The Pattern of Canada-U.S. Relations
On March 5, the President of the United States received this secret memorandum from his National Security Advisor:
In early March, the Canadian Prime Minister […] embarks on another tour of Western European capitals. […] The goal is to lay the foundations for a new and closer relationship with the European community, as parts of efforts included in his central policy aimed at bringing about Canada’s ‘economic independence’ from the United States and establishing a distinct national identity for Canada. This is borne out by developments in U.S.-Canadian relations since your meeting […] with the Prime Minister in Washington. Since that time, the Canadian government — in both statement and action — has pointedly restated its intention to lessen Canada’s vulnerability and dependence on the United States, particularly in the economic sphere, but in political and security areas as well.
This note to the President reflects attempts by Canada’s government to loosen the grip of its neighbour. Does this not sum up current realities?
Yes . . . and also no. It dates, in fact, from March 5, 1975. The President was not Donald Trump, but Gerald Ford. His advisor was Henry Kissinger, and the Canadian Prime Minister was Pierre Elliott Trudeau, not Mark Carney.
This memo, with its still-relevant text, dates back a half-century. It illustrates a striking aspect of relations between Canada and the United States. Ever since the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776, and even before that, the issues that preoccupy the two nations have changed very little. Whether relating to commerce or defence — as in the document above — or to the border, population movements, and cultural influences, these constants have marked our relationship for 250 years.
“Made in Canada” anti-American t-shirt, around 1970.
Gift of Andrea Klymasz. Canadian Museum of History, 86-5
Commerce
Disputes around protectionism and free trade did not begin in 2025, nor even in 1975. They date back to the origins of our two countries. Each side is, quite reasonably, targeting prosperity. But how? From 1854 to 1866, even before Confederation, a first reciprocity treaty united Canada and the United States. Later, the two governments began a tango around customs regulations. In 1879, Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald resigned himself to the adoption of a protectionist National Policy, having failed to revive free trade with the United States. Thirty years later, another Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier, came within a hair’s breadth of signing an agreement with President William Howard Taft, before being defeated in an election.
In the 1960s and 1970s, patriotic pride took hold in Canada, in a way not unlike today. People denounced the economic and military might of the United States. This sentiment was most evident among youth and progressives, but was also expressed within the heart of government. As advisor Kissinger recalled it, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau expanded attempts to reduce American influence. At the same time, other Canadian voices demanded closer integration of the two economies.
This debate concerned the soul — the very identity of the country — as well as its pocketbook. Finally, in 1988, the two countries chose the path of convergence, through the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement, concluded under the aegis of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan.
Plate commemorating United Airlines’ new service to Toronto (and Canada), 1967.
Auguste Vachon Collection, Canadian Museum of History, 2009.4.213
Defence
As with commerce, military issues have always been a sensitive subject in our bilateral relations. It must be said that things got off to a rocky start! In 1775, while still barely a nation, the United States invaded Canada, briefly taking Montréal and coming close to seizing Québec City.
From 1812 to 1814, the young American republic, Great Britain, and Canada faced off in a new war. That clash ended in a draw, but would endure in memory. Both the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and the Anglo-Canadian song, “The Maple Leaf Forever,” evoke the War of 1812.
Battle of Queenston Heights [1812], lithograph by John David Kelly, 1896.
Gift of Russell Copeland Moses, CD. Canadian War Museum, 19970051-001 .
The march of time calmed defence relations between the two countries. Within their respective general staffs, final plans for reciprocal invasion — fortunately virtual — were abandoned in the 1920s. Canada and the United States transformed themselves into unwavering allies.
Nothing better symbolized this than the friendship between Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Within the dire context of the Second World War, the 1940 Ogdensburg Accord strengthened these ties. Canada and the United States committed to permanent mutual defence. Roosevelt’s official visit to Ottawa in 1943, where he was cheered by 30,000 people, cemented the alliance. Canada’s subsequent signature of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, followed by support for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in 1958, reaffirmed these military ties.
Governor General of Canada Lord Athlone, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. Vice-Admiral Wilson Brown, and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in front of the Peace Tower, Ottawa, August 25, 1943.
Canadian War Museum, 19920085-1328
Another American head of state, during a visit to Ottawa in 2023, had these warm words for Canada:
“I mean this from the bottom of my heart: we’re more than neighbours. We’re more than partners, we’re more than friends. We’re more like family.”
This President — Joe Biden — spoke the truth. Over the years, our two countries have evolved towards becoming great neighbours, reliable partners, political allies, and even — why not? — family members. But as our 250 years of shared history demonstrate, all families, on occasion, go through squabbles and heartache.
To learn more
“Memorandum from the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger) to President Ford, Washington, March 5, 1975.” Full text of the analysis addressed by advisor Henry Kissinger to U.S. President Gerald Ford. Original version: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Grand Rapids, MI. Online version: Office of the Historian, State Department. (English only).
Xavier Gélinas
Xavier Gélinas has been Curator, Political History, since 2002. He is responsible for initiating the Museum’s Canadian political history collection, which he continues to expand through additional objects and documents.
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