Canada–United States relations

The First Nation allies, only loosely controlled by the French, repeatedly raided New England villages to kidnap women and children, and torture and kill the men.

In 1778, 200 men under Clark, supplied and supported mainly by Virginia, came down the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, marched across southern Illinois, and then captured Kaskaskia without loss of life.

[33] Thousands of Americans immigrated to Upper Canada (Ontario) from 1785 to 1812 to obtain cheaper land and better tax rates prevalent in that province; despite expectations that they would be loyal to the U.S. if a war broke out, in the event they were largely non-political.

However, Britain held much of Maine, and, with the support of their remaining American Indian allies, huge areas of the Old Northwest, including Wisconsin and much of Michigan and Illinois.

During the Manifest Destiny era, the "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" agenda called for U.S. annexation of what became Western Canada; the U.S. and Britain instead agreed to a boundary of the 49th parallel.

[56][57] When American Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the Alaska Purchase with Russia in 1867, he intended it as the first step in a comprehensive plan to gain control of the entire northwest Pacific Coast.

Strained relations with America continued, however, due to a series of small-scale armed incursions called the "Fenian raids" conducted by Irish-American Civil War veterans across the border from 1866 to 1871 in an attempt to trade Canada for Irish independence.

Disputes over ocean boundaries on Georges Bank and fishing, whaling, and sealing rights in the Pacific were settled by international arbitration, setting an important precedent.

The dispute was settled by arbitration, and the British delegate voted with the Americans—to the astonishment and disgust of Canadians who suddenly realized that Britain considered its relations with the United States paramount compared to those with Canada.

However, when the U.S. finally declared war on Germany in April 1917, there was swift cooperation and friendly coordination, as one historian reports: Official co-operation between Canada and the United States—the pooling of grain, fuel, power, and transportation resources, the underwriting of a Canadian loan by bankers of New York—produced a good effect on the public mind.

[76] In 1938, as the roots of World War II were set in motion, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gave a public speech at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, declaring that the United States would not sit idly by if another power tried to dominate Canada.

Fearing a Japanese invasion of Canada's vulnerable British Columbia Coast, American officials urged the creation of a united military command for an eastern Pacific Ocean theater of war.

The American spending ended the depression and brought new prosperity; Newfoundland's business community sought closer ties with the United States as expressed by the Economic Union Party.

[87] Relations deteriorated on many points in the Nixon years (1969–74), including trade disputes, defense agreements, energy, fishing, the environment, cultural imperialism, and foreign policy.

The late 1970s saw a more sympathetic American attitude toward Canadian political and economic needs, the pardoning of draft evaders who had moved to Canada, and the passing of old such as the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War.

It was common for people to move back and forth across the border, such as seasonal lumberjacks, entrepreneurs looking for larger markets, and families looking for jobs in the textile mills that paid much higher wages than in Canada.

During a news conference with Prime Minister Chrétien in April 1997, President Clinton quipped "I don't know if any two world leaders have played golf together more than we have, but we meant to break a record".

Some Americans criticized his "smug moralism", and Chrétien's public refusal to support the 2003 Iraq war was met with negative responses in the United States, especially among conservatives.

"[115] Health Canada and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the RCC mandate, undertook the "first of its kind" initiative by selecting "as its first area of alignment common cold indications for certain over-the-counter antihistamine ingredients (GC January 10, 2013)".

[116] On December 7, 2011, Harper flew to Washington, met with Obama, and signed an agreement to implement the joint action plans that had been developed since the initial meeting in February.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first met formally at the APEC summit meeting in Manila, Philippines in November 2015, nearly a week after the latter was sworn into the office.

"[119] Obama has since praised Trudeau's efforts to prioritize the reduction of climate change, calling it "extraordinarily helpful" to establish a worldwide consensus on addressing the issue.

[149] In commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812 ambassadors from Canada and the United States, and naval officers from both countries gathered at the Pritzker Military Library on August 17, 2012, for a panel discussion on Canada–U.S.

[165] Many Canadians, and the former Liberal Cabinet headed by Paul Martin (as well as many Americans such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama),[166] made a policy distinction between conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, unlike the Bush Doctrine, which linked these together in a "Global war on terror".

