Canadian-American Relations

Disagreement Over Energy Trade Policies

Canadian-U.S. relations have entered a difficult period of transition. Canada is attempting to reduce its dependency on the United States and to establish a distinctive national identity in economic, cultural and foreign affairs. The United States, meanwhile, is having to adjust to this surge of Canadian independence at a time when the importance of Canadian economic and political cooperation has become increasingly clear. The ensuing tensions, concluded a recent report by the Canadian-American Committee, have tended to overshadow the underlying good will that exists among the majority of people on both sides of the border.1

To Canadians, the remarkable aspect of the American presidential election this year was that U.S.-Canadian problems did not enter the political debate. From ...