Our Most Important Ally

Michael Cohen snarks away at John McCain's op-ed on the US-Canada relationship but the fact of the matter is that the US-Canadian relationship is vitally important. Nobody talks about it here in the United States, but when you look at the combination of our trade with Canada and the extent of our security cooperation, the Canadians are probably our most important allies.

Everyone running for president should have to offer his thoughts on this subject.

Comments

Everyone running for president should have to offer his thoughts on this subject.

Candidate: We're going to pull out of NAFTA within 6 months if those danged Canadians don't improve their labor and environmental standards!!!

...

[Candidate's advisor, sotto voce: nevermind!]

Posted by Al | June 20, 2008 4:40 PM

Are you sure you want more U.S. politicians aiming to have something to say about Canadian affairs?

Posted by El Cid | June 20, 2008 4:41 PM

I was looking at the numbers the other day and exports account for about one-third of Canadian GDP. Pretty remarkable.

Posted by Dave | June 20, 2008 4:42 PM

I was looking at the numbers the other day and exports account for about one-third of Canadian GDP. Pretty remarkable.

Posted by Dave | June 20, 2008 4:45 PM

If not for the friendly relationship, think of how much more border you Yanks would have to fence and defend.

Plus someday soon you're going to want our fresh water. So be nice.

Posted by Ryan | June 20, 2008 5:20 PM

Well it's nice theat McCain wrote an op ed about US-Canadian relations--too bad it doesn't say anything substantive.

GWB & Co. have managed to bring US Canadian relations to the lowest point since 1815. Passports to cross from Detroit to Windsor? Sheesh . . .

Posted by rea | June 20, 2008 5:28 PM

Canada = really cool country. We're lucky to have them on our northern border. If only we had another Canada on our southern border.

Posted by kafka | June 20, 2008 5:32 PM

Had to get in that gratuitous jab at Mexico, eh kafka? Stay class you fuck.

Posted by Francisco The Man | June 20, 2008 5:58 PM

As a Canadian, I'm glad to see some attention on our most important bilateral relationship (and possibly yours as well). It certainly is nice to have the Senator talking about it.

However, I don't know how I feel about Senator McCain giving what was essentially a campaign speech from our capital.

Posted by Duncan | June 20, 2008 7:08 PM

Just imagine that your a Republican member of Congress, contemplating a President Obama with the powers they were willing to cede to Bush. . .

Posted by zic | June 20, 2008 8:56 PM

Indeed, perhaps the US should be a little more attentive to it's mild-mannered cousins to the north. Sure we share the world's longest undefended border & we're your biggest trading partner, not to mention, as Ryan notes, you're going to be wanting our fresh water... probably sooner than later.

But here's something I was surprised to learn & ashamed I didn't already know: Canada is the USA's largest supplier of oil & by a rather large margin, at that. Consider:

From the beginning of '07 up to the end of April '08, Canada exported close to 2 million barrels of crude oil a day to the US -- outpacing Saudi Arabia by roughly 1/2 million barrels (Mexico comes in a very close third to Saudi Arabia).

During the same period, Canada exported close to 2.5 million barrels of petroleum a day, consistently outpacing Saudi Arabia by a million barrels (again Mexico comes in a close third to SA, at some points surpassing them).

Something else to consider: Canada holds 16% of the world's oil reserves, second only to Saudi Arabia (23%). The US holds less than 3%. Oh my. (Additionally, Canada almost doubles every other countries' "Reserve Life", meaning we're putting more in than we're taking out at a higher ratio than anyone else.)

One last thing to reflect upon: over 99% of Canada's oil exports go to the US.

So. Canada is your biggest trade partner & oil exporter. On top of that, we're giving the US virtually all of our available oil output (& I'll assume, it's a deal that benefits the US over Canada). Pretty big of us, all things considered. So yeah, perhaps Canada-US relations should probably get a little more attention than they do.

Posted by raff | June 20, 2008 8:58 PM

So yeah, perhaps Canada-US relations should probably get a little more attention than they do.

Posted by raff

Still, there's the assumption that with increased attentions by U.S. politicians that this would somehow improve rather than worsen matters.

Posted by El Cid | June 20, 2008 9:06 PM

I also think McCain is trying to Bait Obama into saying the Problem with nafta is not Canada (AKA The White Country) but Mexico (The Latino Country)

Posted by Paul8148 | June 20, 2008 9:08 PM

"Canada holds 16% of the world's oil reserves"

We'll be invading you Tuesday.

