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The overwhelming majority of British forces in North America were from Britain, not Canada.
When? Repeated with key phrases in bold:
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Thats a mischaracterisation. For most of the war the major British forces were busy with Napoleon, so Canada was defended by a majority of locally recruited troops and militia.
That overwhelming majority you speak of came once Napoleon had been defeated, when the British government naturally poured the newly available troops into finishing the American war. This skews a simple look at the numbers and doesn't tell the true story of the war. Canada did not have large numbers of British forces stationed there in 1812 and appeared lightly defended. The US government expected to walk in meeting little resistance. Instead they found the locals were loyal to Britain and put up a spirited defense that caused the invasion to rapidly grind to a halt.
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The naval war, a considerable but often forgotten part of that war, was fought by the Royal Navy. Despite Britain's pre-occupation with Napoleon, considerable effort was put into defeating the United States.
This is true, but it's not "despite" anything. From the British perspective, the naval aspect was mainly concerned with preventing the US from aiding the Napoleonic regime.
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As for determining the winner of the war, the United States lost no territory
That's only a valid measure of success for the invaded (Canada), not the invader.
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and ultimately forced Britain to accept its pre-war demands concerning the interference with our commerce in international waters and the impressment of our sailors into the Royal Navy.
None of this was written into the treaty of Ghent. The trade embargo had served it's purpose once Napoleon was defeated, and a concession on impressment was made 3 weeks before the US declared war.
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"If I were a guy, not swallowing would be a deal breaker. So what if you cook and clean? I can get a maid for that." - Gia Jordan