141: Occupied but Not Conquered
The Continental Emergency Part 2: an ongoing choose your own adventure series
Jeanette was in the goat shed when it started. Milking by hand, humming to herself, the rhythm familiar and calming. The power went out, but she didn’t notice. The lights stayed on, the inverter humming quietly from the battery wall. Solar made life easier that way—especially in spring, when the sun arrived early and stayed late.
She was halfway back to the house when she spotted the dogs. All five of them, clustered near the porch, tails low, ears alert. Not barking, but watchful. They usually met her with excitement. This morning, they were cautious. She stopped and scanned the tree line.
Something was off.
When she opened the door, she found him in the kitchen, boots still on, hunched over his mobile phone like it had just delivered news from another planet. He didn’t look up.
“Something’s wrong,” she said, setting down the milk bucket.
“You seen Facebook yet?” he asked, still staring at the screen.
She shook her head. He turned the phone so she could see the videos: tanks on the 417, convoys rolling into Ottawa, American flags alongside Canadian ones, and a beaming Trump behind a massive podium bearing the seal of something called the Continental Emergency Authority.
“Great Zarquon!” she said. “Is it real?”
He nodded. “It’s real. They’ve taken Ottawa. The Carney government’s gone dark. Phones, mobile, radio—all down or censored. CBC’s off the air. Only Facebook and X are still working."
She put the kettle on and sat across from him.
“Why?” she asked.
“Flu,” he said. “That avian strain—H9N2. They say we botched the response. Claimed we were going into lockdown again. That was their excuse. But now they're saying it's about minerals, too."
Over the next hour, they pieced together more of what had happened.
Ottawa had been the target. A precise strike. Parliament, Supreme Court, senior staff, all swept up within hours. Simultaneously, U.S. warships appeared in the harbors at Victoria and Halifax. No landings—not yet. Just an unspoken threat.
Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver were left untouched—for now. No troops, no checkpoints. It was as if the regime didn’t want to provoke the kind of urban insurgency those cities could produce. Instead, mass protests erupted organically—millions in the streets. Workers, teachers, doctors, engineers, students, veterans, faith groups, parents with strollers, and elders in wheelchairs. It wasn’t one movement—it was everyone.
Alberta and Saskatchewan, meanwhile, welcomed the change. No soldiers were needed. Their premiers aligned with the new regime. American flags were added to their provincial buildings, not as replacements, but as companions. A paradox of friendly occupation wrapped in patriotic optics.
The power, telecom, and major networks came back after a day.
CBC was gone—the main network, anyway. CTV, Global, Postmedia, and Rogers quickly fell in line, shifting tone and language almost overnight. Trump was President of North America now, and they treated him like a monarch. But some regional CBC radio stations fought back. Rural crews, old transmitters, and ham radio nerds rebuilt enough of the signal to start broadcasting updates. They couldn’t say much, but they said enough: Stay safe. Stay connected. Stay human.
Vaccines were outlawed. Masks were banned. RFK Jr.’s face appeared alongside Trump’s in official graphics: Herd Immunity for a Free Continent. The only acceptable response to the pandemic was to get sick and get through it.
X was the new town square, flooded with official proclamations and AI-scripted press briefings. Facebook was not just allowed—it was promoted. Groups that had once organized convoy protests were now patrolling comment sections, hunting for signs of dissent. Anyone advocating for vaccines or public health measures was quickly labeled a traitor. The freedumb crowd had gone from grievance to governance.
TikTok was banned entirely. YouTube was filtered to the point of absurdity. Anything that didn’t echo the new talking points disappeared within minutes.
The blackouts were rolling now. U.S. data centers were given top priority, powered by redirected lines and new infrastructure. Rural homes went dark for hours at a time. Cities fared no better.
Then word came in from Asia: China had taken Taiwan. No shots fired, just a sudden and overwhelming presence. At the same time, Russia made rapid gains in Ukraine and began eyeing Poland. The world was being carved into thirds.
And then, another video.
Trump again, live from a military base outside Ottawa. Flanked by senior officers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a panel of mining executives from Barrick, Teck, Glencore, and a few others.
“We didn’t just come here to keep people safe,” he said. “We came here to unlock Canada’s true potential. This country is full of critical minerals—we need those minerals. For our cars. For our chips. For our future.”
He raised a hand in a gesture of magnanimity.
“We’re going to build roads. Lots of roads. Beautiful roads. And we’re going to work with Canada’s First Nations to do it. Not like before. This time we’ll make a deal that works for everybody. And it’s going to be huge.”
Jeanette looked at him across the table. The dogs paced by the door, uneasy.
“So that’s the plan?” she asked. “Dig it all up and call it liberation?”
He nodded slowly. “They’re not coming for us right away. But it’s already started.”
She poured the hot water. The kettle whistled into the silence.
“He really thinks the First Nations are going to roll over and let that happen,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not just arrogant. That’s foolish.”
To influence what happens in part three, post a comment, whether related to the story, or to where you want it to go, or whatever, who knows, surrealist comments influence the outcome too!
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Yes the Sask party would fold immediately, but there's still a strong current of distrust in Sask that extends to both the feds in the east AND the americans down south. Any sort of occupation would be met with a strong resistance from farmers, and that might just be enough for people across the province to support movements that *will* resist the takeover.
If I was betting, I'd place money on americans not making it past the first winter.
Farmers block the highway with farm equipment.
Air support comes from swarms of pollinator drones, obscuring 3d printed ghost sniper drones.
Trump says just joking.