Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan

 

Canada and the United States celebrate their anniversaries next week – Canada on July 1 and the US on July 4. The two make an odd couple. One country has  huge territory but a small population. The other is smaller but has close to ten times more people. It’s a superpower and does not hesitate to bully other countries.



But it treats its smaller neighbor with kid gloves. It’s hard to think of any two countries that enjoy such good neighborly relations. Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once said that living next to the US is like sleeping with an elephant. Fortunately for Canada, the elephant is friendly. Canadians do not fear that the giant next door might invade them. On the other contrary, it protects them.



Canadians and Americans visit each other freely. Many cold- and snow-weary Canadians spend their winters in the southern US while Americans go north to fish, sail, ski or just relax.



The countries trade freely. Last year, the US exported $292.4 billion worth of goods to Canada while importing goods worth $324.2 billion.



This wasn’t always the case. In 1812 the US declared war against Great Britain and its North American possessions. The British, English- and French-speaking militias and Aboriginal Canadians fought back and repulsed the invaders. A peace treaty was signed in 1814 confirming the borders that had existed before the three-year war. Later, the British and French of North America joined hands to create Canada.



The British and French fought each other in Europe for centuries. But in North America they jointly built a confederation.



Canada and the US have similar origins - Europeans came looking for a new home. They didn’t encounter one Aboriginal state but hundreds of diverse communities. The newcomers signed treaties with some but did not always respect their pacts. Most Aboriginals were killed or confined to small reserves and their land was seized. But the Europeans also built states that respected laws and so the Aboriginal people have kept pressing for their rights.



Canada and the US are the only English-speaking countries in a largely Spanish-speaking hemisphere. The two are similar, but also different. Though both seized Aboriginal land, the US also fought others, like Spain and Mexico, to seize land. Canada refrained from such thuggery.



Canada’s founding nations spoke English and French and so it is bilingual with a province that’s mainly French. In the US Hispanics are a rapidly growing part of the population.  The US initially maintained African slaves. Many fled to Canada. They faced discrimination but received freedom and support.  America’s blacks were eventually emancipated following a civil war but still face marginalization and poverty. However, the US has elected a black president two times. In Canada, the governors-general have included Chinese and black refugees.



The US gained freedom by fighting a war and winning. It chose a presidential system of government. Canada won independence peacefully. It remains in the British Commonwealth, acknowledges the Queen as its head of state, has embraced the parliamentary system of government and is officially bilingual and bicultural.



French nationalists have clamored for a separate state in Quebec that would remain aligned with Canada. But Quebec voters have favored remaining in Canada.



To allay concerns of the Aboriginal people and of Canadians of different origins, like the Ukrainians, Poles and Germans, that bilingualism was turning them into second-class citizens, Canada officially instituted multiculturalism which defines Canada as a land of diverse cultures.



Although the US defines itself as a melting pot, both Canada and the US welcome people from all over the world who greatly enrich both countries. It wasn’t always so. Both the US and Canada discriminated against Jews, blacks and Asians. A head tax was imposed on the Chinese in Canada. A ship was turned back from Vancouver because it was bringing in Sikhs. Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution were barred from both countries. Citizens of Japanese and German origin were interned in both countries.



Prime Ministers John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney initiated laws that transformed Canada into a welcoming land that respects the rights of all citizens.



Canada and the US remain close allies, but Canada rejected US pressure on Cuba and maintained relations with it. It recognized Communist China over US objections. It refused to join the US in the Vietnam war and in invading Iraq. But when the US appealed to NATO for help saying it had been attacked on 9/11, Canada and NATO joined the US in attacking the Taliban.



Canadians have  a joke about their relations with the US. Once God was telling visitors about the lands He created and ultimately mentioned Canada – a vast land, huge resources, friendly people, lots of pure water, and clean air. “How come you gave Canada so much?” asked one visitor. “Where are the justice and the balance?” “Ah,” God replied. “I did give Canadians a lot. But, look, I also placed their country next to the United States.”

 

— Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge.