The U.S. & Canada: Family Feud

The United States and Canada share the longest border in the world. For most of our history, that 5,525-mile boundary was pretty much ignored by people on both sides, who crossed back and forth as they liked. There are even homes, businesses, and public buildings like libraries that have rooms on both sides of the divide.

Today, there are at least 70 energy pipelines that cross the border. Our phone systems are so integrated that you can’t even tell that you’re making an international call. More Americans live in Canada than in any other foreign country, and more Canadians travel to the U.S. than visitors from any other nation.

“Canada is the country that most resembles the United States,” says Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history at the University of Toronto. “We share the same cultural outlook, the same foundations to our culture, and that’s really been true since the 18th century.”

The United States and Canada share the longest border in the world. For most of our history, that 5,525-mile boundary was pretty much invisible. People on both sides of it have crossed back and forth as they liked. There are even homes, businesses, and public buildings like libraries that have rooms on both sides of the divide.

Today, there are at least 70 energy pipelines that cross the border. Our phone systems are so similar that you can’t even tell that you’re making an international call. More Americans live in Canada than in any other foreign country. And more Canadians travel
to the U.S. than visitors from any other nation.

“Canada is the country that most resembles the United States,” says Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history at the University of Toronto. “We share the same cultural outlook, the same foundations to our culture, and that’s really been true since the 18th century.”

Despite our long-standing common interests and broad similarities, relations between the two countries have become increasingly tense over the past year. Seeing some Canadian policies and treaties with Canada as impediments to America’s success, President Trump imposed steep tariffs on key Canadian exports to the U.S. and threatened to rip up an important free-trade deal. He also hurled insults at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who didn’t see things his way.

Trump has dealt with Canada “in a way that no U.S. president has ever done,” Bothwell says.

The two nations have a long history of close partnership (see key dates, below). Canada has been one of America’s closest military allies; it fought alongside the U.S. in both world wars, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. Both countries have long traditions of taking in immigrants. There’s been a free-trade agreement between the two nations for decades, and Canada is the biggest importer of American goods.

“This is the oldest and deepest relationship that the United States has,” says Janice Stein, the founding director of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

The recent tensions first flared during the 2016 presidential election. As a candidate, Trump called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—the 1993 deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada—the “worst trade deal ever” and vowed to renegotiate the pact or pull out of it altogether.

Both countries have long-standing common interests and broad similarities. But relations between the two have become more tense over the past year.  President Trump has considered some Canadian policies and treaties with Canada as barriers to America’s success. In turn, he’s put steep tariffs on key Canadian exports to the U.S. and threatened to rip up an important free-trade deal. He also hurled insults at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who didn’t see things his way.

Trump has dealt with Canada “in a way that no U.S. president has ever done,” Bothwell says.

The two nations have a long history of close partnership (see key dates, below). Canada has been one of America’s closest military allies. The two nations fought alongside one another in both world wars, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. Both countries also have long traditions of taking in immigrants. And there’s been a free-trade agreement between the two nations for decades. So it’s no surprise that Canada is the biggest importer of American goods.

“This is the oldest and deepest relationship that the United States has,” says Janice Stein, the founding director of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.

The recent tensions first flared during the 2016 presidential election. As a candidate, Trump was vocal about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—the 1993 deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. He called it the “worst trade deal ever” and vowed to renegotiate the pact or pull out of it altogether.

Trump won a lot of support on the campaign trail by talking about how bad NAFTA had been for American workers, who have seen many factories close over the past few decades. (The trade deal made it easier for American companies to shift jobs to Mexico, where labor is cheaper.) Trump wasn’t the only 2016 candidate who promised to renegotiate NAFTA—Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders did too—but Trump’s promise to protect American jobs struck a chord with many voters.

After Trump took office, the three countries began, at Trump’s insistence, to discuss how to update NAFTA.

Then last May, while talks over revising NAFTA were still ongoing, President Trump announced that he was placing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum that enters the U.S. from Canada. (A tariff is a tax placed on imported goods.)

“Since 1998, countless steel mills and aluminum smelters have closed,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross explained. “More than 75,000 steel jobs alone have disappeared. . . . These tariffs aim to reverse this sorry state of affairs.”

The tariffs on steel and aluminum were not only an economic blow to Canada, which exports the vast majority of its steel and aluminum to the U.S., they were also deeply insulting to Canadians, Stein says. That’s because President Trump said at the time that importing metals from Canada was a threat to U.S. national security.

