To imagine Canada and the United States as two countries whose relationship can be neatly defined by a line on a map is, in many respects, a fool’s errand.

The border is real. The countries are sovereign. Their interests sometimes collide. But the relationship between them has never been confined to geography. It runs through families, businesses, universities, churches, sports, entertainment, energy systems, supply chains and communities that existed long before today’s political disputes.

Seven of Canada’s 10 provinces share a border with the United States. That boundary stretches nearly 9,000 kilometres, making it the longest international border in the world. Two-thirds of Canadians live within 100 kilometres of it, while hundreds of thousands of people cross between the two countries every day.

This interconnectedness is not simply a product of modern globalization. It is part of the history of North America.

Communities existed across what became the international boundary before the boundary itself did. Indigenous nations were divided by colonial borders. Black freedom seekers travelled north from the United States into what is now Canada through the Underground Railroad. Families established homes on one side while maintaining relationships on the other. Commerce followed rivers, lakes, railways and roads.

Today, those ties are even harder to disentangle.

Consider the Windsor-Detroit corridor. The new Gordie Howe International Bridge has added another major crossing to a region through which a substantial share of Canada-U.S. truck trade moves. Every day, billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity depend upon the ability of goods, workers and consumers to cross that boundary efficiently.

Yet political rhetoric increasingly suggests that separation is possible or even desirable.

The current trade dispute exposes the contradiction. Canada and the United States can impose tariffs on each other, threaten retaliation and engage in increasingly hostile negotiations. But their manufacturers, farmers, energy producers and consumers remain deeply intertwined.

Economic interdependence does not disappear because politicians become angry.

Canadian oil continues to supply American refineries. Electricity flows across the border to support regional grids. North American auto manufacturing depends on parts crossing the border multiple times before a vehicle is completed. Communities on both sides rely on tourists, shoppers, workers and relatives making regular crossings.

None of this means Canada should surrender its sovereignty or its interests. Interdependence is not the same as dependence, and friendship does not require submission. Canada should diversify its trade, strengthen domestic industries and deepen relationships with Europe, Asia and other markets. It should negotiate firmly with Washington and defend its institutions.

But sovereignty does not require pretending that geography, history and economics can be erased.

The wiser objective is therefore not separation, but resilience within interdependence.

Canada and the United States are distinct nations with distinct interests. Yet after centuries of migration, commerce and shared history, the notion that they can simply disentangle themselves may be the greatest fool’s errand of all.

Editorial for September 3 2026