Editing Canada–United States relations (section)

== History ==

=== Colonial wars ===
{{Main|French and Indian Wars}}
[[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of European colonies in North America, c. 1750. Territorial claims by European powers were fought over during the [[French and Indian Wars]].]]
Before the [[Conquest of New France (1758–1760)|British conquest of French Canada]] in 1760, there had been a series of wars between the British and the French that were fought out in the colonies as well as in Europe and the high seas. In general, the British heavily relied on [[Militia (United States)|American colonial militia]] units, while the French heavily relied on their [[First Nations in Canada|First Nation]] allies. The [[Iroquois|Iroquois Nation]] were important British allies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas Morgan |first1=William |year=1926 |title=The Five Nations and Queen Anne |journal=Mississippi Valley Historical Review |volume=13 |issue=2|pages=169–189 |doi=10.2307/1891955 |jstor=1891955}}</ref> Much of the fighting involved ambushes and small-scale warfare in the villages along the border between New England and Quebec. The New England colonies had a much larger population than Quebec, so major invasions came from south to north. The tension along the border was exacerbated by religion, as the French Catholics and English Protestants had a deep mutual distrust.<ref>Howard H. Peckham, ''The Colonial Wars'' (1965)</ref> There was a naval dimension as well, involving [[privateer]]s attacking enemy merchant ships.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chard |first1=Donald F. |year=1975 |title=The Impact of French Privateering on New England, 1689–1713 |journal=American Neptune |volume=35 |issue=3|pages=153–165}}</ref>

England seized Quebec from 1629 to 1632, and Acadia in 1613 and again from 1654 to 1670; These territories were returned to France by the peace treaties. The major wars were (to use American names), [[King William's War]] (1689–1697); [[Queen Anne's War]] (1702–1713); [[King George's War]] (1744–1748), and from 1755 to 1763 the [[French and Indian War]] (known in Europe as the [[Seven Years’ War]]).

New England soldiers and sailors were critical to the successful British campaign to capture the French fortress of Louisbourg in 1745,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shortt |first1=S. E. D. |year=1972 |title=Conflict and Identity in Massachusetts: The Louisbourg Expedition of 1745 |journal=Social History/Histoire Sociale |volume=5 |issue=10 |pages=165–185}}</ref> and (after it had been returned by treaty) to capture it again in 1758.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnston |first1=A. J. B. |year=2008 |title=D-Day at Louisbourg |journal=Beaver |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=16–23}}</ref>

=== American Revolutionary War ===
{{Main|American Revolutionary War}}
[[File:Flag of the United Empire Loyalists.svg|thumb|The [[United Empire Loyalist]] flag, that is very similar to the Union Jack, was used by immigrants who remained [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyal to the British crown during the American Revolutionary War]]. In present-day Canada, the United Empire Loyalist flag continues to be used as symbol of pride and heritage for loyalist townships and organizations.<ref name="s891">{{cite web | title=The Loyalist Flag | website=UELAC | date=2021-12-06 | url=https://uelac.ca/monuments/loyalist-flag/ | access-date=2024-12-26}}</ref>]]
At the outset of the [[American Revolutionary War]], the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American revolutionaries]] hoped the [[French Canadians]] in Quebec and the Colonists in [[Nova Scotia]] would join their rebellion. They were pre-approved for joining the United States in the [[Articles of Confederation]]. When [[Invasion of Quebec (1775)|northeastern Quebec was invaded]], thousands joined the American cause and formed regiments that fought during the war; however, most remained neutral and some joined the British effort. Britain advised the French Canadians that the British Empire already enshrined their rights in the [[Quebec Act]], which the American colonies had viewed as one of the [[Intolerable Acts]]. The American invasion was a fiasco and Britain tightened its grip on its northern possessions; in 1777, a major British invasion into New York led to the surrender of the entire British army at Saratoga and led France to enter the war as an ally of the U.S. The French Canadians largely ignored France's appeals for solidarity.<ref>Mason Wade, ''The French Canadians, 1760–1945'' (1955) p. 74.</ref>

The American forces had much better success in [[Western theater of the American Revolutionary War|southwestern Quebec]], owing to the leadership of [[Virginia militia]] leader [[George Rogers Clark]]. In 1778, 200 men under Clark, supplied and supported mainly by Virginia, came down the [[Ohio River]] near [[Louisville, Kentucky]], marched across southern Illinois, and then captured [[Kaskaskia, Illinois|Kaskaskia]] without loss of life. From there, part of his men took [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]], but was soon lost to British Lieutenant Colonel [[Henry Hamilton (colonial administrator)|Henry Hamilton]], the commander at [[Fort Detroit]]. Clark later retook it in the [[Siege of Fort Vincennes]] in February 1779. Roughly half of Clark's militia in the theater were Canadian volunteers sympathetic to the American cause.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1797&context=facsch_papers#page=4|title="The Old Northwest Under British Control, 1763–1783" and "Indiana A Part of the Old Northwest, 1783–1800"|author=George W. Geib|date=1987 |pages=42–44|publisher=[[Butler University]]}}</ref>

In the end, America won its independence and the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] compelled Britain to cede [[Northwest Territory|parts of southwestern Canada]] to them. Following America's independence, Canada became a refuge for about an estimated 70,000 or 15% of [[United Empire Loyalist|Loyalists]] who either wanted to leave the U.S. or were compelled by Patriot reprisals to do so. Among the original Loyalists, there were 3,500 free [[African Americans]]. Most went to Nova Scotia and in 1792, 1,200 migrated to [[Sierra Leone]]. About 2,000 black slaves were brought in by Loyalist owners; they remained slaves in Canada until the Empire abolished slavery in 1833. Around 85% of the loyalists remained in the new United States and became American citizens.<ref>Thomas B. Allen, ''Tories: Fighting for the King in America's First Civil War'' (2011) p. xviii</ref>