Trump won a lot of support on the campaign trail by talking about how bad NAFTA had been for American workers. Many of these workers have seen tons of factories close over the past few decades. The trade deal made it easier for American companies to shift jobs to Mexico, where labor is cheaper. Trump wasn’t the only 2016 candidate who promised to renegotiate NAFTA. Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders did too. But Trump’s promise to protect American jobs struck a chord with many voters.

After Trump took office, he insisted on revamping NAFTA. Shortly after, the three countries began discussing how to update the trade deal. 

Then last May, while talks over revising NAFTA were still ongoing, President Trump announced that he was placing a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum that enters the U.S. from Canada. A tariff is a tax placed on imported goods.

“Since 1998, countless steel mills and aluminum smelters have closed,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross explained. “More than 75,000 steel jobs alone have disappeared. . . . These tariffs aim to reverse this sorry state of affairs.”

The tariffs on steel and aluminum were an economic blow to Canada. The country exports the vast majority of its steel and aluminum to the U.S. They were also deeply insulting to Canadians, Stein says. That’s because President Trump said at the time that importing metals from Canada was a threat to U.S. national security.

In response to the U.S. tariffs, Canada slapped its own tariffs on a long list of American products, including ketchup, orange juice, pizza, and dishwashers.

The situation deteriorated further last summer, when Trump went to Canada for a meeting of leaders from the countries that are the world’s seven largest economies. Trump called Trudeau, who was hosting the meeting, “very dishonest and weak” and accused him of making “false statements.”

Trump later implied that his comments about Trudeau were just a negotiating tactic, aimed at ensuring the U.S. got the best possible trade deal. “We’ve always had actually a very good relationship,” Trump said. 

But many Canadians weren’t willing to forgive and forget.

“[Trump] not only used rude language, he threatened our economic welfare,” says Frank McKenna, a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. “And he seemed to do it with great glee. People won’t forget that. I think that’s now deep in our psyche—the way we were treated by this president.”

A 2018 Pew Research poll reflects that: Only 39 percent of Canadians said they view the U.S. positively. That’s a huge drop from the 65 percent of Canadians who viewed the U.S. positively in 2017 and the 76 percent who did so in 2007, when George W. Bush was president. 

In response to the U.S. tariffs, Canada slapped its own tariffs on a long list of American products. That included ketchup, orange juice, pizza, and dishwashers.

The situation broke down even further last summer. Trump went to Canada for a meeting of leaders from the countries that are the world’s seven largest economies. Trudeau hosted the meeting. Trump called him “very dishonest and weak” and accused him of making “false statements.”

Trump later implied that his comments about Trudeau were just a negotiating tactic. He said that his comments were part of ensuring the U.S. got the best possible trade deal. “We’ve always had actually a very good relationship,” Trump said. 

But many Canadians weren’t willing to forgive and forget.

“[Trump] not only used rude language, he threatened our economic welfare,” says Frank McKenna, a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. “And he seemed to do it with great glee. People won’t forget that. I think that’s now deep in our psyche—the way we were treated by this president.”

A 2018 Pew Research poll reflects that. Only 39 percent of Canadians said they view the U.S. positively. That’s a huge drop from the 65 percent of Canadians who viewed the U.S. positively in 2017. And it’s far below the 76 percent who did so in 2007, when George W. Bush was president. 

The U.S., Canada, and Mexico have now signed a new version of NAFTA—called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or U.S.M.C.A.—but Congress has not yet approved the deal, so it hasn’t taken effect.

Even if Congress does approve the revised trade deal, that won’t resolve the trade dispute, because the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum remain in place. This is a big deal for Canada. 

“This is a life-and-death issue for us,” says Stein. “Seventy-five percent of our exports go to the United States.”

President Trump’s supporters see things differently. Larry Kudlow, an economic adviser to the White House, says the tariffs are part of a host of measures the president has needed to implement to make trade more fair to the United States.

Free trade “has, in some cases, damaged the American economy, damaged American workers in manufacturing and other businesses,” Kudlow told reporters. “So the president’s stepped up to the plate here.”  

Beyond the trade dispute, there’s been a broader divergence between the two countries.

For decades, Canada and the U.S. have been partners in international institutions such as NATO, in global treaties such as the 2015 Paris climate accord, and in defense agreements such as NORAD—the military defense of North America that Canada and the U.S. have run together since the Cold War. 