Concerns in Canada also run high over aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) such as Chapter 11,[171] prior to its suspension and replacement with USMCA.

Canadians were alarmed when Americans drove the reinforced oil tanker Manhattan through the Northwest Passage in 1969, followed by the icebreaker Polar Sea in 1985, which resulted in a minor diplomatic incident.

It was as perfect as human wisdom could make it, and under it, the American States greatly prospered until very recently, but being the work of men it had its defects, and it is for us to take advantage by experience, and endeavor to see if we cannot arrive by careful study at such a plan as will avoid the mistakes of our neighbors.

[213] More recently, however, a poll in January 2018 showed Canadians' approval of U.S. leadership dropped by over 40 percentage points under President Donald Trump, in line with the view of residents of many other U.S. allied and neutral countries.

"[223] Historian J. M. Bumsted says, "In its most extreme form, Canadian suspicion of the United States has led to outbreaks of overt anti-Americanism, usually spilling over against American residents in Canada.

[234] A Pew Research poll released in June 2021, showed that Canadian opinion of American president Joe Biden is much more favorable than his predecessor Donald Trump, with 77% approving of his leadership and having confidence in him to do the right thing.

Map of European colonies in North America, c. 1750. Territorial claims by European powers were fought over during the French and Indian Wars .
The United Empire Loyalist flag, that is very similar to the Union Jack, was used by immigrants who remained loyal to the British crown during the American Revolutionary War . In present-day Canada, the United Empire Loyalist flag continues to be used as symbol of pride and heritage for loyalist townships and organizations. [ 29 ]
Confederate soldiers force a bank teller to pledge allegiance to the Confederate States of America while conducting the raid at St. Albans, Vermont . The Confederate soldiers launched their raid from the Province of Canada .
The Battle of Eccles Hill in 1870. The American-based Fenian Brotherhood launched several raids into Canada in 1866 and 1870–71.
Border claims made during the Alaska boundary dispute . The border dispute was settled by arbitration in 1903, with the modern boundary marked by a yellow line.
A 1911 Conservative campaign poster warns that the big American companies ("trusts") will hog all the benefits of reciprocity as proposed by Liberals, leaving little left over for Canadian interests
Franklin D. Roosevelt speaking at Queen's University at Kingston . Roosevelt spoke on the U.S. relations with Canada while there.
A NATO summit in Paris, May 1955. Both Canada and the United States are founding members of the military alliance.
Richard Nixon addresses a joint session of the Parliament of Canada, 1972
American, Canadian, and Mexican dignitaries initialing the draft North American Free Trade Agreement in October 1992
Loyalists landing in present-day New Brunswick . Large movements of population occurred in both directions from the late-18th to 20th century.
Ronald Reagan (left) and Brian Mulroney in Venice, Italy, June 11, 1987
Jean Chrétien shakes hands with Bill Clinton during the APEC summit meeting in November 1993
Jean Chrétien shakes hands with George W. Bush during a meeting in September 2002
Stephen Harper holds a joint press conference with George W. Bush during a meeting in Washington, D.C., July 2006
Barack Obama meeting with Stephen Harper in Ottawa, February 2009
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , March 2016
President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , June 2019
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , March 2023
General CQ Brown, Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets with General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Armed Forces at the Pentagon in October 2024
American and Canadian ISAF soldiers gather to commemorate the 65th anniversary of 1st Special Service Force in Bagram , Afghanistan. The 1st Special Service Force was an American-Canadian unit during World War II.
Canadian Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at NATO headquarters in 2016
Timber being floated along the Fraser River in Vancouver. Trade disputes over softwood lumber exist between the two countries.
Richard Nixon and Pierre Trudeau at the signing ceremony for the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972
A "buoy" on Machias Seal Island . The waters around the island are one of several maritime territorial disputes between the two countries.
Popular routes on the Northwest Passage
A Canadian political cartoon from 1869 of a "Young Canada" kicking out Uncle Sam from "Dominion House", while John Bull watches in the background
Signage advocating against free trade with the United States on a building in Toronto in 1911
Anti-Trump rally organized in Vancouver in January 2017