Canada and the United States: Strengthening Our Alliance
“The United States and Canada share one of the most successful partnerships between any two nations in the world. We are proud to partner with Canada to promote democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law around the globe. ”
– U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, July 1, 2019
The Secretary will travel to Ottawa, Canada, on August 22, where he will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to discuss our strong bilateral relationship and ways to broaden and deepen our economic and security ties. While in Ottawa, he will also meet Canadian business leaders to discuss the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA ARE CLOSE FRIENDS AND ALLIES:
- Our two governments are in frequent contact to promote our shared goals of democracy, security, human rights, and prosperity in the region, and globally.
- The U.S. and Canada enjoy a long-standing friendship. Our first diplomatic presence in Canada was established as the Consulate in Halifax on September 17, 1833. We officially recognized Canada as an independent state on February 18, 1927, when Vincent Massey presented his credentials in Washington.
- The United States and Canada work collaboratively to secure and share the world’s largest land border – 5,525 miles – and 119 land ports-of-entry. The importance of our shared border is reflected in our countries’ $2 billion in bilateral daily trade, and the 400,000 people who cross the border every day.
- Our defense arrangements with Canada are more extensive than with any other country.
- Canada is the single-largest foreign supplier of energy to the United States. We operate an integrated electricity grid under jointly developed reliability standards.
- Canada is the fifth largest source of foreign students in the United States, with more than 25,000 Canadian students at U.S. higher education institutions.
OUR PARTNERSHIP PROMOTES ROBUST ECONOMIC GROWTH:
- The United States and Canada enjoy a robust bilateral economic relationship, with two-way trade in goods and services reaching more than $725 billion in 2018.
- The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner and largest foreign investor, and Canada is our second largest trading partner. We enjoy the world’s largest investment relationship, and U.S. foreign direct investment supports 1.6 million jobs in Canada.
- The United States and Canada, together with Mexico, are revitalizing trade to bring prosperity through freer markets and fairer trade through the United States-Mexico- Canada Agreement (USMCA).
- The USMCA will create high-paying jobs and grow the North American economy, while serving as a model for other such agreements. It contains the strongest and most comprehensive labor and environmental chapters of any trade agreement ever negotiated.
WE CHAMPION PEACE, DEMOCRACY, AND THE RULE OF LAW AROUND THE WORLD:
- The United States and Canada share deep respect for one another’s democratic values, standards, and traditions. Support for U.S.-Canada ties transcends political parties.
- We work together on the global stage to bring peace, security, democracy, and the rule of law around the globe, rallying international support for shared goals such as the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
- U.S. defense cooperation with Canada is robust and extensive, including through the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
- We are also working together to promote democracy and defend human rights by standing up to the authoritarian and corrupt regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.