=== War of 1812 (1812-1815) ===
{{main|War of 1812}}
The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] of 1783, which ended the [[American Revolutionary War]], called for British forces to vacate all their forts south of the [[Great Lakes]] border. Britain refused to do so, citing the failure of the newly independent [[United States]] to provide financial restitution for Loyalists who had lost property in the war. The [[Jay Treaty]] in 1795 with Great Britain resolved that lingering issue and the British departed the forts. [[Thomas Jefferson]] saw the nearby British presence as a threat to the [[United States]], and so he opposed the [[Jay Treaty]], and it became one of the major political issues in the United States at the time.<ref>Bradford Perkins, ''The First Rapprochement: England and the United States, 1795–1805'' (1955)</ref> Thousands of Americans immigrated to Upper Canada (Ontario) from 1785 to 1812 to obtain cheaper land and better tax rates prevalent in that province; despite expectations that they would be loyal to the U.S. if a war broke out, in the event they were largely non-political.<ref>{{cite book|first=George A.|last=Rawlyk|title=The Canada Fire: Radical Evangelicalism in British North America, 1775–1812|url=https://archive.org/details/canadafire0000unse|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/canadafire0000unse/page/122 122]|access-date=November 6, 2015|isbn=9780773512214}}</ref>
{{multiple image
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| image1 = 1812 War Declaration.jpg
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| footer = The United States Declaration of War against the British (left) and Governor [[Issac Brock]]'s proclamation issued in response to it in the [[Upper Canada|Province of Upper Canada]] (right)
| image2 = Proclamation Province of Upper Canada by Isaac Brock.jpg
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Tensions mounted again after 1805, erupting into the [[War of 1812]] (1812–1815), when the [[United States Congress]], approved/signed by the fourth [[President of the United States|President]] [[James Madison]] (1751–1836, served 1809–1817), declared war in June 1812 on Britain. The Americans were angered by British harassment of U.S. ships on the high seas and [[Impressment|seizure of 6,000 sailors from American ships]], severe restrictions against neutral American trade with [[First French Empire|France]], and British support for hostile [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes in [[Ohio]] and territories the U.S. had gained in 1783. American "honor" was an implicit issue. While the Americans could not hope to defeat the [[Royal Navy]] and control the seas, they could call on an army much larger than the British garrison in Canada, and so a land invasion of Canada was proposed as the most advantageous means of attacking the British Empire. Americans on the western frontier also hoped an invasion would bring an end to British support of [[American Indians in the United States|Native American]] resistance to [[Westward expansion of the United States|American expansion]], typified by [[Tecumseh]]'s coalition of tribes.<ref>Alan Taylor, ''The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies'' (2010).</ref> Americans may also have wanted to acquire Canada.{{sfn|Stagg|2012|pp=5–6}}<ref>George F. G. Stanley, ''War of 1812: The Land Operations'' (1983), p. 32</ref><ref>David Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler, ''The War of 1812'' (2004), p. 4</ref>{{sfn|Tucker|2011|p=236}}{{sfn|Nugent|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_zDQlAp4T4wC&pg=PA73 73], 75}}
[[File:Battle of Queenston Heights, Artist Unknown.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Queenston Heights]] by eyewitness James B. Dennis, depicts the American landing on October 13, 1812]]
Once war broke out, the American strategy was to seize Canada. There was some hope that settlers in western Canada—most of them recent immigrants from the U.S.—would welcome the chance to overthrow their British rulers. However, the American invasions were defeated primarily by British regulars with support from Native Americans and [[Upper Canada]] militia. Aided by the large Royal Navy, a series of British raids on the American coast were highly successful, culminating with an [[Burning of Washington|attack on Washington]] that resulted in the British burning of the [[White House]], [[United States Capitol|the Capitol]], and other public buildings. At the end of the war, Britain's American Indian allies had largely been defeated, and the Americans controlled a strip of Western Ontario centered on [[Amherstburg|Fort Malden]]. However, Britain held much of [[Maine]], and, with the support of their remaining American Indian allies, huge areas of the Old Northwest, including [[Wisconsin]] and much of [[Michigan]] and [[Illinois]]. With the surrender of Napoleon in 1814, Britain ended naval policies that angered Americans; with the defeat of the Indian tribes, the threat to American expansion was ended. The upshot was both the United States and Canada asserted their sovereignty, Canada remained under British rule, and London and Washington had nothing more to fight over. The war was ended by the [[Treaty of Ghent]], which took effect in February 1815.<ref>Mark Zuehlke, ''For Honour's Sake: The War of 1812 and the Brokering of an Uneasy Peace'' (2007) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] perspective.</ref> A series of postwar agreements further stabilized peaceful relations along the Canada–US border. Canada reduced American immigration for fear of undue American influence and built up the [[Anglican Church of Canada]] as a counterweight to the largely American [[Baptists|Baptist]] and [[Methodism|Methodist]] churches.<ref>W.L. Morton, ''The Kingdom of Canada'' (1969) ch 12</ref>

In later years, Anglophone Canadians, especially in Ontario, viewed the War of 1812 as a heroic and successful resistance against invasion and as a victory that defined them as a people. The myth that the Canadian militia had defeated the invasion almost single-handed, known logically as the "militia myth", became highly prevalent after the war,<ref name="Cleves Eustace Gilje Hale 2012 pp. 520–555">{{cite journal | last1=Cleves | first1=Rachel Hope | last2=Eustace | first2=Nicole | last3=Gilje | first3=Paul | last4=Hale | first4=Matthew Rainbow | last5=Morgan | first5=Cecilia | last6=Opal | first6=Jason M. | last7=Peskin | first7=Lawrence A. | last8=Taylor | first8=Alan | title=Interchange: The War of 1812 | journal=The Journal of American History | publisher=[Oxford University Press, Organization of American Historians] | volume=99 | issue=2 | year=2012 | issn=0021-8723| jstor=44306807 | pages=520–555 | doi=10.1093/jahist/jas236 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44306807 | access-date=Apr 4, 2024}}</ref> having been propounded by [[John Strachan]], [[Toronto|Anglican Bishop of York]].<ref name="Wood 2010 p. ">{{cite book | last=Wood | first=James A. | title=Militia Myths | publisher=UBC Press | publication-place=Vancouver | date=2010 | isbn=978-0-7748-1765-3 | oclc=473375581 |url=https://www.ubcpress.ca/asset/9466/1/9780774817653.pdf| page=12}}</ref>

=== Post War of 1812 and mid-19th century ===
In the aftermath of the War of 1812, pro-British conservatives led by Anglican Bishop [[John Strachan]] took control in Ontario ("Upper Canada") and promoted the Anglican religion as opposed to the more republican Methodist and Baptist churches. A small interlocking elite, known as the [[Family Compact]] took full political control. Democracy, as practiced in the United States, was ridiculed. The policies had the desired effect of deterring immigration from the United States. [[Rebellions of 1837|Revolts in favor of democracy]] in Ontario and Quebec ("Lower Canada") in 1837 were suppressed; many of the leaders fled to the US.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dunning | first1 = Tom | year = 2009 | title = The Canadian Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 as a Borderland War: A Retrospective | journal = Ontario History | volume = 101 | issue = 2| pages = 129–141 | doi = 10.7202/1065615ar | doi-access = free }}</ref> The American policy was to largely ignore the rebellions,<ref>Orrin Edward Tiffany, ''The Relations of the United States to the Canadian Rebellion of 1837–1838'' (1905). [https://www.amazon.com/Relations-United-Canadian-Rebellion-1837-1838/dp/1236388712/ excerpt and text search]</ref> and indeed ignore Canada generally in favor of the westward expansion of the [[American Frontier]].

