Madelaine Drohan
banner
mdrohan.bsky.social
Madelaine Drohan
@mdrohan.bsky.social
Author of He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin's Failure to Annex Canada, out September 30, 2025. Writer. Former foreign correspondent. Senior fellow GSPIA, University of Ottawa. Curious about how the world works.
Visit my website: madelainedrohan.org
That same message applies today to the Canadian provinces and territories in the trade war with the United States. To borrow a phrase attributed to Franklin, if they don't hang together, they will all hang separately.
December 2, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Every time I read about the provinces dragging their heels on removing barriers to internal trade, I think of the illustration that Benjamin Franklin published in the Pennsylvania Gazette, May 9, 1754.

#hedidnotconquer #cdahist #history #books @dundurnpress.bsky.social
December 2, 2025 at 6:06 PM
There is something very satisfying about talking about your book in an intimate setting. Big thanks to my friends in Vancouver — Richard, Kathy, Elizabeth, and Rob — for inviting and hosting yesterday. Lots of good questions!
#hedidnotconquer #cdahist #history #books
December 1, 2025 at 2:07 PM
I had fun today talking about my book to members of the thriving Victoria branch of the Canadian International Council.

What an impressive group! Informed, engaged and intensely interested in Canada’s place in the world.

#hedidnotconquer #cdahistory #history #books @dundurnpress.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 1:08 AM
I really enjoyed talking to members of the Vancouver Island branch of the Canadian International Council in Parksville today. The warmth of the welcome more than made up for the grey and drizzly weather!

#hedidnotconquer #cdahistory #history #books Dundurn Press
November 28, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I was worried that the story of Benjamin Franklin and Canada might not seem as compelling to audiences in Western Canada. Today’s event at the Brock House Society in Vancouver put those fears to rest. Lots of good questions about our shared history!

#hedidnotconquer #cdahistory #history #books
November 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM
November 25, 2025 at 11:18 PM
#OTD Nov. 24, 1775, Washington appointed two spies to go to the British colony of Nova Scotia and report on “the disposition of the inhabitants towards the American cause” and the strength of the British navy base in Halifax.
November 24, 2025 at 3:09 PM
#OTD Nov. 22, 1775, Guy Carleton, governor of the Province of Quebec, expelled American sympathizers from Quebec City. He called them “useless, disloyal, and treacherous persons.”
Montreal and Trois-Rivières had fallen. If American troops captured Quebec City, Canada would be theirs.
November 23, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Yet success seemed within the Americans’ grasp on Nov. 11, 1775. Troops led by the rebel general, Richard Montgomery, had finally taken Fort St. Jean on the Richelieu River and were nearing the gates of Montreal.
November 11, 2025 at 5:07 PM
#OTD 250 years ago, Canadians were at war with American invaders and each other. American colonists had exported their civil war north, enticing some Canadians to fight with them against the British. Others fought to defend the imperial power. It was a divisive invasion that ultimately failed.
November 11, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Had a really enjoyable evening discussing my book with the Friends of Lifelong Learning at the Glebe Centre in Ottawa. What a great group!
#cdahistory #cdaus #hedidnotconquer
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I really enjoyed giving a talk on my book today at the Atwater Library in Montreal. A special thanks to those who came out despite the transit strike.
@dundurnpress.bsky.social #cdahist #cdaus #hedidnotconquer
November 6, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Had a great time at the Toronto launch of my book at Ben McNally Books. My thanks to Meghan Macdonald of @dundurnpress.bsky.social for kicking things off, Rupert and Danielle McNally for hosting, and to all the friends and book lovers who came.
#hedidnotconquer #cdaus #cdapoli
November 4, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I’m looking forward to speaking at the Atwater Library at 12:30 pm on November 6. Montreal plays a big part in the story I tell about Benjamin Franklin wanting to annex Canada. He set the stage for Donald Trump. My book is published by @dundurnpress.bsky.social
#hedidnotconquer #cdahist #cdaus
October 31, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Before Donald Trump in 2025, before James Madison in 1812, Benjamin Franklin had designs on Canada. Find out how Franklin, a scientist, diplomat, trend setter, and writer of fake news, set the stage for Donald Trump.
October 30, 2025 at 6:35 PM
“What think you of a North American Monarchy?” John Adams, one of the founding fathers, asked a friend in October 1775. “Suppose We should appoint a Continental King, and a Continental House of Lords, and a Continental House of Commons, to be annually, or triennially or Septennially elected?”
October 29, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Did Benjamin Franklin’s failure to annex Canada set the stage for Donald Trump and his talk of the 51st state? I’ll be discussing that and other questions at a Canadian International Council meeting Oct. 21. Open to the public (see poster for details).
#cdaus #cdapoli #cdahist #hedidnotconquer
October 18, 2025 at 1:22 AM
It was standing room only tonight at the Ottawa launch of A Capital Mystery, an anthology of crime stories set in Canada’s capital. So proud of my friend, Nancy Pawlek, and her short story, The Incident in Bytown.
#mystery #books #Ottawa #crimewriters #canada
October 17, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Dropped into #Indigo at the Rideau Centre today. No matter how many books you write, it is a good feeling the first time you see copies on display.
#hedidnotconquer @dundurnpress.bsky.social #cdaus #cdahist
October 8, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Having a book signing at a pool is slightly unconventional. But book lovers can be found everywhere!

#hedidnotconquer #cdaus #cdahist #dundurnpress
October 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I had a wonderful time at the official launch of He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin's Failure to Annex Canada. Thank you to everyone who took the time to come. I am happy to report there was no cake left! A good, Canadian crowd!

#HeDidNotConquer #cdaUS #cdaHist #Dundurn
October 1, 2025 at 9:37 PM
#OTD Sept 25, 1775, citizens of Montreal, including French Canadians and British merchants, repelled an attack by American invaders. The aggressors, who numbered less than 100, included some Canadians who had been promised 15 pence a day plus a share of the booty when they plundered Montreal.
September 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
But Canadians refused. They had been left in the lurch when France refused to honour the full value of its paper currency after its 1760 defeat by British and colonial forces.
The Americans were plagued with money woes throughout their ill-fated invasion.
#HeDidNotConquer
September 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The invaders had assumed that Canadians would accept a new paper currency issued by Congress, with its images of harps, wild boars, eagles, and even a beaver gnawing at a tree (the beaver was meant to symbolize the rebels, the tree Britain).
September 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM