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Response to “Discourse and Dialogue between Americans and Canadians—Who is Talking to Whom?”

Doug Nord’s contention that the discourse about American perceptions of Canada is dominated by Canadians is absolutely true. Comedian Rick Mercer might spend some time “Talking to Americans,” but we seem to spend an inordinate amount of time talking about Americans and comparing ourselves to them. It is not really surprising given that we have only one neighbor, which is also the world’s only superpower. The dynamics in the relationship would be quite different if we were next door to a small country like Luxembourg! Canadians are also preoccupied with existential questions about their identity and how they are regarded by their neighbors. The argument Nord advances is that we might be pleasantly surprised to find that Americans are actually quite knowledgeable about Canada and its people. He identifies groups of Americans who have accurate information and positive views about Canadians. Many are neighbors, people who live close to the border and interact much more with Canadians, even sharing our love of hockey; a strong bond indeed! Understandably, people who live in Texas or Louisiana, for example, would be less aware of their northern neighbor. Americans know that Canada and the United States trade with each other, but how many know the extent of that trade? It would probably come as a surprise to many that Canada is a leading export market for 35 of 50 States. Equally surprising would be the fact that Canada is the leading exporter of energy to the US, supplying 20 percent of the oil (1.9 million barrels per day) and 18 percent of natural gas. These facts are well-known in Washington and in the petroleum industry. The flow of goods (at approximately $1.6 billion a day) and the number of people crossing the border (at 300,000 per day) testify to the close connection between the two countries. Canadians are acutely aware of how important the trading relationship is, especially when there is friction between the two countries over such matters as soft-wood lumber exports. Arguably, these disputes are known to American actors directly involved, like companies and employees in the construction industry or American competitors of the Canadian lumber industry. Their perceptions are informed by first-hand experiences of the issue or of the industry involved. However, an important question is, to what extent does the knowledge and interest in Canada mentioned above ripple out to the rest of the American population? This is where the level of analysis question comes in. How extensive are the numbers we are looking at? It is not clear whether knowledge of Canada is widespread or confined to subsets of Americans who, for a variety of reasons, have an understanding of or interest in the country.