The 1842 [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]] formalized the U.S.–Canada border in Maine, averting the [[Aroostook War]]. During the [[Manifest Destiny]] era, the "[[Fifty-Four Forty or Fight]]" agenda called for U.S. annexation of what became Western Canada; the U.S. and Britain instead agreed to a boundary of the 49th parallel. As harsher fugitive slave laws were passed, Canada became a destination for slaves escaping on the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref name="Cross 2010 p. ">{{cite book | last=Cross | first=L.D. | title=The Underground Railroad: The long journey to freedom in Canada | publisher=James Lorimer Limited, Publishers | series=Amazing Stories | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-55277-581-3 |page=intro}}</ref><ref name="CBC g717">{{cite web | title=Underground Railroad | website=CBC | url=https://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP8CH1PA3LE.html#:~:text=In%20all%2030%2C000%20slaves%20fled,white%20sympathizers%20who%20helped%20runaways.&text=Canada%20was%20viewed%20as%20a,black%20person%20could%20be%20free. | access-date=Apr 4, 2024}}</ref>

=== American Civil War ===
{{Main|Canada in the American Civil War}}
[[File:Stalbansraid.JPG|thumb|Confederate soldiers force a bank teller to pledge allegiance to the Confederate States of America while conducting the [[St. Albans Raid|raid at St. Albans, Vermont]]. The Confederate soldiers launched their raid from the [[Province of Canada]].]]
The British Empire was neutral during the [[American Civil War]]. About 40,000 Canadians volunteered for the [[Union Army]]—many already lived in the U.S., and a few for the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]].<ref>Robin W. Winks, "The Creation of a Myth: 'Canadian' Enlistments in the Northern Armies during the American Civil War", ''Canadian Historical Review'', 1958 39(1): 24–40.</ref>  However, hundreds of Americans who were called up in the draft fled to Canada.<ref>Adam Mayers, '' Dixie & the Dominion: Canada, the Confederacy, and the War for the Union'' (2003)</ref>

Several events caused strained relations between the British Empire and the United States, over the former's unofficial role in supporting the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]. [[Blockade runners of the American Civil War|Blockade runners loaded with arms]] came from Great Britain and made use of Canadian ports in [[the Maritimes]] to break through the [[Union blockade]] to deliver the weaponry to the Confederacy in exchange for cotton. Attacks were made on American merchant shipping by British-built Confederate warships such as [[CSS Alabama|CSS ''Alabama'']].<ref name="DWAD">{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/alabama-claims.htm|title=Alabama Claims, 1862–1872|website=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]}}</ref> On December 7, 1863, pro-Confederate Canadian sympathizers [[Chesapeake Affair|hijacked an American steamer and killed a crew member]] off the coast of [[Cape Cod]], [[Massachusetts]], and then used the steamer, originally intended as a [[blockade runner]], to flee back to the Maritimes where they were later able to escape justice for [[murder]] and [[piracy]]. [[Confederate Secret Service]] agents also used Canada as a base to attack American border towns, such as [[St. Albans Raid|St. Albans, Vermont on October 19, 1864]], where they killed an American citizen, robbed three banks of over US$200,000, then escaped to Canada where they were arrested but then released by a Canadian court to widespread American anger. Many Americans falsely suspected that the Canadian government knew of the raid ahead of time.<ref>Mayers, ''Dixie & the Dominion'' pp 105–116.</ref> American Secretary of State [[William H. Seward]] let the British government know that "it is impossible to consider those proceedings as either legal, just or friendly towards the United States."<ref>{{cite book|title=Congressional series of United States public documents|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oEtHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA71|year=1870|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=71}}</ref>

==== Alabama claims ====
{{Main|Alabama Claims}}
Americans were angry at Britain's perceived support for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Some leaders demanded a huge payment, on the premise that British involvement had lengthened the war by two years,<ref name="DWAD"/> a claim confirmed by post-Civil War historians and scholars.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/historians-reveal-secrets-of-uk-gunrunning-which-lengthened-the-american-civil-war-by-two-years-9557937.html|title=Historians reveal secrets of UK gun-running which lengthened the American civil war by two years|author=David Keys|date=24 June 2014|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Confederate Blockade Runners|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1933/april/confederate-blockade-runners|author=Paul Hendren|date=April 1933|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]}}</ref> Senator [[Charles Sumner]], the chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], originally wanted to ask for $2 billion in [[war reparations]], or alternatively the ceding of all of Canada to the United States.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jay|last=Sexton|title=Debtor Diplomacy: Finance and American Foreign Relations in the Civil War Era, 1837–1873|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TuepT3C0TCsC&pg=PA206|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=206|access-date=November 6, 2015|isbn=9780199281039}}</ref><ref>Theodore C. Blegen, "A Plan for the Union of British North America and the United States, 1866". ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 4.4 (1918): 470–483 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1896039.pdf online].</ref>

When American Secretary of State [[William H. Seward]] negotiated the [[Alaska Purchase]] with Russia in 1867, he intended it as the first step in a comprehensive plan to gain control of the entire [[Pacific Northwest|northwest Pacific]] Coast. Seward was a firm believer in [[Manifest Destiny]], primarily for its commercial advantages to the U.S. Seward expected [[British Columbia]] to seek annexation to the U.S. and thought Britain might accept this in exchange for the ''Alabama'' claims. Soon other elements endorsed annexation, they planned to annex [[British Columbia]], [[Red River Colony]] (Manitoba), and [[Nova Scotia]], in exchange for dropping the damage claims. The idea peaked in the spring and summer of 1870, with American expansionists, Canadian separatists, and pro-American Englishmen seemingly combining forces. The plan was dropped for multiple reasons. London continued to stall, American commercial and financial groups pressed Washington for a quick settlement of the dispute on a cash basis, growing Canadian nationalist sentiment in British Columbia called for staying inside the British Empire, Congress became preoccupied with [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]], and most Americans showed little interest in territorial expansion.<ref>David E. Shi, "Seward's Attempt to Annex British Columbia, 1865-1869." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 47.2 (1978): 217-238 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3637972 online]</ref>

