Reflections on Canada
United States relations

by Maj (ret'd) CORNELIU E. CHISU, CD, PMSC,
FEC, CET, P. Eng.
Former Member of Parliament Pickering-Scarborough East
    As the Covid -19 generated pandemic continues to take its economic and social toll, it is worthwhile to look at the relations between Canada and the United States and try to understand how the post pandemic "new reset" of overall relations will play out.
It is especially important to understand the effect of a change in administration in the United States and how this will shape the economic recovery in both countries.
Relations between Canada and the United States have historically been extensive, due, in particular, to geographical positioning. The two nations have the world's longest shared border (8,891 km (5,525 mi) This has contributed significantly to interoperability within the defense sphere, and increasingly close cultural and economical ties, not to mention similarities. The shared historical and cultural heritage has resulted in one of the most stable and mutually beneficial international relationships in the world.
For both countries, the level of trade with the other is at the top of the annual combined import-export total. However, the U.S. is approximately 9.25 times larger in population and has the dominant cultural and economic influence.
Trade has continued to expand, especially following the 1988 FTA, the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has progressively merged the two economies.
The foreign policies of the countries have been closely aligned since the Cold War.
However, a diplomatic debate has been underway in recent years on whether the Northwest Passage is in international waters or under Canadian sovereignty.
Additional recent difficulties have included repeated trade disputes, environmental concerns, Canadian concern for the future of oil exports, and issues of illegal immigration and the threat of terrorism.
Last week a meeting between President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took place signaling a symbolic reestablishment of traditional warm neighborly relations.
"The United States has no closer friend - no closer friend - than Canada," Biden said. "That's why you were my first call," he added, and the first foreign leader to receive an invitation to the White House, even if conducted long-distance.
"U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years," Trudeau said. He noted how differently the process of crafting a joint statement went this time: "It's nice when the Americans aren't pulling out all references to climate change, and instead adding them in."
Despite these surface pleasantries, several irritants remain between the two countries, and President Biden added one more on his first day in office when he canceled the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Another issue is the need for Canada to have an exemption from Biden's "Buy American" executive order on procurement, which could squeeze Canadian firms out of U.S. government contracts.
Last week's session, as the first one-on-one for President Biden with a foreign leader, was meant to reflect the resetting of a traditionally close relationship.
"Now that the United States is back in the Paris agreement, we intend to demonstrate our leadership in order to spur other countries to raise their own ambitions," Biden said.
Trudeau, who called President Biden "Joe," added, "We're facing tough times, no doubt. But we're not facing them alone. Canada and the United States are each other's closest allies, most important trading partners and oldest friends." Still, Canada's relationship with the new administration got off to a bumpy start.  The cancellation of Keystone XL pipeline raises a deeper issue; the fact that three U.S. presidents in a row appear to have judged that there is no cost to crossing Canada. Former president Barack Obama and Biden over Keystone XL and former president Donald Trump over NAFTA, national security tariffs and more.
This serious problem warrants a reset in Canada-United States relations, and the start of a new administration is an opportunity to do just that, particularly at the start of this administration. President Biden's position is weak domestically, and as a committed multilateralist, he needs allies like Canada to help him achieve his goals internationally, from addressing climate change and to sustaining the challenge to China and Russia.
Canada's position vis-à-vis the Biden administration appears to be strong, making this the time to push back on some Canadian national interests. Will this be done? Only the future will tell.
Past crises tended to strengthen Canada's relationship with the United States by building trust and mutual understanding. Cooperation in establishing new institutions and policy responses after World War II and even after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States institutionalized cooperation on a range of issues and provided Canada with a way to communicate with U.S. leaders that benefitted Canadian national interests.
And yet there have been times when Canada needed to challenge the United States in order to remind Americans not to take Canada for granted.
In 1951, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent's threat to build the St. Lawrence Seaway without the United States led then U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower to sign a 1954 agreement to build the Seaway together.
In 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed Vincent Bladen to lead a commission to study the trade imbalance with the United States in the auto sector; Bladen's report prompted Canada to increase tariffs and incentives to support Canadian production, prompting the negotiation of the U.S.-Canada Auto Pact by Prime Minister Lester Pearson and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson in 1965.
In 1973, the government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau established the Foreign Investment Review Act to evaluate foreign investment, particularly U.S. investment in the Canadian economy. Similarly, the 1980 National Energy Program sought to limit U.S. ownership of Canadian oil producers and resources. Both actions drew U.S. objections, but brought the Reagan administration to negotiate the Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who was elected in 1984.
Already, in the early stages of the Biden administration, it seems that the US is not taking Canadian interests into account, so it may be time for Canada to challenge the United States gain. It is for this reason that there needs to be a reset where Canada takes a strong leadership position in defending its national interests.
For the current US administration Canada does not appear to present a crisis or an opportunity that warrants careful attention to Canada's interests.
Canada needs to make it clear that our support is not unconditional and that actions that hurt Canada will be not be accepted with a smile.
The Biden administration's early action against the Keystone XL pipeline is a wakeup call for Canada that Biden's friendly disposition toward Canada over the years is insufficient to safeguard Canadian interests.
Canadians should not take good bilateral relations for granted, and neither should the United States. The question is this: Is the Trudeau government capable of showing the leadership needed to change this dynamic?
Let your conscience answer and let your vote speak for you.
The ball is in your court.