Petition for U.S. to sell Montana to Canada for $1 trillion grows

An online campaign that would expand the size of Canada appears to have gone viral.

A petition called “Sell Montana to Canada for $1 Trillion to eliminate the national debt” was launched last week on Change.org by a person who identified himself as Ian Hammond. Since then, it has garnered more than 13,000 signatures.

“We have too much debt and Montana is useless,” Hammond wrote. “Just tell them it has beavers or something.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that the U.S. national debt set a new high by surpassing $22 trillion. The number has grown by $2 trillion since U.S. President Donald Trump entered the White House, according to Business Insider.

History.com says Montana is the fourth largest U.S. state by area and one of the least densely populated states. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2017 the area known as “Big Sky Country” was home to 1.05 million residents, a number that has been steadily increasing for the past three decades.

Montana is home to seven protected forests and 53 state parks. It also shares the Yellowstone National Park with Wyoming and Idaho, the world’s first national park. The state currently borders British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“This Montanan totally supports the idea,” Michelle Erb chimed in on Change.org.

“I’m Montanan and hoping to join Canada without the moving costs. Let’s do this. Please adopt us,” CJ Williams stated.

“I’m Canadian and making Canada bigger is cool,” Edgar Desrochers added.

Hammond admitted he’s surprised that “so many people” have backed his petition. “All in all this is pretty epic,” he wrote.

Canada has its own national debt, a number that has reached $761 billion and continues to grow, according to Global News. Paying $1 trillion for Montana would make Canadians further indebted as a country.

Plus, a U.S. lawmaker has already stated that Montana is worth more than $1 trillion. U.S. Rep. Forrest Mandeville of Montana told the publication that he doesn’t see the petition going anywhere as there are no plans to table a bill on the matter.

“I don’t think anyone really believes there is a snowball’s chance in Florida that the U.S. will sell Montana to Canada,” Mandeville told USA Today.

In the mean time, Canadians may want to focus their attention on keeping Alberta after billboard signs popped up this week in Edmonton and Calgary asking Albertans whether the province should “ditch Canada.”