The "[[Alabama Claims]]" dispute went to international arbitration. In one of the first major cases of arbitration, the tribunal in 1872 rejected the American claims for damages relating to the British blockade running but ordered Britain to pay $15.5 million only for damages caused by British-built Confederate ships.<ref name="DWAD"/> Britain paid and the episode ended in peaceful relations.<ref>Doris W. Dashew, "The Story of An Illusion: The Plan To Trade 'Alabama' Claims For Canada", ''Civil War History'', December 1969, Vol. 15 Issue 4, pp 332–348</ref>

=== Late 19th century ===
{{Main|Canadian Confederation|National policy|John A. Macdonald# Prime Minister of Canada}}
Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 in internal affairs while Britain retained control of diplomacy and defence policy. Before Confederation, there was an [[Oregon boundary dispute]] in which the Americans claimed the [[54th parallel north|54th degree latitude]]. The [[Oregon Treaty]] of 1846 largely resolved the issue, splitting the disputed territory along the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]] – the northern half became British Columbia, and the southern half eventually formed the states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[Oregon]]. 
[[File:Battle of Eccles Hill.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Eccles Hill]] in 1870. The American-based [[Fenian Brotherhood]] launched several raids into Canada in 1866 and 1870–71.]]
Strained relations with America continued, however, due to a series of small-scale armed incursions called the "[[Fenian raids]]" conducted by [[Irish American|Irish-American]] Civil War veterans across the border from 1866 to 1871 in an attempt to trade Canada for Irish independence.<ref>{{cite book |first= Yossi|last= Shain|title= Marketing the American Creed Abroad: Diasporas in the U.S. and Their Homelands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pqj8GFCg7MC&pg=PA53|year= 1999|publisher= Cambridge U.P.|page=53|access-date=November 6, 2015|isbn=9780521642255}}</ref> The American government, angry at Canadian tolerance of Confederate raiders during the [[American Civil War]] of 1861 to 1865, moved very slowly to disarm the [[Fenians]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sim |first1=David |title=Filibusters, Fenians, and a Contested Neutrality: The Irish Question and U.S. Diplomacy, 1848–1871 |journal=American Nineteenth Century History |date=September 2011 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=265–287 |doi=10.1080/14664658.2011.626161 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14664658.2011.626161 |issn=1743-7903}}</ref> The [[Fenian raids]] were small-scale attacks carried out by the [[Fenian Brotherhood]], an [[Irish Republican]] organization based among Irish Catholics in the United States. Targets included British Army forts, customs posts, and other locations near the border. The raids were small, unsuccessful episodes in 1866, and again from 1870 to 1871. They aimed to bring pressure on Great Britain to withdraw from Ireland. None of these raids achieved their aims and all were quickly defeated by local Canadian forces.<ref>Robert M. Groceman, "Patriot War and the Fenian Raids: Case Studies in Border Security on the US Canada Border in the Nineteenth Century" (US Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth United States, 2017) [https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1038696.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113133904/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1038696.pdf |date=November 13, 2020 }}.</ref>

The British government, in charge of diplomatic relations, protested cautiously, as Anglo-American relations were tense. Much of the tension was relieved as the Fenians faded away and in 1872 by the settlement of the [[Alabama Claims]], when Britain paid the U.S. $15.5 million for war losses caused by warships built in Britain and sold to the Confederacy.

After 1874 relations between Canada and the United States were largely amicable.<ref>P. B. Waite, ''Canada 1874 1896: Arduous Destiny'' (Oxford University Press, 1996). pp.200–209; Conrad Black, ''Rise to Greatness: The history of Canada from the Vikings to the present'' (2014) pp.395, 402, 409.</ref> Disputes over ocean boundaries on [[Georges Bank]] and fishing, whaling, and sealing rights in the Pacific were settled by international arbitration, setting an important international precedent.<ref>
{{cite book
|first=Mark|last=Kurlansky|title=Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World|url= https://archive.org/details/cod00mark|url-access= registration|year=1998|publisher=Penguin|page=[https://archive.org/details/cod00mark/page/117 117]|access-date=November 6, 2015|isbn=9781440672873}}
</ref> Longstanding minor boundary disputes regarding Alaska were made critical by the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] in the Yukon portion of Canada most easily reached through Alaska.<ref>Robert Craig Brown, ''Canada's national policy 1883-1900: a study in Canadian American relations'' (Princeton University Press, 1964) pp. 281-322. [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Canada_s_National_Policy_1883_1900/ySfWCgAAQBAJ?hl=en online]</ref>   In the Atlantic, the question of fishing rights led to long discussions among Canada, the United States, and Newfoundland.<ref>Thomas Hodgins, ''Fishery Concessions to the United States in Canada and Newfoundland'' (1907) [https://archive.org/details/cihm_79894/page/n5/mode/1up?view=theater online].</ref><ref>Charles S. Campbell, ''The Transformation of American Foreign Relations, 1865–1900'' (Harper and Row, 1976), pp.120–139.</ref>

Both sides raised tariffs on products imported from the other.  Canada reversed earlier free trade policies, introducing protective tariffs under its [[National Policy]] starting in 1879 to promote industrialization. Hopes for renewed reciprocity agreements to lower the tariff faded away.<ref>V.C. Fowke, “The National Policy-Old and New.” ''Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science / Revue Canadienne d’Economique et de Science Politique'' 18#3 , 1952, pp. 271–86. [https://doi.org/10.2307/138568 online]</ref> In the [[McKinley Tariff]] of 1890 the U.S. imposed higher duties on imports from Canada, which led to a backlash and the rejection of half-hearted proposals for a political union by which the U.S. would annex Canada.<ref>James Morton Callahan, ''American foreign policy in Canadian Relations'' (1937) pp.354-437.</ref><ref>Brown, ''Canada's national policy 1883-1900'', pp. 212–280.</ref><ref>Milton Plesur, ''America's Outward Thrust: Approaches to Foreign Affairs, 1865–1890'' (Northern Illinois University Press 1971),  pp.182–197.</ref>   The U.S. economy was growing much faster that the UK economy, and the results were a shift toward more Canadian trade with the U.S. and less with Britain. In 1880, the U.S. supplied 40% of Canada's imports; by 1900, this had risen to 60%.  The U.S. also became a major market for Canadian exports, especially raw materials. By 1900, the U.S. absorbed 45% of Canada's exports, up from 32% in 1870.  Increased trade was facilitated by expanding rail links, and the complementary nature of the two economies: U.S. manufactured goods flowed north, while Canadian raw materials and foodstuffs moved south.<ref>Otto J.  Firestone, "Canada's External Trade and Net Foreign Balance, 1851-1900." in ''Trends in the American Economy in the Nineteenth Century'' (1960): 757-771. [https://www.nber.org/system/files/chapters/c11719/c11719.pdf  online]</ref>

