A Canadian writer has suggested Scotland should become his country's 11th province.

Ken McGoogan said Scotland should be invited to join the North American country if it voted for independence from the UK.

The author of How the Scots Invented Canada said Scotland would have "more powers than it does now."

Writing in the Toronto-based Globe and Mail, he said communication technology made the distance over the North Atlantic "irrelevant."

He said: "Obviously, Scotland would not be a typical province. It would be unlike nine of the current ten. But consider Quebec.

"In 2006, the Government of Canada passed a motion recognizing 'that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.'

"Quebec has its own ministry of international relations, whose mission is to 'promote and defend Quebec's interests internationally.'

"Like Quebec, Scotland would be distinct, but differently. And Canadians know how to accommodate difference."

Scotland, he said, would give Canada a "foothold in multicultural Europe."

He added: "Scotland becomes part of Canada and helps lead the way to a more progressive world.

"Here comes Ireland, north and south. Here comes Wales. It's a Celtic wave, and yes, it's bringing cheaper whisky."