Editing War of 1812 (section)

=== The Canadas ===
After the war, pro-British leaders in Upper Canada demonstrated a strong hostility to American influences, including republicanism, which shaped its policies.{{sfn|Akenson|1999|p=137}} Immigration from the United States was discouraged and favour was shown to the [[Anglican Church]] as opposed to the more Americanized [[Methodist Church]].{{sfn|Landon|1941|p=123}}

The Battle of York showed the vulnerability of Upper and Lower Canada ([[The Canadas]]). In the decades following the war, several projects were undertaken to improve the defence of the colonies against the United States. They included work on [[La Citadelle]] at [[Quebec City]], [[Fort Henry National Historic Site|Fort Henry]] at Kingston, and rebuilding [[Fort York]] at York. Additionally, work began on the [[Halifax Citadel]] to defend the port against foreign navies.{{sfn|Hayes|2008|p=117}} Akin to the American view that it was a "Second War of Independence" for the United States, the war was also somewhat of a war of independence for Canada.{{sfn|O'Grady|2008|p=892}} Before the war Canada was a mix of French Canadians, native-born British subjects, loyalists and Americans who migrated there. Historian [[Donald R. Hickey]] maintains that the war that threatened Canada greatly helped to cement these disparate groups into a unified nation.{{sfn|Hickey|1989|p=304}}