=== Early 20th century ===
==== Alaska boundary ====
{{Main|Alaska boundary dispute}}
[[File:Alaska boundary dispute.jpg|thumb|Border claims made during the [[Alaska boundary dispute]]. The border dispute was settled by arbitration in 1903, with the modern boundary marked by a yellow line.]]
A short-lived controversy was the Alaska boundary dispute, settled in favor of the United States in 1903. The issue was unimportant until the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] brought tens of thousands of men to Canada's Yukon, and they had to arrive through American ports. Canada needed its port and claimed that it had a legal right to a port near the present American town of [[Haines, Alaska|Haines]], Alaska. It would provide an all-Canadian route to the rich goldfields. The dispute was settled by arbitration, and the British delegate voted with the Americans—to the astonishment and disgust of Canadians who suddenly realized that Britain considered its relations with the United States paramount compared to those with Canada. The arbitration validated the status quo, but made Canada angry at London.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Munro | first1 = John A. | year = 1965 | title = English-Canadianism and the Demand for Canadian Autonomy: Ontario's Response to the Alaska Boundary Decision, 1903 | journal = Ontario History | volume = 57 | issue = 4| pages = 189–203 }}</ref><ref>David G. Haglund, and Tudor Onea. "Victory without Triumph: Theodore Roosevelt, Honour, and the Alaska Panhandle Boundary Dispute". ''Diplomacy and Statecraft'' 19.1 (2008): 20-41.</ref>

1907 saw a minor controversy over [[USS Nashville (PG-7)|USS ''Nashville'']] sailing into the Great Lakes via Canada without Canadian permission. To head off future embarrassments, in 1909 the two sides signed the [[International Boundary Waters Treaty]], and the [[International Joint Commission]] was established to manage the Great Lakes and keep them disarmed. It was amended in World War II to allow the building and training of warships.<ref>{{cite book|first=Spencer|last=Tucker|title=World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0nrSWUHx6sC&pg=PA142|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=142|isbn=9781598844573}}</ref>

==== Free trade rejected ====
{{Main|Reciprocity (Canadian politics)}}
[[File:Reciprocity pigs.jpg|thumb|A 1911 Conservative campaign poster warns that the big American companies ("trusts") will hog all the benefits of reciprocity as proposed by Liberals, leaving little left over for Canadian interests]]
Anti-Americanism reached a shrill peak in 1911 in Canada.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Baker | first1 = W. M. | year = 1970 | title = A Case Study of Anti-Americanism in English-Speaking Canada: The Election Campaign of 1911 | journal = Canadian Historical Review | volume = 51 | issue = 4| pages = 426–449 | doi=10.3138/chr-051-04-04| s2cid = 161614104 }}</ref> The [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] government in 1911 negotiated a [[Reciprocity (Canadian politics)|Reciprocity]] treaty with the U.S. that would lower trade barriers. Canadian manufacturing interests were alarmed that free trade would allow the bigger and more efficient American factories to take their markets. The [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservatives]] made it a central campaign issue in the [[1911 Canadian federal election|1911 election]], warning that it would be a "sell-out" to the United States with economic annexation a special danger.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Clements | first1 = Kendrick A. | year = 1973 | title = Manifest Destiny and Canadian Reciprocity in 1911 | journal = Pacific Historical Review | volume = 42 | issue = 1| pages = 32–52 | doi=10.2307/3637741 | jstor=3637741}}</ref> The Conservative slogan was "No truck or trade with the Yankees", as they appealed to [[Canadian nationalism]] and nostalgia for the British Empire to win a major victory.<ref>{{cite book|first=Lewis E.|last=Ellis|title=Reciprocity, 1911: a study in Canadian–American relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fz8fAAAAMAAJ|year=1968|publisher=Greenwood}}</ref><ref>Paolo E. Coletta, ''The Presidency of William Howard Taft'' (1973) pp. 141–152.</ref>

==== World War I ====
British Canadians were annoyed during a brief period from 1914 to 1916, when the United States insisted on neutrality and seemed to profit heavily, while Canada was sacrificing its wealth and its youth. However, when the U.S. finally declared war on Germany in April 1917, there was swift cooperation and friendly coordination, as one historian reports:<blockquote> Official co-operation between Canada and the United States—the pooling of grain, fuel, power, and transportation resources, the underwriting of a Canadian loan by bankers of New York—produced a good effect on the public mind. Canadian recruiting detachments were welcomed in the United States, while a reciprocal agreement was ratified to facilitate the return of draft evaders. A Canadian War Mission was established at Washington, and in many other ways, the activities of the two countries were coordinated for efficiency. Immigration regulations were relaxed and thousands of American farmhands crossed the border to assist in harvesting Canadian crops. Officially and publicly, at least, the two nations were on better terms than ever before in their history, and on the American side, this attitude extended through almost all classes of society.<ref>Hugh Ll. Keenleyside, ''Canada and the United States'' (1929) p 373. [https://archive.org/details/canadaunitedstat0000unse_t5a2/page/372/mode/2up online]</ref></blockquote>

==== Post-World War I ====
Canada demanded and received permission from London to send its delegation to the Versailles Peace Talks in 1919, with the proviso that it sign the treaty under the British Empire. Throughout the 1920s, Canada began assuming greater responsibility for its own foreign and military affairs. In 1927, the U.S. and Canada exchanged ambassadors for the first time with Canada appointing [[Vincent Massey]] and America [[William Phillips (diplomat)|William Phillips]] respectively. The postwar era saw the United States pursue isolationism while Canada became an active member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]], the [[League of Nations]], and the [[Permanent Court of International Justice|World Court]].

