As much as I did find this funny, it's not really accurate either. It's something I always heard people say in Canada, but it's a half-truth at best. It's based on a few wrong ideas. First of all, Canada didn't exist in 1812. Seems pedantic, but it's kind of a big problem Secondly, who actually started the War of 1812 and what was each side fighting for? The "Canada Won" side just claims that America started the war, and the goal was to invade Canada. Since Canada wasn't successfully invaded, Canada therefore is the winner. It's a strong argument. It just has a small issue. The US did officially declare war first, but the stated aim wasn't invasion of anything. It's a shitty source at best, but it's something: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812 >>> The controversies that led to war centered around the economic and trade disputes between America, Britain and France that grew during the Napoleonic Wars, and therefore historical accounts on the causes, battles and outcome of this war can sometimes vary. Primary causes of the war involved the Royal Navy stopping and seizing American ships on the open sea and men believed to be either British subjects, even if they claimed to be American citizens. By some estimates, from 1793 to 1812 over 15,000 Americans were forced into British service in this way. Another concern was over the British aid to the various Indian tribes helping them maintain their hold on colonial Canada.[10][f] As the impressment of U.S. citizens continued, American sentiment toward Britain grew increasingly hostile... The US basically achieved what they wanted. They got the British to stop raiding and harassing their merchant fleet, and seized control of the Great Lakes from Erie onwards west, enabling tons of westward expansion and the Erie canal. I can't see that the British really won much of anything. They insulted the Americans by burning down an important Capitol building, and the Americans insulted them back by burning Fort York and slaughtering a small army in New Orleans.