A Hard Question

One of the most frequent questions I (and other Canadians) get asked while traveling abroad is, "How does Canada feel about the United States?" As you can imagine, this is a very difficult question to answer. Our two countries are joined by over 300 years of history, as well as innumerable social and economic factors. But if I have to give a brief answer, I like to use a quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's prime minister from 1968-1984. In a 1969 speech to the Press Club in Washington D.C., Trudeau said:

Living next to [the United States] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

I like it because it's a great summary. For better or worse, Canada is affected by everything the United States does. It doesn't mean we can't be friendly and cooperative, it just means the relationship between our two countries is confusing, ambiguous, and sometimes tense.