In July 1923, as part of his Pacific Northwest tour and a week before his death, U.S. President [[Warren Harding]] visited [[Vancouver]], making him the first American head of state to visit confederated Canada. The then Premier of British Columbia, [[John Oliver (British Columbia politician)|John Oliver]], and then mayor of Vancouver, [[Charles Tisdall]], hosted a lunch in his honor at the [[Hotel Vancouver]]. Over 50,000 people heard Harding speak in [[Stanley Park]]. A monument to Harding designed by [[Charles Marega]] was unveiled in Stanley Park in 1925.<ref>Warren G. Harding & Stanley Park. The History of Metropolitan Vancouver. ''Vancouver.ca'' [http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_harding.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916212018/http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_harding.htm|date=September 16, 2015}}. Retrieved June 11, 2017</ref>

Relations with the United States remained cordial until 1930 when Canada vehemently protested the new [[Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act]] by which the U.S. raised tariffs on products imported from Canada. Canada retaliated with higher tariffs of its own against American products and moved toward more trade within the British Commonwealth. U.S.–Canadian trade fell 75% as the [[Great Depression]] dragged both countries down.<ref>Richard N. Kottman, "Herbert Hoover and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff: Canada, A Case Study", ''Journal of American History'', Vol. 62, No. 3 (December 1975), pp. 609–635 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2936217 in JSTOR]
</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McDonald |first1=Judith |display-authors=etal |year=1997|title=Trade Wars: Canada's Reaction to the Smoot–Hawley Tariff", (1997) |journal=Journal of Economic History |volume=57 |issue=4|pages=802–826 |jstor=2951161 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700019549 |s2cid=154380335 }}</ref>

During the 1920s, the war and naval departments of both nations designed war game scenarios with the other as an enemy as part of routine training exercises. In 1921, Canada developed [[Defence Scheme No. 1]] for an attack on American cities and for forestalling an invasion by the United States until British reinforcements could arrive. Throughout the later 1920s and 1930s, the [[United States Army War College]] developed a plan for a war with the [[British Empire]] waged largely on North American territory: [[War Plan Red]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/29/AR2005122901412_2.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Peter |last=Carlson |title=Raiding the Icebox |date=December 30, 2005}}</ref>

[[Herbert Hoover]]'s meeting in 1927 with British Ambassador Sir Esme Howard agreed on the "absurdity of contemplating the possibility of war between the United States and the British Empire".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=Christopher M. |year=1997 |title=Thinking the Unthinkable: British and American Naval Strategies for an Anglo-American War, 1918–1931 |journal=International History Review |volume=19 |issue=4|pages=789–808 |doi=10.1080/07075332.1997.9640804}}</ref>
[[File:FDRatQueens.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] speaking at [[Queen's University at Kingston]]. Roosevelt spoke on the U.S. relations with Canada while there.]]
In 1938, as the roots of [[World War II]] were set in motion, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt gave a public speech at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, declaring that the United States would not sit idly by if another power tried to dominate Canada. Diplomats saw it as a clear warning to Germany not to attack Canada.<ref>Arnold A. Offner, ''American Appeasement: United States Foreign Policy and Germany, 1933–1938'' (1969) p. 256</ref>

=== World War II ===
The two nations cooperated closely in World War II,<ref>Galen Roger Perras, ''Franklin Roosevelt and the Origins of the Canadian-American Security Alliance, 1933–1945'' (1998)</ref> as both nations saw new levels of prosperity and a determination to defeat the [[Axis powers]]. Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] and President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] were determined not to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.<ref>Richard Jensen, "Nationalism and Civic Duty in Wartime: Comparing World Wars in Canada and America", ''Canadian Issues / Thèmes Canadiens'', December 2004, pp 6–10</ref> They met in August 1940 at Ogdensburg, issuing a declaration calling for close cooperation, and formed the [[Permanent Joint Board on Defense]] (PJBD).

King sought to raise Canada's international visibility by hosting the August 1943 [[Quebec Conference, 1943|Quadrant conference]] in Quebec on military and political strategy; he was a gracious host but was kept out of the important meetings by [[Winston Churchill]] and Roosevelt.

Canada allowed the construction of the [[Alaska Highway]] and participated in the building of the atomic bomb. 49,000 Americans joined the [[Royal Canadian Air Force|RCAF]] (Canadian) or [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] (British) air forces through the [[Clayton Knight Committee]], which had Roosevelt's permission to recruit in the U.S. in 1940–42.<ref>Rachel Lea Heide, "Allies in Complicity: The United States, Canada, and the Clayton Knight Committee's Clandestine Recruiting of Americans for the Royal Canadian Air Force, 1940–1942", ''Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 2004'', Vol. 15, pp 207–230</ref>

American attempts in the mid-1930s to integrate British Columbia into a united West Coast military command had aroused Canadian opposition. Fearing a Japanese invasion of Canada's vulnerable [[British Columbia Coast]], American officials urged the creation of a united military command for an eastern Pacific Ocean [[Theater (warfare)|theater of war]]. Canadian leaders feared [[American imperialism]] and the loss of autonomy more than a Japanese invasion. In 1941, Canadians successfully argued within the PJBD for cooperation rather than the unified command for the West Coast.<ref>Galen Roger Perras, "Who Will Defend British Columbia? Unity of Command on the West Coast, 1934–1942", ''Pacific Northwest Quarterly'', Spring 1997, Vol. 88 Issue 2, pp 59–69</ref>

==== Newfoundland ====
The United States built large military bases in [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] during World War II. At the time it was a [[Crown colony|British crown colony]], having lost dominion status. The American spending ended the depression and brought new prosperity; Newfoundland's business community sought closer ties with the United States as expressed by the [[Economic Union Party]]. Ottawa took notice and wanted Newfoundland to join Canada, which it did after hotly contested referendums. There was little demand in the United States for the acquisition of Newfoundland, so the United States did not protest the British decision not to allow an American option on the [[1948 Newfoundland referendums|Newfoundland referendum]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McNeil Earle |first1=Karl |year=1998 |title=Cousins of a Kind: The Newfoundland and Labrador Relationship with the United States |journal=American Review of Canadian Studies |volume=28 |issue=4|pages=387–411 |doi=10.1080/02722019809481611}}</ref>

=== Cold War ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-098967, Aufnahme der Bundesrepublik in die NATO.jpg|thumb|A NATO summit in Paris, May 1955. Both Canada and the United States are founding members of the military alliance.]]
Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], working closely with his Foreign Minister [[Louis St. Laurent]], handled foreign relations 1945–48 cautiously. Canada donated money to the United Kingdom to help it rebuild; was elected to the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]]; and helped design [[NATO]]. However, Mackenzie King rejected free trade with the United States,<ref>C. P. Stacey, ''Canada and the Age of Conflict: A History of Canadian External Policies. Volume 2, 1921–1948: The Mackenzie King Era'' (1982) pp 420–424.</ref> and decided not to play a role in the [[Berlin Blockade|Berlin airlift]].<ref>Hector Mackenzie,  "Golden Decade (s)? Reappraising Canada's International Relations in the 1940s and 1950s". ''British Journal of Canadian Studies'' 23.2 (2010): 179–206.</ref> Canada had been actively involved in the League of Nations, primarily because it could act separately from Britain. It played a [[Canada and the United Nations|modest role in the postwar formation of the United Nations]], as well as the [[International Monetary Fund]]. It played a somewhat larger role in 1947 in designing the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]].<ref>Don Munton and John Kirton, eds. ''Cases and Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy Since World War II'' (1992) pp 2–18.</ref> After the mid-20th century onwards, Canada and the United States became extremely close partners. Canada was a close ally of the United States during the [[Cold War]].

