Canada
Canada is an Industrial Age Revolutionary Nation for the British and French, with Quebec as its Home City. It preserves the worker economy but changes the names and combat functions of its gatherers: Settlers or Villagers become Métis Pathfinders, while Coureurs des Bois become Métis Voyageurs. The revolution also modifies other pieces of the army, so it is more than a cosmetic worker rename.
Access & effects
Settlers and Villagers gain a ranged attack and become Métis Pathfinders; Coureurs des Bois become Métis Voyageurs. The converted workers continue gathering, unlike the usual all-in Revolutions. Highlanders are renamed Black Watches, Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear gains bonus damage against Villagers and costs one population, and the Ironclad build limit becomes four. These effects give the player an economy that can defend itself and improve several existing unit or naval options, but do not remove the need for dedicated combat counters.
Availability
Definitive Edition; Industrial Age. Available to British and French. Settlers/Villagers become Métis Pathfinders; Coureurs des Bois become Métis Voyageurs. Home City: Quebec.
Army & economy
Canada is attractive when the match can continue and keeping the economy active is more valuable than converting workers into a large army. Use the retained gatherers to sustain production, while their ranged attack helps them discourage small raids. Team cards such as Great Buffalo Hunt and shipments of Elk can support shared hunting economies. Keep workers behind a real military screen against cavalry and artillery; the transformation improves their self-defence but does not make them front-line soldiers.
Workers as a defended economy
Canada’s retained gatherers make the post-revolution economy unusually continuous. Métis Pathfinders can keep gathering rather than waiting for new workers, so choosing protected resource locations and preserving their population has both economic and defensive value. Their ranged attack helps discourage small raids and lets them support nearby troops, but they remain valuable gatherers. Avoid committing them to prolonged exchanges where dedicated military units can remove them faster than their attack can repay the lost income.
Choosing Canada over an all-in revolt
This route is suited to players who want the transition to improve worker safety while keeping a longer game plan. The army still needs dedicated units for anti-cavalry, siege and specialized matchups, and the Pathfinders should not replace the normal composition. Keep them behind a front line, gather near Town Centers or protected positions, and use Home City support for the next stage. If immediate military mass is the only goal, a worker-converting nation may create a more direct attack.
Canada’s economy-first transformation
Canada is an Industrial Age Revolutionary Nation for the British and French, with Quebec as its Home City. Its defining choice is to retain the worker economy rather than turn the entire population into ordinary Revolutionaries. British Settlers and French Villagers become Métis Pathfinders, while French Coureurs des Bois become Métis Voyageurs. The names reflect the new Canadian identity, but the workers keep their existing economic role; the main practical change is that the Settler/Villager line gains ranged attack damage. The result is an economy that can continue producing resources and has more ability to resist small raids or help nearby troops. It is not an instant army-sized conversion, and the gatherers remain a high-value population. The route is strongest when continued production matters more than an immediate mass of combat units, and weakest when a player needs a decisive all-in force at the moment of revolt.
Métis Pathfinders and Métis Voyageurs
The two converted worker names matter because Britain and France enter the Canadian route with different worker rosters. British Settlers and French Villagers become Métis Pathfinders; French Coureurs des Bois become Métis Voyageurs. The workers retain their underlying jobs and economic identity, so the route does not grant a new building roster or replace every worker technology. Their added ranged attack gives them a way to contribute when attacked and to support a nearby army, but they should still be managed as gatherers first. A ranged weapon does not make a worker line equal to trained infantry: concentrated cavalry or artillery can still threaten them, and time spent fighting is time not gathering. Keep them near Town Centers, defensive buildings or the army’s protection, and use their attack to discourage raids or finish a safe engagement rather than chasing a retreat across the map.
