Can you gather enough people to conquer Nunavut?

[Lexicus]

Which province? Nunavut isn't a province.

It is now...a province of my empire, of course

 

[warpus]

I can't gather enough people to join me for a soccer game.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Did Nunavut offend you somehow, Archbob?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Depends on what you mean by 'conquer.' As someone already said, once the government of Canada agrees to stay out of it if I walk in, plant a flag, and proclaim myself the ruler by some definitions it is 'conquered.'

To expand on that definition we need to consider rival claimants. Somewhere among that 35K population there will be one, and more likely several. Some might have support in their locale, and some might have no support but their family. Others will be dingbats with no support at all that if left to their own devices will get eliminated all by themselves. If there is some value in conquering this backwater I might be able to assemble enough shareholders to travel around eliminating others. I am comfortable that I could show up with enough support to avoid being killed off myself and maintain my claim, so by a wider range of definitions I could say I was a conqueror.

It is unlikely that I could actually force 35,000 people to bend the knee simultaneously, if that's what you mean by 'conquer,' but I doubt that anyone could put together a force that could accomplish that. It would cost more than it would be worth.

 

[Lohrenswald]

Pretty sure for most of the history of Britain in north america and probably Canada as well, that settlers further south were like "yea we own that" and didn't really do anything about it

 

[warpus]

Depends on what you mean by 'conquer.' As someone already said, once the government of Canada agrees to stay out of it if I walk in, plant a flag, and proclaim myself the ruler by some definitions it is 'conquered.'

I think the definition of "conquer" we should use is you coming in, planting a flag, and people who live there listening to you and doing as you say.

If you can't get the locals to cater to your whims then you haven't really conquered them yet.

 

[red_elk]

Depends on what you mean by 'conquer.' As someone already said, once the government of Canada agrees to stay out of it if I walk in, plant a flag, and proclaim myself the ruler by some definitions it is 'conquered.'

Referendum, nowadays you'll need a referendum...

 

[Cutlass]

The entire area can be taken in the summer. It wouldn't take that long. As I mentioned above, you'd have to bring your own food and supplies since I doubt much can be obtained from raiding.

I admit I don't know how well armed they are. Can anyone provide any info? I doubt they have assault rifles, but correct me if I'm wrong. I'm assuming Canadian gun laws don't apply there, but I'm mostly thinking of the financial cost. If the region can't afford roads, they can't possibly have much money, right?

As for tracked vehicles I don't see how they are necessary. Does Nanavut even have a military? Every thing can be done on foot. At least the most important regions. Yes casualties would be higher this way, but the OP didn't mention anything about casualties.

Essentially every adult, and most teens, would have a high powered hunting rifle.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I think the definition of "conquer" we should use is you coming in, planting a flag, and people who live there listening to you and doing as you say.

If you can't get the locals to cater to your whims then you haven't really conquered them yet.

That's easy then. Walk in, plant a flag, and say "be on about your business." They do it, I win. Since I frankly don't care what they do we should all get along famously.

 

[emzie]

The entire area can be taken in the summer. It wouldn't take that long. As I mentioned above, you'd have to bring your own food and supplies since I doubt much can be obtained from raiding.

I admit I don't know how well armed they are. Can anyone provide any info? I doubt they have assault rifles, but correct me if I'm wrong. I'm assuming Canadian gun laws don't apply there, but I'm mostly thinking of the financial cost. If the region can't afford roads, they can't possibly have much money, right?

As for tracked vehicles I don't see how they are necessary. Does Nanavut even have a military? Every thing can be done on foot. At least the most important regions. Yes casualties would be higher this way, but the OP didn't mention anything about casualties.

Assault rifles are useful close-to-medium range. They aren't that great in open tundra. And yeah, there's a military presence there. There's a few thousand militia with government-issued bolt-action .308s, who all have extensive experience in marksmanship since hunting is part of survival up there.

Everything done on foot? Nunavut's larger than Alaska.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Assault rifles are useful close-to-medium range. They aren't that great in open tundra. And yeah, there's a military presence there. There's a few thousand militia with government-issued bolt-action .308s, who all have extensive experience in marksmanship since hunting is part of survival up there.

The premise was that the Canadians don't interfere, or care. So that "militia" is effectively disbanded. Now, some officer or officers might want to make their own claim to become the leadership, and there might be some number who choose to listen. But that doesn't pose a real obstacle to my plan.

Choose your leader. The militaristic asshats who think some rank in a military that no longer exists here entitles them to tell you to kill me, or me. If you choose me all i ask you to do is go on about your business.

I see that going well enough for my side.

 

[emzie]

The premise was that the Canadians don't interfere, or care. So that "militia" is effectively disbanded. Now, some officer or officers might want to make their own claim to become the leadership, and there might be some number who choose to listen. But that doesn't pose a real obstacle to my plan.

Choose your leader. The militaristic asshats who think some rank in a military that no longer exists here entitles them to tell you to kill me, or me. If you choose me all i ask you to do is go on about your business.

I see that going well enough for my side.

That militia still has their rifles.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

That militia still has their rifles.

Of course. They need them to hunt, apparently. I have no problem with that. Are you stipulating that unless they are disarmed I don't get to call the province conquered? That hadn't been stipulated before.

 

[emzie]

Of course. They need them to hunt, apparently. I have no problem with that. Are you stipulating that unless they are disarmed I don't get to call the province conquered? That hadn't been stipulated before.

I'm saying that unless the largely indigenous populations consents, you're going to have a hard time. I doubt they'd consent.

 

[warpus]

Someone who just plants a flag and doesn't have any real power isn't a conqueror, but just more of a tourist.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm saying that unless the largely indigenous populations consents, you're going to have a hard time. I doubt they'd consent.

Why? "Go on about your business" is not likely to produce a lot of malcontents.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Someone who just plants a flag and doesn't have any real power isn't a conqueror, but just more of a tourist.

Someone who gets 35,000 tundra dwellers in the north of former Canada to fight for them unblinkingly, to the death...also doesn't have any real power. So what's the difference?

 

[emzie]

Why? "Go on about your business" is not likely to produce a lot of malcontents.

The government of Nunavut gets about C$1.7 billion / year from the federal government, or about $42,000 per capita. That's a lot to lose.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

The government of Nunavut gets about C$1.7 billion / year from the federal government, or about $42,000 per capita. That's a lot to lose.

Again, the premise was that the Canadian government has already declared hands off. So, yes, that's a lot to lose, but it's already lost.

 

[warpus]

Someone who gets 35,000 tundra dwellers in the north of former Canada to fight for them unblinkingly, to the death...also doesn't have any real power. So what's the difference?

I mean the obvious problem is that your standards for conquest are way too low

But someone with 100% of the community behind them does have power, in that community. And that is the community you are trying to conquer, so having power over them would be a good standard for conquest