Halifax, Bermuda, and the Great Lakes resist quick solutions

Delaying an invasion gives Canada time to build concrete positions and place armed vessels on the Great Lakes, even if the United States also mobilizes. This new demand could divert British pre-dreadnoughts and prevent the historical Dardanelles or Gallipoli operation. A quick American descent on Bermuda would consume scarce troops and shipping without solving the main strategic problem. Halifax is more consequential as a naval base, but it is fortified precisely because of that importance and would receive months of warning. Geography and fixed defenses turn apparently decisive targets into expensive diversions.