==== Vietnam War resisters ====
{{Further|Vietnam War resisters in Canada}}
While Canada openly accepted draft evaders and later deserters from the United States, there was never a serious international dispute due to Canada's actions, while Sweden's acceptance was heavily criticized by the United States. The issue of accepting American exiles became a local political debate in Canada that focused on Canada's sovereignty in its immigration law. The United States did not become involved because American politicians viewed Canada as a geographically close ally not worth disturbing.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/eccs/1479?lang=en#ftn1|title='Hell, they're your problem, not ours': Draft Dodgers, Military Deserters and Canada–United States Relations in the Vietnam War Era |first= Luke|last= Stewart|journal=Études Canadiennes / Canadian Studies |year=2018 |issue=85 |pages=67–96 |publisher= Open Edition |doi=10.4000/eccs.1479 |s2cid=181777562 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Nixon Shock 1971 ====
[[File:President Nixon Addresses a joint session of the Canadian Parliament, in Ottawa, Canada - NARA - 194761.tif|thumb|Richard Nixon [[joint address (Canada)|addresses a joint session]] of the Parliament of Canada, 1972]]
The United States had become Canada's largest market, and after the war, the Canadian economy became dependent on smooth trade flows with the United States so much that in 1971 when the United States enacted the "[[Nixon Shock]]" economic policies (including a 10% tariff on all imports) it put the Canadian government into a panic. Washington refused to exempt Canada from its 1971 New Economic Policy, so Canadian prime minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] saw a solution in closer economic ties with Europe. Trudeau proposed a "[[Third Option]]" policy of diversifying Canada's trade and downgrading the importance of the American market. In a 1972 speech in [[Ottawa]], Nixon declared the "special relationship" between Canada and the United States dead.<ref>Bruce Muirhead, "From Special Relationship to Third Option: Canada, the U.S., and the Nixon Shock", ''American Review of Canadian Studies'', Vol. 34, 2004 [https://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5008438189 online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323010245/http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5008438189 |date=March 23, 2009 }}</ref>

Relations deteriorated on many points in the Nixon years (1969–74), including trade disputes, defense agreements, energy, fishing, the environment, cultural imperialism, and foreign policy. They changed for the better when Trudeau and [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter]] found a better rapport. The late 1970s saw a more sympathetic American attitude toward Canadian political and economic needs, the pardoning of draft evaders who had moved to Canada, and the passing of old such as the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. Canada more than ever welcomed American investments during "the [[stagflation]]" that hurt both nations.<ref>Lily Gardner Feldman, "Canada and the United States in the 1970s: Rift and Reconciliation". ''The World Today'' 34.12 (1978): 484–492. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40395029 online]</ref>

===President Clinton, 1993-2001===
{{Main|Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration}}

Relations with Canada were friendly. The Clinton administration's policy toward Canada was primarily defined by economic integration and cooperation, with a strong emphasis on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The administration continued and expanded upon the close bilateral relationship between the United States and Canada, focusing on trade, economic growth, and regional stability.

The main issues in Canada–US relations in the 1990s focused on the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]], which was signed in 1994. It created a common market that by 2014 was worth $19 trillion, encompassed 470 million people, and had created millions of jobs.<ref>Hills, Carla A. "NAFTA's Economic Upsides: The View from the United States". ''Foreign Affairs'' 93 (2014): 122. [http://heinonlinebackup.com/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/fora93&section=19 online]</ref> Wilson says, "Few dispute that NAFTA has produced large and measurable gains for Canadian consumers, workers, and businesses". However, he adds, "NAFTA has fallen well short of expectations."<ref>Wilson, Michael. "NAFTA's Unfinished Business: The View from Canada". ''Foreign Affairs'' 93 (2014): 128. [http://www.relooney.com/NS3040/000_New_424.pdf online]</ref>

====NAFTA Implementation and Expansion====
[[File:President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas participate in the... - NARA - 186460.jpg|thumb|American, Canadian, and Mexican dignitaries initialing the draft [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] in October 1992]]

NAFTA was initially negotiated and signed by Republican President [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1992. Liberal opponents tried to block ratification by the U.S., Senate. Clinton, a Democrat.  worked with fellow Democrats to secure its ratification and signed it into law in 1993.  NAFTA created a free trade zone among the United States, Canada, and Mexico by eliminating most tariffs and trade restrictions, and included provisions for labor and environmental cooperation.  Clinton added supplemental agreements to address labor unions and environmental concerns, making NAFTA the first "green" trade treaty and the first to address labor laws, though with limited enforcement mechanisms.<ref>Andrew Glass, "Clinton signs NAFTA into law, Dec. 8, 1993". ''POLITICO'' (Dec. 8, 2018). [https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/08/clinton-signs-nafta-into-law-dec-8-1993-1040789 online]</ref>

====Trade and Economic Growth====
The administration viewed free trade with Canada as essential for long-term economic prosperity in North America. Clinton argued that NAFTA would increase exports, create jobs, and promote economic growth in all three member countries. The agreement removed barriers in sectors such as agriculture, textiles, and automobiles, and established mechanisms for dispute resolution and intellectual property protection.

While NAFTA was credited with increasing trade and job creation, it also faced criticism from labor unions and environmental groups over job losses and regulatory standards.

