Major Books on Canada-US Relations
The Third Man: Churchill, Roosevelt, Mackenzie King, and the Untold Friendships That Won WWII
- This book was written by Neville Thompson, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, describes the details of Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King's unique relationship to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during, and throughout WW2.
- The book also plays particular attention to Canada's and Prime Minister King's role, especially in guiding the two other leaders during this time, by taking a closer look into King's diaries.
- For a review of the book:
The Presidents and Prime Ministers: Washington and Ottawa Face to Face: Myth of Bilateral Bliss 1867-1982
- This book was written in 1982 by Canadian journalist Lawrence Martin and traces the history of PM-President relations during a 115 year period, beginning at the founding of the Dominion of Canada in 1867 to the beginning of the Reagan era.
- For or a review of the book:
Canada and the Reagan Challenge: Crisis in the Canadian-American Relationship• Canada and the Reagan Challenge: Crisis in the Canadian-American Relationship,
- This book, written by Stephen Clarkson, was first published in 1982 and has gained great praise for its analysis of the 1981 crisis.
- The crisis of 1981 was when Ottawa and Washington went at each other over the economic nationalism of the National Energy Program and the Foreign Investment Review Agency.
- Several policy changes were happening during this time between Canada and the US including protectionist threats, trade negotiations, NORAD modernization, acid rain, etc and this book seeks to uncover whether the domination of American interests at the time sacrificed Canadian ones.
- For a review of the book:
Franklin Roosevelt and the Origins of the Canadian-American Security Alliance
- This book by Galen Roger Perras originally published in 1998 discusses the time period prior to and at the beginning of World War II and the topic of defence, which was of great importance for both Canada and the US during the time.
- For a review of the book:
Canada-US Relations: Sovereignty or Shared Institutions?
- This book is the 32nd volume (2018) in the Canada Among Nations series, which takes a close look at the Canada-US relationship through the lens of foreign policy, international/domestic affairs, and several longstanding policy issues in areas like trade, environment, energy, drug policy, corruption, immigration, etc.
Dispersed Relations: Americans and Canadians in Upper North America
- This book, written by Reginald C. Stuart and published by the Woodrow Wilson Center Press and John Hopkins University Press, discusses the deep Canada-US interdependence in a variety of areas: culturally, socially, economically and politically.
- This book provides context into current events and trends between Canada and the US (at the time of publication, which was 2007), which have deep linkages from the greater Canada-U.S. relationship.
- For an article of the book:
Reconcilable Differences: A History of Canada-US Relations
- This book, written by Stephen Azzi, examines the relationship between Canada and the United States from the birth of the two nations, up until present day. The book discusses the influence both countries have on each other and uncovers the relationship through a political, economic, social research, and historical lens.
- For a review of the book:
Forgotten Partnership: U.S.-Canada Relations Today
- In 1984, famous political scientist Charles Doran argues in his book Forgotten Partnership: U.S.-Canada Relations Today that the Canada-US relationship was at a crossroads based on structural asymmetries, divergent interests and strategic/tactical missteps in Ottawa and Washington.
- Doran argues that these fractures could undermine the postwar collaborative Canada-US relationship.
- For the 1984 version (multiple possible links):
- https://books.google.ca/books/about/Forgotten_Partnership.html?id=gzoNAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y
- https://www.amazon.ca/Forgotten-partnership-U-S-Canada-relations-today/dp/0801830338
- https://www.worldcat.org/title/forgotten-partnership-us-canada-relations-today/oclc/9646502
- https://openlibrary.org/books/OL19389975M/Forgotten_partnership
Forgotten Partnership Redux: Canada-U.S. Relations in the 21st Century
- Following the analytical framework of Doran's 1984 book, Forgotten Partnership Redux analyzes the Canada-US relationship under the same three dimensions being political-strategic, trade-commercial, and psychocultural.
- Leading experts on Canada-US relations revisit this discourse in the contemporary setting, while augmenting the scholarly debate initiated two decades prior and shining a light on the present/future of the Canada-US relationship.
- For the 2011 version:
- For a review of the book:
At Home and Abroad: The Canada-US Relationship and Canada's Place in the World
- This book, written by Patrick Lennox discusses the dualistic view of the Canada-US relationship through a North American lens and an international lens.
- Lennox argues the flaws in this understanding of the relationship, while also arguing that the way Canada engages with the world, is heavily determined by how it relates to the United States.
- Lennox applies structural theory to six major events in their shared history throughout his book.
