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Canada-United States relations

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Canada-United States relations were described by Canadian Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau as being like "sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast," quipped Trudeau, "one is affected by every twitch and grunt."From a speech by Trudeau to the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on 25 March 1969; authorship of the speech was later attributed to Ivan Head, Trudeau's adviser. (It should be noted, as well, that Trudeau's quote is commonly, although incorrectly, remembered as casting Canada as a mouse; this was in fact the creation of an editorial cartoon that followed Trudeau's speech.) Canada and the U.S. have long been close allies, and both are of great importance to each other.

Contents

History

At the outset of the American Revolution, the American revolutionaries regarded the presence of the British Empire in the Canadian provinces as a strategic threat. French Canadians were invited to join the resistance by sending representatives to the Continental Congress, and Canada was pre-approved for joining the United States in the Articles of Confederation. When Canada was invaded during the American Revolutionary War in an attempt to expel the British from North America, Americans hoped French Canadians would join them in the effort. None of these measures proved successful in uniting Canada with the thirteen American colonies, and so in peace negotiations, Benjamin Franklin unsuccessfully attempted to convince British diplomats to cede Canada to the United States. The continued presence of the British Empire in Canada after the war helped to sour relations in the succeeding years, particularly since a great number of Loyalist refugees from the American colonies resettled in Canada during and after the war.

The Treaty of Paris (1783) which ended the war called for the British to vacate a number of fortifications along the Great Lakes border. The British failed to do so, citing failure of the United States to provide financial restitution for Loyalists who had lost property in the war. The Jay Treaty in 1795 with Great Britain resolved some lingering issues, but tensions mounted again after the turn of the century, erupting into the War of 1812, when the Americans declared war on the British. The Americans were irked by British harassment of U.S. ships on the high seas, which was a by-product of British involvement in the ongoing Napoleonic Wars. The Americans did not possess a navy capable of challenging the Royal Navy, and so an invasion of Canada was proposed as the only feasible means of attacking the British Empire. Americans on the western frontier also hoped an invasion would bring an end to what they saw as British support of American Indian resistance to the westward expansion of the United States. The early strategy was to temporarily seize Canada as a means of forcing concessions from the British. As the war progressed, however, outright annexation was more frequently cited as a war aim. Many Americans hoped the Canadians would welcome the chance to overthrow their British rulers. However, the American invasion attempts were repeatedly repulsed, and the war ended as a bitter stalemate, with the animosity created lessening very gradually over the course of the 19th century as commercial and cultural ties grew.

Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Strained relations with the United States continued, however, with Fenian raids by American citizens across the border from 1866 to 1871. While officially the American government did not openly endorse the raids, and did eventually move to disarm the Fenians, the raids created lasting anger in Canada. Many Canadians believed that President Andrew Johnson initially supported the raids, and that the American government turned a blind eye to these armed incursions for far too long.

A boundary dispute in the Oregon Country (Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!) was the most serious disturbance, but was peacefully resolved. In the 1930s, the United States studied plans to invade Canada in War Plan Red, albeit as an academic exercise. Canadian defence was organized against an American invasion until the onset of World War II.

Following co-operation in the two World Wars, Canada and the United States lost much of their previous animosity. As Britain's influence as a global superpower declined, Canada and the United States became extremely close partners. Canada was a close ally of the United States during the Cold War.

The Canadian military supported the U.S. in most major wars since World War II, including the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the Kosovo War. The main exceptions to this were the Canadian government's opposition to the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, which caused some brief diplomatic tensions. Despite these issues, military relations have remained close.

Defence

Canada has had strong defence ties with the United States.
Enlarge
Canada has had strong defence ties with the United States.

U.S. defence arrangements with Canada are more extensive than with any other country. The Permanent Joint Board on Defense, established in 1940, provides policy-level consultation on bilateral defence matters. The United States and Canada share NATO mutual security commitments. In addition, U.S. and Canadian military forces have cooperated since 1958 on continental air defence within the framework of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). There is also an active military exchange program between the two countries under which Canadian Armed Forces personnel have been involved in Iraq.

Trade

Canada and the United States have the world's largest trading relationship with huge quantities of goods and people flowing across the border each year. Since the 1987 Canadian-American Free Trade Agreement there have been no tariffs on most goods passed between the two countries.

With such a massive trading relationship, trade disputes between the two countries are frequent and inevitable. Americans have placed ongoing tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber despite losing various appeals placed by Canada in the NAFTA and WTO panels. The softwood lumber dispute remains a growing issue between the two countries and is degrading the trade relationship on both sides of the border. Other notable disputes include the Canadian Wheat Board, and Canadian cultural "restrictions" on magazines and television (See CRTC, CBC and National Film Board of Canada). Canadians have complained about such things as the ban on beef since a case of Mad Cow disease was discovered in 2003 (and a few subsequent cases) and the high American agricultural subsidies. Concerns in Canada also run high over aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) such as Chapter 11, which many worry makes it difficult for the Canadian government to protect Canada's environment.

One ongoing and complex trade issue involves the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada to the United States. Due to the Canadian government's price controls as part of their state-run medical system, prices for prescription drugs can be a fraction of the price paid by consumers in the unregulated U.S. market. While laws in the United States have been passed at the national level against such sales, specific state and local governments have passed their own legislation to allow the trade to continue. Drug companies--often supporters of political campaigns--have obviously come out against the practice.

According to a 2003 study commissioned by the Canadian Embassy in the United States, based on 2001 data, Canada-U.S. trade supported 5.2 million U.S. jobs.

