The US-Canada relationship is a partnership forged in history with common economic and strategic interests
The U.S. hockey team’s stunning victory in the Olympics has thrilled Americans and stunned and disappointed Canadians: two peoples who are experiencing their own icy relations right now.
Nonetheless, the fact that five of the U.S. players, including star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, play on Canadian NHL teams, while no less than 22 Canadian team members play on American teams, reminds us how closely tied both countries actually are, no matter what their respective politicians say about each other.
Indeed, leaders need to set aside their personal pique and see the U.S.-Canada relationship for what it is, a partnership forged in history with common economic and strategic interests to advance, as well as the resources to match.
“Forged in history” isn’t just a matter of both countries being part of the English-speaking people’s legacy of freedom and prosperity for the world, alongside the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. It also reflects Canada’s essential contribution to Allied victory in World War II. The battle of the Atlantic, and hence victory over Nazi Germany, would not have been possible without the Canadian Royal Navy, which grew to become the world’s third-largest, from 13 ships in 1939 to over 400 by 1945, as its frigates, destroyers and destroyer escorts shielded vital Allied convoys. More than 1.1 million Canadians served in uniform, with 45,000 losing their lives — a higher proportion of military deaths relative to population (roughly 0.4%) than the United States (0.32%).
Canada also worked hand in glove with the U.S. and U.K. on secret atomic research during World War II. In the Cold War, Canadians were essential to the creation of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, the most successful intelligence network in history. The Five Eyes’s division of global labor allotted to Canada two areas even more crucial today: the polar regions of Russia and the interior of China.
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