STANDING UNITED ON THE BIG ISSUES

Canada-U.S. relations collaborative, peaceful post-911

In the last two weeks, I looked back at some of the minor irritants in Canada-U.S. relations, but the truth is that on the big issues, our two countries have tended to collaborate.

For instance, the outpouring of sympathy for the Americans from both Canadian politicians and public was swift and genuine in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Canada immediately volunteered to participate in a police action to hunt down the terrorists in Afghanistan, “shoulder to shoulder” with the Americans.

American governments and citizens have been generous with their time and resources when Canada has experienced natural disasters.

Despite angst from some American politicians, our long history of jointly maintaining a peaceful and (mostly) efficient border is something to celebrate.

After the eight dismal, war-torn years of the George W. Bush presidency, the 2008 U.S. federal election seemed to promise hope for a new era in American domestic and international policy. The Democratic Party had two very bright people vying for the presidential nomination: a woman — Hillary Rodham Clinton — and an African-American, Barack Obama.

Both candidates represented a strong break with the past. The Republican candidate, war hero John McCain, seemed a caring and thoughtful person. Just for some spice, McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, provided cartoonists with unending comic fodder. We didn’t realize then that we were looking at an indicator of where the Republican Party was headed.

When Obama was first elected president, relations between Canada and the United States were a bit of a puzzle.

A rather liberal U.S. president and a fairly conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, were not a natural fit. There was a certain amount of fantasizing among large swaths of the Canadian populace about swapping leaders.

Truth be told, my cartoons of Obama were never very critical. That is because I tended to agree with his approach to many of the challenges he faced. Two initiatives stand out: his successful grappling with a financial crisis inherited from the previous administration; and his determination to establish some sort of affordable health care regime for the millions upon millions of uninsured Americans.