 Canada-United States relations

U.S. State U.S. Jobs Supported Rank 
Alabama
72,000 24 
Alaska
13,000 48 
Arizona
89,000 22 
Arkansas
45,000 32 
California
626,000 1 
Colorado
93,000 21 
Connecticut
67,000 27
20px Delaware 16,000 46 
Florida
289,000 4 
Georgia
152,000 10 
Hawaii
26,000 39 
Idaho
23,000 43 
Illinois
237,000 5 
Indiana
112,000 14 
Iowa
55,000 30 
Kansas
51,000 31 
Kentucky
69,000 26 
Louisiana
73,000 23 
Maine
24,000 41 
Maryland
101,000 20 
Massachusetts
134,000 13 
Michigan
174,000 8 
Minnesota
103,000 19 
Mississippi
43,000 34 
Missouri
108,000 16
20px Montana 16,000 45
20px Nebraska 36,000 36 
Nevada
43,000 35 
New Hampshire
24,000 42 
New Jersey
153,000 9 
New Mexico
30,000 37 
New York
348,000 3
20px North Carolina 151,000 11
20px North Dakota 13,000 49 
Ohio
212,000 7
20px Oklahoma 58,000 29
20px Oregon 63,000 28
20px Pennsylvania 219,000 6 
Rhode Island
19,000 44 
South Carolina
69,000 25
20px South Dakota 15,000 47 
Tennessee
108,000 15 
Texas
369,000 2 
Utah
44,000 33
20px Vermont 12,000 50 
Virginia
141,000 12 
Washington
108,000 17 
Washington, DC
29,000 38
20px West Virginia 25,000 40
20px Wisconsin 103,000 18 
Wyoming
9,000 51
Total 5,210,000
http://www.canadianembassy.org/2005map/2005_map_front.pdf http://www.canadianally.com

Environmental issues

The Canadian government places a higher premium on energy and the environment than the U.S. government. #redirect The two countries also work closely to resolve transboundary environmental issues, an area of increasing importance in the bilateral relationship. A principal instrument of this cooperation is the International Joint Commission (IJC), established as part of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to resolve differences and promote international cooperation on boundary waters. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972 is another historic example of joint cooperation in controlling transboundary water pollution. However, there have been some disputes involving transboundary water pollution. Most recently, the Devil's Lake Outlet, a project instituted by North Dakota, has angered Manitobans who fear that their water may soon become polluted as a result of this project. The two governments also consult semi-annually on transboundary air pollution. Under the Air Quality Agreement of 1991, both countries have made substantial progress in coordinating and implementing their acid rain control programs and signed an annex on ground level ozone in 2000. Despite this transborder air pollution remains an issue, particularly in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed during the summer. The main source of this transborder pollution results from Coal fired power stations, most of them located in the Midwest US.

Currently neither of the countries governments support the Kyoto Protocol, which set out time scheduled curbing of greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike the United States, Canada was a signatory to the agreement but the recently elected Conservative minority government has decided that the Protocol's goals were unlikely to be reached, mostly due to increasing oil and natural gas production in recent years.

Illicit drugs

The U.S. has expressed concern that Canada is an illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market; the use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors.

In 2003 the American government became quite irate when the Canadian government announced plans to decriminalize marijuana. David Murray, an assistant to U.S. Drug Czar John P. Walters, said in a CBC interview that, "We would have to respond. We would be forced to respond." [link]. However the election of the Conservative Party in early 2006 has halted the liberalization of marijuana laws for the foreseeable future.

Arar affair

On September 26, 2002, U.S. officials detained on suspicion of terrorist links a Syrian-Canadian citizen named Maher Arar who had been travelling through in New York as part of a trip home to Canada from vacation in Tunisia.

Despite travelling on Canadian passport, Arar was deported to Syria, a country he had not visited since his teenage years. He was imprisoned there for over a year, during which he claims he was frequently tortured. The decision by U.S. officials to deport him to Syria, his imprisonment and alleged torture there, and the extent of collaboration between U.S. and Canadian officials became a major political issue in Canada at the time.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

According to contemporary polls, the vast majority of Canadians were opposed to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Canadian government under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien maintained a wait-and-see position with emphasis on UN authority, while moving military planners and ships into positions of readiness for the war against Iraq, as well as freeing U.S. forces by sending troops to Afghanistan. It is, arguably, cooperating fully with the U.S. government in military terms while maintaining a public position that is not supportive of U.S. policy. To date, 16,000 Canadian personnel have served in the War on Terror in some capacity. Twenty warships have been deployed, and Canada has led the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul by providing the largest contribution of troops and the force's commander. Canada also currently commands the multi-national Brigade in Kandahar, with 2,300 troops, and supervises the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar (which it took over from the U.S. in August 2005).

The Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC maintains a public relations web site named [CanadianAlly.com], which is intended "to give American citizens a better sense of the scope of Canada's role in North American and Global Security and the War on Terror."

Immigration

Canada has been frequently criticized in U.S. media and by some U.S. politicians for its allegedly weak immigration laws, often with the implication that terrorists might succeed in entering the U.S. through Canada, as the Canada-U.S. border is more open than other entry points to the U.S.

On an April 19, 2005 airing of Hannity and Colmes, guest Newt Gingrich claimed that "far more of the 9/11 terrorists came across from Canada than from Mexico." As this was false (none of the 19 hijackers had come through Canada or Mexico) Gingrich later apologized to Canadian ambassador Frank McKenna, saying that he deeply regretted perpetuating what had become a "widespread inaccuracy."

Territorial disputes

These include maritime boundary disputes: Territorial land disputes:

and disputes over the international status of the:

Notes

See also

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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