Avoiding the "HUUUGE" Crisis Predicted: Third-Party Issues and Canada-US Relations in the Age of Trump. Issue 1 (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: David, Charles-Philippe; Nadeau, Julie-Pier
• Is Part Of: American review of Canadian studies. Volume 50:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 116
• Page End: 127
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: United States of America (USA) -- Canada -- foreign policy -- alliances -- diplomacy; Comparative civilization -- Periodicals; Canada -- Civilization -- Periodicals; Canada -- Periodicals; United States -- Periodicals; 971
• DOI: 10.1080/02722011.2020.1743003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0272-2011

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Donald Trump's arrival in the White House has tested the special relationship between Canada and the US. Admittedly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has had a harder time connecting with the new president than with his predecessor, President Barack Obama, but the difficulties between Washington and Ottawa go far beyond personal affinities. More specifically, Trump's change of attitude toward both traditional allies of the United States and usual rivals has often put Canada in a difficult position. On the one hand, Canada cannot afford to antagonize its closest ally and commercial partner, but, on the other, it cannot sacrifice the other relationships it is trying to maintain across the globe. In an attempt to understand how Canada has managed to navigate this complicated relationship, this article will look at how Ottawa has dealt with third parties when its approach toward said parties differs from Washington's. Additionally, using situations from the first three years of the Trump presidency, we will try to determine if third-party issues tend to alleviate or accentuate tensions in the bilateral relationship between Ottawa and Washington.