its almost the exact dilemma in Western Europe except the only saving grace is military security is guaranteed by its larger and richer neighbor
No, it isn't. Not true in absolute terms, not true per capita, not true adjusted for purchasing power.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... section "U.S. states by GDP per capita if they were sovereign states"
From your link per capita GDP for Mississippi $55,877 in 2025 compared with $60,305 in 2026 for Canada [1]. That seems pretty similar.
My point was that when the Canadian dollar is weak GDP in USD decreases while when it’s strong GDP increases without anything about the country’s output changing - that’s the challenging of comparing by normalizing against a single currency.
I’ll let you do your own purchasing power math but Mississippi has significantly cheaper prices as part of America than Canada. Canada has a stronger safety net but that isn’t about purchasing power to much other than health insurance being baked into your taxes.
Mississippi has great weather year round. Canada gets really cold (most of those I know in Canada live in Manitoba). Your standard of living without electric is higher in Mississippi than in Canada in winter. If you are the typical person in Mississippi with electric service you have a nice life. Sure it is a little better elsewhere but not by much. You likely have more toys than someone in Europe.
This is downtown Jackson, it looks to be in far better shape than many Canadian cities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQkKjiYu-qU
Canada's nominal GDP per capita is roughly $53,800 USD, which places it nearly on par with Mississippi
also Canada admits people from third world countries at a per-capita rate roughly four times higher than the United States, with none of the enforcement agencies capable of tackling illegal immigration which a lot of this demographic engages in. It's difficult for ICE now imagine Canada which has no such enforcement on the same scale
my point is that Canada has a smaller economy but imports more from the third world than its much richer and powerful neighbor.
this is not a sustainable arrangement.
A massive federal agency rounding up illegal immigrants actually isn't that effective, as has been seen in the USA. What actually works is making it impossible to find a job or housing without proof of citizenship - which is being done in Canada BTW
if illegal presence has almost no chance of interior enforcement, then overstaying or working illegally becomes a rational bet. If arrests, detention, removals, and employer raids become credible again, behavior changes that's the whole point of ICE raids they know they can't deport millions of people but to change the behavior of the demographic that they are targeting. This is something that Canada neither has the political capital to pursue.
No, Canada is not as poor as Missisipy.