Canadian and US flags

Podiums and flags are ready for President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to speak in the South Court Auditorium in the White House complex, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011, in Washington.

(Carolyn Kaster | The Associated Press)

Could New York have a new neighboring state to the north? If one Canadian political party had its way, that could be the case.

A reborn political movement in Quebec called Parti 51 has the goal of turning the Canadian province into the 51st American state.

The party, organized by lawyer Hans Mercier, believes that the U.S. Constitution provides them with more sovereignty and greater protections than those offered by Canada, according to My NBC 5.

"The U.S. Constitution is a document without equal conceived to insure the specificity, independence and respect of its member States," the group's website reads.

It continues:

"Quebec would have its own criminal laws and could even have its own militia, simply put, we truly would be 'masters in our own house.' Quebec as 51st state would be endowed with its own constitution, conceived to ensure respect of its language and culture but also to ensure a government free of power abuse and corruption."

The party also believes that joining the United States would give Quebecois access to a stronger dollar and better markets.

The group is reportedly recruiting members to run for seats in the Canadian assembly in 2018, and Mercier told Le Claireur Progres that he hopes to be able to take action on the goal of annexation in 2019.

It remains unclear how much popular support the party has. In the four days since creating its Facebook page, it has received just 1,100 likes.

The party's resurgence comes after nearly 30 years of relative dormancy. The only election in which it ever nominated candidates was in 1989. No candidates were elected to the Canadian Assembly, and the party was dissolved in 1989, according to the Director General of Canadian Elections.

Of course, the United States Congress would have to approve the admission of any new state into the Union. Congress has not done so since the admissions of Hawaii and Alaska in 1959, despite a formal request for statehood by the territory of Puerto Rico in 2012.