====Bilateral Cooperation====
Beyond trade, the Clinton administration maintained strong diplomatic and security ties with Canada, consistent with the longstanding partnership between the two countries. There were no major disputes or shifts in the broader relationship during Clinton's tenure, and the administration worked with Canada on issues such as border security and environmental protection. [[James J. Blanchard]], the U.S. ambassador to Canada in 1993–1996, secretly opposed  Quebec's separatist movement in the [[1995 Quebec referendum|Quebec referendum campaign of October 1995.]]  Blanchard engineered a last-minute statement supporting a united Canada by President Clinton.<ref>James Blanchard, ''Behind the embassy door: Canada, Clinton & Quebec'' (1998).</ref> As a result, five days before the vote,  Clinton, in response to a question asked by Canadian reporter [[Henry Champ]], recognized the referendum as an internal issue of Canada. However, he then gave a minute-long statement extolling the virtues of a united Canada, ending with "Canada has been a great model for the rest of the world, and has been a great partner of the United States, and I hope that can continue." While the statement provided relief in sovereignist circles for not being a stronger endorsement of the "No" position, the implication of Clinton, who was popular in Quebec and the leader of the province's most important trading partner, endorsing Canadian unity had strong reverberations in the electorate.<ref>Mario Cardinal, ''Breaking Point: Quebec, Canada, The 1995 Referendum'' (2005). pp.311–312.</ref><ref>Stéphane Paquin, "Quebec–US Relations: The Big Picture," ''American Review of Canadian Studies,''  (2016)  46:2, 149-161, DOI: 10.1080/02722011.2016.1185596</ref>

=== 21st century ===
{{See also|Operation Yellow Ribbon|Movements for the annexation of Canada to the United States#Proposals to annex Canada by Donald Trump|label 2=Proposals to annex Canada by Donald Trump}}

=== Migration history ===
{{Main|American immigration to Canada}}
From the 1750s to the 21st century, there has been an extensive mingling of the Canadian and American populations, with large movements in both directions.<ref>Marcus Lee Hansen, ''The Mingling of the Canadian and American Peoples. Vol. 1: Historical'' (1940)</ref>

New England [[Yankee]] settled large parts of [[Nova Scotia]] before 1775 and were neutral during the [[American Revolution]].<ref>John Brebner, ''The Neutral Yankees of Nova Scotia: A Marginal Colony During the Revolutionary Years'' (1937)</ref> At the end of the American Revolution, about 75,000 [[United Empire Loyalist]]s moved out of the new United States to the eastern Atlantic provinces and south of Quebec. From 1790 to 1812 many farmers moved from New York and New England into [[Upper Canada]] (mostly to Niagara, and the north shore of [[Lake Ontario]]). In the mid and late 19th century gold rushes attracted American prospectors, mostly to [[British Columbia]] after the [[Cariboo Gold Rush]], [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush]], and later to the [[Yukon|Yukon Territory]]. In the early 20th century, the opening of land blocks in the [[Canadian Prairies|Prairie Provinces]] attracted many farmers from the [[Midwestern United States|American Midwest]]. Many [[Mennonites]] immigrated from [[Pennsylvania]] and formed their colonies. In the 1890s some [[Mormons]] went north to form communities in [[Alberta]] after [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] rejected [[Mormonism and polygamy|plural marriage]].<ref>Marcus Lee Hansen, ''The Mingling of the Canadian and American Peoples. Vol. 1: Historical'' (1940); David D. Harvey, ''Americans in Canada: Migration and Settlement since 1840'' (1991)</ref> The 1960s saw the arrival of about 50,000 draft-dodgers who opposed the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>Renee Kasinsky, ''Refugees from Militarism: Draft Age Americans in Canada'' (1976)</ref>
[[File:Henry Sandham - The Coming of the Loyalists.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[United Empire Loyalists|Loyalists]] landing in present-day [[New Brunswick]]. Large movements of population occurred in both directions from the late-18th to 20th century.]]
Canada was a way station through which immigrants from other lands stopped for a while, ultimately heading to the U.S. Between 1851 and 1951, 7.1 million people arrived in Canada (mostly from [[Continental Europe]]), and 6.6 million left Canada, most of them to the U.S.<ref name="HEAEG1980"/> After 1850, the pace of industrialization and urbanization was much faster in the United States, drawing a wide range of immigrants from the North. By 1870, 1/6 of all the people born in Canada had moved to the United States, with the highest concentrations in New England, which was the destination of Francophone emigrants from Quebec and Anglophone emigrants from the Maritimes. It was common for people to move back and forth across the border, such as seasonal lumberjacks, entrepreneurs looking for larger markets, and families looking for jobs in the textile mills that paid much higher wages than in Canada.<ref>John J. Bukowczyk et al. ''Permeable Border: The Great Lakes Region as Transnational Region, 1650–1990'' (University of Pittsburgh Press. 2005)</ref>

The southward migration slacked off after 1890, as Canadian industry began a growth spurt. By then, the American frontier was closing, and thousands of farmers looking for fresh land moved from the United States north into the Prairie Provinces. The net result of the flows was that in 1901 there were 128,000 American-born residents in Canada (3.5% of the Canadian population) and 1.18 million Canadian-born residents in the United States (1.6% of the U.S. population).<ref>J. Castell Hopkins, ''The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs: 1902'' (1903), p. 327.</ref>

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, about 900,000 [[French Canadians]] moved to the U.S., with 395,000 residents there in 1900. Two-thirds went to mill towns in New England, where they formed distinctive ethnic communities. By the late 20th century, most had abandoned the French language (see [[New England French]]), but most kept the Catholic religion.<ref>Yves Roby, ''The Franco-Americans of New England'' (2004)</ref><ref name="HEAEG1980">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Barkan|first=Elliott Robert|editor-last=Thernstrom|editor-first=Stephan|editor-link=Stephan Thernstrom|editor-last2=Orlov|editor-first2=Ann|editor-last3=Handlin|editor-first3=Oscar|editor-link3=Oscar Handlin|title=French Canadians|page=392|encyclopedia=Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups|url=https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther|year=1980|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=0674375122|oclc=1038430174}}</ref> About twice as many [[English Canadians]] came to the U.S., but they did not form distinctive ethnic settlements.<ref name="HEAEG1980_2">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Brookes|first=Alan A.|editor-last=Thernstrom|editor-first=Stephan|editor-link=Stephan Thernstrom|editor-last2=Orlov|editor-first2=Ann|editor-last3=Handlin|editor-first3=Oscar|editor-link3=Oscar Handlin|title=Canadians, British|page=191|encyclopedia=Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups|url=https://archive.org/details/harvardencyclope00ther|year=1980|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=0674375122|oclc=1038430174}}</ref>