Be ready to welcome us as liberators with flowers.

And we don't want to hear any bullshit from the French in Quebec.

And the next time I'm working up in Calgary, please do not slash my car tires because it has US plates.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | June 20, 2008 11:41 PM

Still, there's the assumption that with increased attentions by U.S. politicians that this would somehow improve rather than worsen matters.

As a Canadian, I'll second this by saying I want less attention paid. Simply by existing next to each other, an incredible economic synergy has built up between the two countries, and it gets fucked up every time politicians get involved.

As a side note, I'm curious: Prior to George W. Bush's first term, the first head of state that a new U.S. President would meet was Canada's Prime Minister, by long tradition. Bush, deliberately or not, broke that tradition by meeting with Vincente Fox of Mexico first. I wonder if Obama will restore the tradition.

Granted, When Bush took office, the P.M. was Jean Chretien, who was famously good friends with Bill Clinton. That might have explained it.

Posted by Justin JJ | June 21, 2008 12:15 AM

"Canada holds 16% of the world's oil reserves.

We'll be invading you Tuesday."

No doubt.

Assholes.

Posted by raff | June 21, 2008 12:26 AM

raff - Good post. I will say from another perspective that the centuries-long "good neighbor" policy has created a remarkably good synergy of trade and multi-phase cross-border movement of goods at intermediate steps for final, finished goods that other countries only wish they had as long...and are now just starting to realize (EU).
It is also good, noting Canada is our most important trade partner for vital resources, that Canada has excellent access to all US capital and technology to develop what it chooses to.

And it is also good, with Russia planting flags at the North Pole sea bottom and claiming sovereignity over most the Arctic for mineral resources, and China bellyaching how "unfair it is" that only 24 million people have "a whole half-continent full of oil, fresh water and other resources" and here China is with an Army and Reserves greater than the whole population of Canada outside Ontario and Quebec.. But whenever such musing begins, some scared advisors are quick to say "But Comrade Ziang, the instant we set one foot on Canadian soil, we are at war with the USA..."

It is good that Canada has all that fresh water, and I understand why Canadians consider it's world-leading supply of it an great resource - given water shortages in distant lands. But except for the SouthWest, the US is doing OK in clean, potable water and if we have to send H2O SW, it is easier and cheaper for us to use immense, unused supplies in Northern US states. (And even that is expensive and challenging and will take billions to set up to do - witness us being pretty helpless to stop excess fresh water problems in the Mississippi drainage basin, notably Iowa, Wisconsin as of today.. The unfortunate thing is nations like India, China, Bangladesh, and most the ME would love Canadian water - if only energy was dirt-cheap and transport of heavy bulk - millions of cubic meters daily - was possible by transocean pipeline or tanker.

But it is not.

Its like all that valuable, but presently useless (by factor of transportation cost) Saharan sand that China, Europe, and the USA would love to mountains of the stuff for harbors, concrete construction, rec beaches, aquifer and sewage filtering..

Posted by chris ford | June 21, 2008 1:53 AM

Matt,

When McCain says he will ween the US off of foreign oil ( a bizarre claim ), does he mean that he will work to reduce oil imports from Canada and Mexico?

If McCain deprives Mexico of its oil revs, then illegal immigration will explode more.

Maybe McCain's "foreign oil" gambit is just a coded attack on Ay-rabs - playing off the public's misconception that we get all our oil from the Gulf.

Posted by Comment | June 21, 2008 3:00 AM

Why does McCain go abroad - to Canada - to blame Americans first for NAFTA?

Maybe Obama can figure out a clever way to demagogue this.

Bush attacks Obama in Israel
McCain attacks Obama in Canada

Pattern?

Posted by Comment | June 21, 2008 3:05 AM

As another Canadian in comments, I would desperately hope that any discussion within the U.S. also at some point include the following two words: Maher Arar. Between his acse still being unresolved in the U.S., the aftermath of the friendly fire bombing in Afghanistan, and the aforementioned passport issues to cross the border, I know too many Canadians who desperately feel like we have been ignored in the shadow of Iraq/China/Russia/Mexico/etc.

We have needs too! Come be nice to us! We're really very friendly!

Posted by msmackle | June 21, 2008 8:33 PM