Black Watches and the Highlander change
Highlanders are renamed Black Watches when Canada is chosen. This is a change to an existing military line and allows players to keep using a familiar heavy infantry role under its Canadian name. Because the revolution is focused on maintaining the economy, the Black Watches help provide a dedicated combat force while the Métis workers continue gathering. The two parts of the roster should cover different jobs: the workers support the economy and can add ranged fire, while the infantry forms a more dependable combat presence. A deck that already has Highlander shipments or plans to rely on them can make this change more useful. Protect their production and reinforce them with other units appropriate to the opponent; a renamed unit is not a new counter by itself, and Canada still needs to respond to cavalry, artillery and siege pressure through a balanced army.
Honcho bears and population planning
Canada changes Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear by adding a 0.5× bonus-damage multiplier against Villagers, setting its population cost to one and limiting the unit to 50. These details make Honcho a specialized pressure unit rather than simply an extra pet to add without considering population. The villager bonus gives it a role when enemy workers are exposed, while its one-population cost and high limit affect how many can fit alongside ordinary troops. The bear’s target remains important: a bonus against Villagers is not a general damage increase against every military unit or building. Use such units to threaten exposed economic areas or to exploit a distraction, and keep a normal army available to protect them. Include the population limit in a late-game composition plan so that repeated shipments or production do not assume an unlimited supply.
Ironclads, militia and defensive flexibility
The Canadian route raises the Ironclad build limit to four. This expands the potential naval force and can matter on maps where water access is a strategic route for transport, control or attacks. It does not by itself guarantee naval superiority: the player still needs the relevant production, resources and safe access to the water. Canada also changes the Militiamen cost, while the source’s effect line does not provide a readable value for that cost; avoid assuming an exact figure when planning a purchase. The broader theme is that Canada can preserve economic production while improving the ability to defend it on land or water. Decide whether the map justifies spending on additional Ironclads or whether those resources should instead support the Black Watches and army shipments. A fleet is most useful when it protects a concrete crossing or supports a coordinated map plan.
Great Buffalo Hunt and shared hunting
Great Buffalo Hunt improves the gathering rate from huntable animals for all Villagers on the team. Its reach makes it particularly valuable in team games: one player can invest in the card while allies also benefit from the improved hunt economy. This turns the Canadian player into an economic support partner, helping a coordinated team reach resources more quickly rather than relying only on personal army strength. The card’s value depends on access to huntable animals and on teammates having Villagers available to gather them. It is less compelling if the map’s hunts are exhausted or if the team cannot protect its gatherers. Coordinate shipment timing with allies, secure the hunting area and avoid treating the team bonus as a substitute for military defense. The combination of retained workers and a shared gathering improvement is why Canada’s value can be greater than its own visible unit count.
The infinite 15 Elk shipment
Canada’s infinite shipment of 15 Elk is another resource-oriented team option. The animals can be shared with teammates, allowing the Canadian player to send a repeatable food resource where the team can use it. Repeated shipments can help sustain a strong food economy, but they use shipment opportunities and require a safe place for the animals to be gathered. A player should consider where the Elk will arrive, which ally can protect them and whether the immediate match calls for food or combat reinforcements. Sending animals into an exposed or already hunted area can waste the advantage. Paired with Great Buffalo Hunt, the shipment supports a team plan built around shared hunting and improved gather rates. Canada can act as a “sling” economy for the team by prioritizing these deliveries, but the Canadian player still needs enough defenses to avoid being removed while supporting others.
Choosing a British or French political path
Canada’s political options differ depending on whether Britain or France is revolting. In the Commerce Age, the Logistician can support Blackwatch development, while the Naturalist provides an early economic boost that suits a fast transition; for France, the Settler and Coureur des Bois limits can make that economic support especially relevant. The Philosopher Prince helps either civilization advance quickly. In the Fortress Age, the Bishop provides a Covered Wagon and economic support, while the Exiled Prince is a French fast-age option. The British Adventurer and French Marksman can add military units to a route whose focus is economic continuity. The British Mohawk Statesman fits decks that already rely on Native units. These are not interchangeable bonuses: choose the politician that solves the timing or army gap in the actual deck rather than selecting a fast age-up when the economy is already secure.
