Dale Cairns Thomson. https://reporter-archive.mcgill.ca/Rep/r3116/memoriam.html
While the relationship between Canada and the United States has always been a relatively peaceful one, it hasn’t been completely without tensions. In light of the trade war between the two nations, it is worthwhile to look back at how previous generations saw this relationship and see what lessons can be learned from the past. Pierre Trudeau described Canada’s relationship with the most powerful country in the world as “sleeping with an elephant.”
Dale C. Thomson was all too familiar with this relationship, having launched a centre for postgraduate and postdoctoral research into Canadian studies at Johns Hopkins University. In 1970, he spoke to the Empire Club of Canada about this relationship and how to navigate being situated next to the largest force in geopolitics.
He began his speech by describing the ways in which the two nations are different, dispelling the notion that they are indistinguishable. The first thing he mentions is how much safer he and his wife feel in Canada as opposed to the U.S. “The morning paper carries on the same page a description of the weather, and the list of crimes that have been committed in town in the past twenty-four hours,” he points out. “Most people have a better chance of making the crime columns than the society page.” He also mentions that the traffic in the U.S. is worse, the race problem is more dramatic than Canada’s language problem, and the postal system is slower.
While he says that not all of the differences between the two nations are in Canada’s favour, Americans have a much more difficult time identifying these differences. “Americans have more difficulty than Canadians in distinguishing the differences between the two countries,” he said. “That is largely because the communications flow is mainly South-North, and because most Americans are relatively shut off from the outside world.” He says that many Americans feel that Canada is like America 40 years ago — not to say that it is 40 years behind, but that it has the opportunity to avoid the same mistakes that the U.S. made in building its nation.
He says that living next to the U.S. offers unique opportunities for this reason, but that Canada must be willing to take advantage of it. “We have to decide what we want to emulate, and what we want to
improve upon, or even do differently,” he said. “Too often, it seems to me, Canadians are inclined either to plunk for the ‘American way’, or to reject it completely. It takes a lot more maturity–and in my view makes a lot more sense–to avoid either of those extremes.”
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Thomson says that instead of rejecting American influence in Canada and denying the reality of our economic dependency, Canada should take full advantage of this relationship, maximizing its advantages and minimizing its disadvantages. “So what should we do – close the border?” he asked. “Keep out American ideas? That would certainly be self-defeating and would turn Canada into an economic and cultural backwater. And our chances of survival as a nation would be still further diminished. Once again, I think the only solution is to take maximum advantage of the Canadian-American relationship.”
Thomson says that Canada must be realistic about its place in the world and avoid overemphasizing its own importance in world affairs. “This approach requires of Canadians an objectivity, and a realistic assessment of their own country, that is not always present,” he said. “Canadian nationalism has always had a strong tinge of anti-Americanism. That is perhaps inevitable, but it does make it more difficult to make the kind of rational choices I have been talking about.”
With this in mind, Thomson spoke about how Canada can best exert its influence on the world. The goal of his “Center of Canadian Studies” in Washington is to answer this question and create realistic policy goals. “My objection to the demand of some Canadians that Canada be treated ‘just like any other nation,’ that we adopt a more ‘arm’s-length’ approach in our dealings with the United States, is that one would be sacrificing these advantages for something much less valuable in terms of Canadian self-interest,” he said. “They would have us give up this ‘inside track’ in Washington; they would also sacrifice the ‘inside view’ of what goes on in what is still the most powerful country in the world. Many countries in the world would like to be in our place and to have a ‘special relationship’ with Washington.”
Other Speeches about U.S-Canada Relations
The Relations of Canada, the Motherland and the United States Birge, Cyrus A. February 18, 1904
Canada & The United States—Partners in Freedom Hopkins, John J. October 18, 1951
Canada-U.S. Relations in the New Era; A Diplomat’s View de Chastelain, General John June 23, 1993
The Road to the Future: the U.S.-Canada Relationship Giffin, His Excellency, Gordon April 16, 1998
Building The World’s Best Friendship: Future Directions for the Canada/U.S. Alliance Her Excellency Kelly Craft, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, April 4, 2018
Borderline: How Canada Can Matter More to the United States – and the Rest of the World Edward Greenspon, Janice Stein September 18, 2024