The U.S., Canada, and Mexico have now signed a new version of NAFTA. It’s called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or U.S.M.C.A. But Congress has not yet approved the deal, so it hasn’t taken effect.

Even if Congress does approve the revised trade deal, that won’t resolve the trade dispute. That’s because the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum remain in place. This is a big deal for Canada. 

“This is a life-and-death issue for us,” says Stein. “Seventy-five percent of our exports go to the United States.”

President Trump’s supporters see things differently. Larry Kudlow, an economic adviser to the White House, says the tariffs are part of a host of measures the president has needed to put in place to make trade more fair to the United States.

Free trade “has, in some cases, damaged the American economy, damaged American workers in manufacturing and other businesses,” Kudlow told reporters. “So the president’s stepped up to the plate here.” 

Beyond the trade dispute, there’s been a broader divide between the two countries.

For decades, Canada and the U.S. have worked together on global affairs. They’ve been partners in international institutions such as NATO and in global treaties such as the 2015 Paris climate accord. They’ve also joined forces on defense agreements such as NORAD. That’s the military defense of North America that Canada and the U.S. have run together since the Cold War.

“For a long time, there was a basic overlap of values,” says Edward Alden, a Canada expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, which is based in New York City. “A belief in the rule of law, the belief in a rules-based international order, the importance of upholding human rights around the world, the importance of using diplomacy over military force.”

But the Trump administration, with its “America First” approach to international relations, has called many of these beliefs into question. It has disputed the importance of NATO, pulled out of the Paris climate accords, and declined to press countries such as China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia about human rights issues.

“There’s a real values divide now that mostly hasn’t been there in the past,” Alden says.

It’s not the first time there have been political disagreements between the two nations. For example, in the 1960s, Canada didn’t support the Vietnam War.

In 1965, Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson gave a speech in Philadelphia in which he called for the U.S. to stop bombing Vietnam. The fact that Pearson criticized U.S. policy while visiting the United States enraged President Lyndon B. Johnson and led to an ugly scene when the two leaders met the following day. But that wasn’t made public at the time.

“For a long time, there was a basic overlap of values,” says Edward Alden, a Canada expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, which is based in New York City. “A belief in the rule of law, the belief in a rules-based international order, the importance of upholding human rights around the world, the importance of using diplomacy over military force.”

But the Trump administration has followed an “America First” approach to international relations. That’s called many of these beliefs into question. The Trump administration has disputed the importance of NATO and pulled out of the Paris climate accords. And it’s declined to press countries such as China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia about human rights issues.

“There’s a real values divide now that mostly hasn’t been there in the past,” Alden says.

It’s not the first time there have been political disagreements between the two nations. For example, in the 1960s, Canada didn’t support the Vietnam War. 

In 1965, Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson gave a speech in Philadelphia in which he called for the U.S. to stop bombing Vietnam. The fact that Pearson criticized U.S. policy while visiting the United States enraged President Lyndon B. Johnson. It led to an ugly scene when the two leaders met the following day. But that wasn’t made public at the time.

So will the long shared history be enough to help Canada and the U.S. weather this rocky period and come out the other side with their alliance intact? Some experts are skeptical.

“Canada doesn’t really have any choice but to get along with the U.S.,” says Alden. “But it’s gone from the enthusiastic embrace of the U.S. to this grudging ‘Yeah, we share a continent and we’ve got to figure out how to get along.’ There’s a deeper divide here that’s going to be difficult to repair.”

Stein of the University of Toronto agrees that the damage to the relationship is significant, but she’s more optimistic that it can be overcome.

“Because of these deep people-to-people relationships, Canadians understand that the U.S. is more than the White House,” Stein says. “People do have a sense that we will get beyond this.”

So will the long shared history be enough to help Canada and the U.S. weather this rocky period? Can the two nations come out the other side with their alliance intact? Some experts are skeptical.

“Canada doesn’t really have any choice but to get along with the U.S.,” says Alden. “But it’s gone from the enthusiastic embrace of the U.S. to this grudging ‘Yeah, we share a continent and we’ve got to figure out how to get along.’ There’s a deeper divide here that’s going to be difficult to repair.”

Stein of the University of Toronto agrees that there’s been a lot of damage to the relationship. But she’s more optimistic that it can be overcome.

“Because of these deep people-to-people relationships, Canadians understand that the U.S. is more than the White House,” Stein says. “People do have a sense that we will get beyond this.”

With reporting by Catherine Porter of The New York Times.

With reporting by Catherine Porter of The New York Times.