Border Flows: A Century of the Canadian-American Water Relationship
- Border Flows by Lynne Heasley and Daniel Macfarlane is a book that examines the century-long effort by Canada and the United States to care for their shared waters, including the Great Lakes to the Northwest Passage to the Salish Sea.
Canada and the United States: Ambivalent Allies
- This book, by John Herd Thompson and Stephen J. Randall, discusses the Canada-US relationship through shared cultural, economic and political ties, while also understanding the impact of major events on their shared relationship.
The Impact of 9/11 on Canada-U.S. Trade
- This book, by Steven Globerman and Paul Storer, discusses the impacts of 9/11 and subsequent border entry security initiatives on both sides of the Canada-US border.
- The two authors discuss, through statistical analysis of trade flows, the effect on bilateral trade due to policies made after 9/11:
Canada and the United States: Differences that Count
- This is the fourth edition of the book Canada and the United States: Differences that Count by David M. Thomas and David N. Biette, which discusses how despite the close and seemingly similar relationship between Canada and the US, the two nations remain very different.
- This book address several policy areas between the two countries such as the economy, health care, foreign policy, Presidents and Prime Ministers, state-province comparisons, etc.
The Canada-US Border in the 21st Century: Trade, Immigration and Security in the Age of Trump
- This book, by John B. Sutcliffe and William P. Anderson, discusses the origin/history of the Canada-US border, provides an operational analysis of the border, and evaluates the border's future.
- Borders are key to the survival of modern states, they offer security against threats, and are often a symbol of politics and identity.
- This book discusses the topic of border studies and reform in the context of Canada-US.
Drifting Together: The Political Economy of Canada-US Integration
- The book Drifting Together discusses free trade and its effects on Canada-US relations beyond trade and investment and into the impacts on cultural, regional, social, defence, security and foreign policy, which extends beyond the Canada-US relationship.
An Independent Foreign Policy for Canada?: Challenges and Choices for the Future
- This book was written by several prominent political scientists and examines the history of Canadian foreign policy, diplomacy, security, economics and decision-making on policy issues through the lens of Canada's deeply interconnected relationship with the United States.
- The book raises questions over whether Canada should have its own independent foreign policy from the US and whether it even has the capacity to do so.
Seeking Equality: The Political Economy of the Common Good in the United States and Canada
- This book, written by John Harles, compares the economic inequality in the United States and Canada and uncovers the values and policy decisions that has led to a more unequal society in the United States as opposed to its northern neighbour.
- Harles draws upon the Canadian experience to explain why the gap between rich and the rest of society remains so broad and highly concerning, and what can be done about it.
With Faith and Goodwill: 150 Years of Canada-U.S. Friendship
- In 2017, the Canadian American Business Council published With Faith and Goodwill, which is a tribute to the 150 years of Canada-US friendship.
- The book gives insight into all the ups and downs the Canada-US relationship from Sir John A. MacDonald to Donald Trump and everyone in between.
- It contains collections of speeches, rarw photographs and special insight into the unique relationship shared by the two countries and their leaders over the years.
- The 2017 version was named The Hill Times: Best Books of 2017.
- In February 2022, the second edition of this book was released.
- For the 1st Edition by Arthur Milnes (2017):
- For the 2nd Edition by Arthur Milnes, Maryscott Greenwood, and Scott Reid (February 2022):
Kennedy and Diefenbaker: Fear and Loathing Across the Undefended Border
- This book by Knowlton Nash, uncovers the animosity that existed between US President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister of Canada John G. Diefenbaker during their time as leaders.
Camelot and Canada: Canadian-American Relations in the Kennedy Era
- This book, by Asa McKercher, discusses the Canada-US relationship during the President Kennedy and PM Diefenbaker years.
- Particularly with Canada refusing to back the US in their attempts to blockade Cuba, and how Canada played a smaller, yet important role, assisting the US militarily and diplomatically during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Dancing Around the Elephant: Creating a Prosperous Canada in an Era of American Dominance, 1957-1973
- This book, written by Bruce Muirhead, takes a unique stance on Canada's economic independence and opposes the traditional view that Canada let the US have the upper hand in foreign trade policy in the mid-twentieth century.
- This is supported by the sense of Canadian nationalism and anti-Americanism at the time and the election of Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 1968.
Thatcher, Reagan, Mulroney: In Search of a New Bureaucracy
- This book, written by Donald J. Savoie, discusses the attempts to modernize the bureaucracy by three leaders of the developed world, US President Ronald Reagan, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
- The three leaders all crossed paths as leaders and shifted ideologies through their market-oriented, conservative and capitalist views.
Additional Reading