Canada-U.S. relations have been pretty harmonious — well, over the last century, anyhow. But it’s usually the tense moments that get remembered. Here, some choice pre-Trump low points in bilateral relations.
• 1775: Early in their rebellion, Americans invade the British Province of Quebec — and take over Montreal — keen to drive back the forces of King George III. The U.S. revolution is a success, but not the occupation, which ends the next year.
• 1812: As in “the War of.” As a British colony with a large American border, Canada (Upper and Lower) and the Atlantic colonies are instantly on the front line when U.S. renews hostilities against the empire. The territories endure repeated American invasion attempts, but the border is unchanged in the end.
• 1866: The Fenian Brotherhood, a U.S.-based organization pushing for Irish independence from Britain, begins crossing the America-Canada border to attack government outposts. Not much better liked by the U.S. government than by Britain’s, the Fenians — eventually suppressed by president Andrew Johnson — are credited with inadvertently helping to galvanize Canadians into confederating.
• 1890: Then-congressman William McKinley pushes for and gets a 50 per cent tariff on livestock, agriculture, and timber — key Canadian exports — aided by president Benjamin Harrison’s secretary of state, who hoped it would nudge Canada into annexation. Instead it deepens Canadian attachment to Britain, proves unpopular with U.S. voters and is undone in 1894.
• 1962: Nuclear missiles that the Soviet Union has placed in Cuba become an alarming flashpoint between the West and the Communist regimes. However, the U.S. and Canadian leaders have very different goals and outlooks. John F. Kennedy wants John Diefenbaker’s Canada to join the Pentagon in elevating its military alert status; even as the world fears nuclear conflagration, the PM delays for days. The president’s brother Bobby comments, “Canada offers all aid short of help.” Afterward, JFK offers aid of his own — to Canada’s Liberals, to help defeat Diefenbaker.
• 1971: President Richard Nixon announces a 10 per cent tariff on all imports and, in a break from recent treatment, refuses to spare Canada. He also threatens to cancel the U.S.-Canada Auto Pact. But he doesn’t, and the tariffs don’t even last the year.