Industrial politicians and reinforcement choices
At the Industrial Age, France can choose the Cavalry Marshal for three Cuirassiers, while the King’s Musketeer and Engineer are available to both Britain and France. Those options provide direct combat reinforcements for a strategy that otherwise preserves workers instead of converting them into a large army. Britain can choose the Viceroy, and France can choose the Tycoon; both are identified as options that may help reach an early revolution. The British Settlers created under the Viceroy are also improved by the Canadian effect. French Coin crates from the Tycoon can help pay for a Blackwatch Highlander shipment. These interactions make the political choice dependent on the route: an early economic bonus supports a faster transition, while a unit or artillery shipment shores up the military force after it. Check which civilization-specific politician is actually available before planning the sequence.
Deck preparation and unit shipment value
Canada has access to many unit and wagon shipments, so the value of an individual delivery depends on more than its printed unit count. Consider the resource cost and the fact that some units may not yet have the upgrades their opponent’s comparable troops possess. A deck already centered on Native units can gain additional value from the Mohawk Statesman, while an army short on immediate strength may need the Adventurer, Marksman, Musketeers or Falconets supplied by political choices. Economic cards such as the Elk shipment and Great Buffalo Hunt compete with those immediate reinforcements for shipment timing. Before the revolt, identify whether the team expects Canada to donate food, guard its own gatherers or lead a military push. The route’s apparent flexibility can make its deck diffuse; a focused set of support cards produces more value than trying to send every available unit, wagon and economic option.
Playing the first minutes after revolution
Because the worker roster survives, the Canadian player should protect resource access as soon as the transition occurs. Use Métis workers to keep gathering and to respond to a small raid, but bring trained forces to fights that would cost too many gatherers. Black Watches and shipment troops can secure the area around the economy, while the workers remain behind the frontline. On a team map, agree whether Canada will send Elk and Great Buffalo Hunt to accelerate the shared economy or use those opportunities to reinforce its own army. On a water map, the higher Ironclad limit can be part of a naval plan, but only if the fleet has a job and can be supported. Canada wins value through continued income and team contribution over time; exposing its gatherers for marginal damage gives away the central advantage of choosing this revolution.
When Canada is a better fit
Choose Canada when the match is likely to continue and preserving worker production is more useful than converting that population into a one-time army. It is especially attractive in coordinated team play, where Great Buffalo Hunt and repeatable Elk can benefit more than one economy. The ranged attack helps the gatherers defend themselves or support nearby troops, and the Black Watches and other shipments can provide the military core. It is less suited to a situation where the opponent must be overwhelmed immediately or where workers cannot safely reach resources. A strong Canadian plan protects the economy, assigns shipments to either team support or military reinforcement and treats the additional unit effects as supplements. It does not remove ordinary composition decisions: build the force needed for the opponent, keep artillery and cavalry counters available, and do not confuse better defended workers with a complete army.
Team sling and shared resource decisions
In a coordinated team, Canada can prioritize economic shipments for the whole group instead of judging each card only by its value to Quebec. Great Buffalo Hunt improves hunting for the team’s Villagers, and the repeatable 15 Elk delivery can give allies additional animals to gather. This supports a sling-style plan in which one player spends shipment timing on food and gathering bonuses while teammates convert the faster income into military production. The arrangement depends on communication: allies need room and protection for the Elk, and Canada still needs enough defenses to survive while providing support. If the team cannot protect the hunt or requires an immediate Canadian army, use the shipment for military units instead. Shared economy is most effective when the team agrees who is gathering the animals, where they will be delivered and when the resulting resources will fund an attack.
Map and matchup checklist
Before selecting Canada, check whether the map offers safe hunting, enough space for an expanded economy and a reason to invest in Ironclads. On land, the primary question is whether the existing army can defend Métis workers while they continue gathering. Against cavalry-heavy pressure, use dedicated counters and keep workers close to protected positions; their ranged attack is not a replacement for anti-cavalry units. Against a passive opponent or in a team game, Great Buffalo Hunt and Elk can produce value over a longer period. On water maps, the four-Ironclad limit gives a larger ceiling, but ships still need docks, resources and a target. This quick check prevents the route from being chosen for one attractive bonus while ignoring the map and opponent.