon as necessary, blocking connections at any time, and so on.
- Make sure people know how to fight - computer games, some military education in schools, conscription, reservists training, some military adventurism for managers and curious people, and so on.
- Build a few secret hideouts under permanent snow, under suitable lakes, and under the ground. Build a few not so secret places for people to go in case of a war, which are not seen as targets and which are equally safe from any fallout or the likes.
- Produce and hide equipment to quickly deploy mines along the whole border and along likely routes of any American advance. Build lots of constructions along the border able to stop or slow any tanks and other vehicles coming from the south. Build a few traps in suitable places to jam any advance. Prepare bridges to be taken down if necessary, and so on.
- Mass produce all kinds of cheap but effective weapons - bazookas, machine guns, guided rocket artillery, decoys, and so on.
- More or less secretely develop and mass produce more advanced cheap weapons - drones, small rockets, remote-controlled cars, and so on, with sensors or preprogrammed destinations, to quickly destroy any defence.
- Make sure Canadians are able to survive a war - cars with air filtering, homes with air filtering, bunkers, food storage, and so on.
- Position spys all over the US, to help gather information, sabotage production in the event of a war, and so on.
- WMDs are secretely massproduced. To make sure they are used, it's made sure the producers don't know where they go, and the users don't know what they have.
- A new generation of different tanks is developed together with partners all over the world - light and heavy, tracked and wheeled, the newest technologies. They are produced in large amounts, their actual numbers far exceeding the apparent amount.
Preparing for the war:
- The number of soldiers is increased, reservists train at useful times, young people are spending their holidays in youth camps at the right time, and so on.
- Exports to the US are secretely laced with harmless bacteria, chemicals, ingredients, and the likes which cause minor problems - irritations, weight gain, sleepiness, and so on - all under some covers - greed by an evil food producer, desinfection by other products, and so on. Some have more serious effects after some time. None should awaken any suspicions even if they are uncovered.
- A few ships with especially valuable freight sink misteriously, a few planes have accidents, and so on.
- A few polluted rivers, lakes, and so on are uncovered and cause a lot of trouble, especially as there are intense but futile searches for the polluting party.
- Some computer viruses cause a lot of damage. Only a canadian software keeps the computers safe - many people install it.
- And some more. The closer to the war, the more "accidents" happen.
Starting the war:
- Failures in the power grid cause lots of parts of the US to loose electricity.
- Computer viruses take down most computers - even destroying stored information and planting more viruses in the BIOS, the MBR, and other hard to delete places. Some important computers are hijacked to cause even more trouble.
- Fog suddenly appears in a lot of border territories.
- Useful cars and busses are confiscated in masses.
- All available people are mobilized. A mass conscription is done over night. People are evacuated from vulnerable places.
- News of all kinds of things happening in Canada, too, are circulated, with some gossip it might be the Russians or Chinese.
- All kinds of radio transmissions are disturbed - even satellites, as much as possible.
- From the oceans, a few rockets are started to make the US react to a false danger.
- Subs sink American war ships and merchant ships. They also bombard some coastal targets.
- A giant fleet of rockets and drones is started. News is circulated about targets in Canada being hit.
- Thousands of tanks roll over the border and flatten every target in sight.
- News of Canada having been conquered by an unknown power are spread.
- Weapons are delivered to commandos who were near the coast lines as tourists or on meetings via subs.
- More commandos come with boats, ships, and so on. Apparently civilian planes unload even more soldiers all over the US.
- Paratroopers, Commandos, and spies mark moving targets for the rockets, drones, and artillery. Commandos attack all kinds of targets in the US, also seizing weapons and using them for more damage. Spys sabotage streets, railways, communications, and so on, where necessary. They also cause fires and other havoc to keep people occupied.
- Masses of drones (appearing as toys) emerge from transports and storage facilities to help confuse defence, collect information, and even do kamikaze attacks on all kinds of targets.
- Within 2 hours, all military and strategic targets in the US have been obliterated by rockets, drones, artillery, and so on. Some attention was even given to ships, overseas troops, and so on.
- The tanks advance with an average speed of 50 km/h and destroy all kinds of resistance.
- Decoys appear everywhere and keep the defenders busy.
- Rockets with different sensors obliterate helicopters, tanks, planes, and so on. Heavy and light machine guns, advanced grenades, and so on help.
- Bussing is used to move every American from occupied areas into places where they can be kept from being drafted by the US.
- Besides the available military vehicles, confiscated cars are used to tow masses of rocket launchers, cannons, and so on to suitable places to help obliterate remaining resistance. Quickly mounted machine guns help against any counter attacks.
- The Canadian air forces are used to help fight remaining resistance and achieve air superiority.
- Civilian planes cargo newly enlisted soldiers under the lead of some veterans to all secure and useful landing places all over the US. They are equipped with measures against rockets and quickly mounted machine guns. Some of them tow gliders for silent attacks.
- When the US were finally concentrating their counter attacks on Canada, and threats from overseas forces came in, the forces outside the US were given the offer to return to the US without doing any fighting, or to surrender to a neutral country.
- Within 8 hours, most resistance was obliterated. Most Americans were in sport stadiums and other mass shelters, the ones who swore loyalty to the Canadian government and constitution could leave and work for the Canadian forces.
- All homes were being searched for weapons and dangerous materials, which were all confiscated or put to use. Some people who didn't even hide according traces were also charged with the one or other criminal offence.
- A little bit of propaganda against all kinds of "bad" activities of the US was broadcasted, to make the Americans forget their old government more quickly.
- Most Canadians were moved to the US to keep any counter attacks by submarines from happening, or from having any serious effect.
- Some Bunkers of the military and the government were still alive, but there was no-one they could reach anymore. One after the other was obliterated or forced to give up.
- A lot of production facilities and equipment of the US was grabbed to strengthen the Canadian military and to compensate for all the losses, helping to fight the remaining resistance.
- After 2 days, the tanks had made it all the way from the north to the south. The tactic to advance at full speed, look out for resistance, and letting the follow-up troops encircle and destroy it, made it nearly impossible for the US to mobilize their troops in time.
- After a week, the last resistance was broken. Some unrest could pretty easily be quelled.
I admit it's unrealistic, but it's much more fun than doing the realistic stuff...
