nah that's what revisionist minded Canadians want to believe about the War of 1812, that Canadians defended themselves from being taken over by the United States. First, there really was no such thing as a 'Canadian' - Confederation didn't happen until 1867.
So you really had Brits fighting Brits, those who had fought against Mother England to gain their independence from her in the United States against those who remained attached.
"Most inhabitants of Upper Canada (Ontario) were either Revolutionary-era exiles from the United States (United Empire Loyalists) or postwar American immigrants. The Loyalists were hostile to union with the United States, while the immigrants settlers were uninterested in politics and remained neutral during the war. The Canadian colonies were thinly populated and only lightly defended by the British Army."
The Indians got screwed just as badly in Canada as they did in the United States.
I'm actually surprised the Americans didn't try again at some point - Canada was more valuable than the entire midwestern US, much more potential even with the colder weather.
If you're an actual descendant of United Empire Loyalists I guess you have reason to be proud, but for me as an ancestor of later immigration, early 1900's, wouldn't have made a difference to me had the US annexed Canada in 1812. I'd just be an American living in a northern state. I'd be celebrating winning the medal count at the Olympics rather than a single gold medal by a girl on a trampoline.
