A curious thing is that for many years, a lot of Francophone Quebecois seemed to assume that once they separated from Canada, they'd be welcomed with open arms by the US, and that somehow all their language and cultural concerns would be satisfied by Washington.

But Jacob is quite right, of course. Quebec is rather left-leaning and very used to having it's pockets filled with money from the other parts of Canada (transfer payments...don't get me started). How they ever imagined they'd get along as part of the United States is beyond me. This delusion on their part seems to have largely disappeared.

IMO, as I said in a post below, there are many subtle but important differences between Canada and the US, especially in the intangibles like worldview. I think even conservative-minded Alberta would have some serious adjustments to make before it could seamlessly become part of the Union. All the great forces--history, geography, economics, religion, politics--have made Canada distinctly different from it's southern neighbor. While that might be plainly obvious, I also think it's largely overlooked by the Manifest Destiny crowd. They see the similarities in language, business practice, entertainment choices...but ignore some fundamental differences that are hidden farther under the surface.

Many if not most Albertans have a great admiration for much of what America is, but in the end Albertans are not Americans. Absorbing even a willing western Canada into the United States would be at best a tricky process.