Why did Congress not want to purchase Alaska?
The answer is dependent upon the timeframe of the question.
Before the United States purchased Alaska from Russia, Canada would
have had every opportunity to negotiate with Russia regarding the
purchase of Alaska, as did the United States. So, Canada simply
COULD HAVE purchased Alaska as the United States did. Why Canada
didn't express interest is totally speculative. One has to wonder
what strategic advantage to the country that Alaska would have
offered, except to extend its western shores further north. Canada
is already vast and sparsely populated with an incredible abundance
of natural resources. Unclear what value Alaska would have had to
Canada. After the United States purchased Alaska, it would have
been contrary to almost all U.S. practices to sell Alaska to Canada
- the United States has never sold a territory it owns to another
country. Instead, the United States has returned territory it
claimed/acquired back to countries that could claim rights to the
territory from earlier times. Even if the United States was open to
selling Alaska to Canada, it was not long after its purchase of
Alaska that the United States began understanding the value of
Alaska, with its timber, mineral, fishing, fur and oil/gas
resources. Undoubtedly the cost to Canada to purchase Alaska would
have been significant - far greater than the cost to the United
States. One has to wonder, again, what value Alaska brings to
Canada, especially if Alaska would sell at a much inflated
price.[actually ,no they could not have.canada had no money.