The Beaver and
the Elephant
“Living next door to the
United States,” said Prime
Minister Trudeau, “is like
sleeping in the same bed as an
elephant. No matter how
friendly and even-tempered is
the beast, one is affected by
every twitch and grunt!” If the
elephant rolls over in its sleep,
the Canadian beaver must be
ready to jump. Most of the
time, the elephant and beaver
get along very well. Once in a
while, however, the elephant
gets a little grumpy, or the
beaver feels threatened. When
this happens, these oddly
matched neighbours sit down
and talk about their problems.
In many ways, the comparison made by
Truedeau was a good one. The United States is
certainly a giant – one of the richest and most
powerful nations in the world. Its population and
economic production are 10 times that of Canada.
The United States also greatly overshadows
Canada as a military power.
Throughout the twentieth century, Canadians
have been alarmed over the amount of control the
American “elephant” has on our lives. In the
1970s, the issue caused particular concern.
Canadians became acutely aware of how our
economy, culture, and foreign policy could all be
affected by the twitches and grunts of the
elephant.
1. Do you agree that the image of the beaver and the elephant is a good one
to describe Canadian-American relations? Why or why not? Provide specific
examples to support your answer.
2. What other images would you suggest? Justify your choices.
Why Study American History?
The U.S. is one of the most pervasive and influential nations in the world today. As one of our
largest trading partners and our neighbour to the south, our histories are uniquely intertwined with
one another.
Examine the following evidence which demonstrates how much the U.S. influences Canada.
Our relations with the United States
Canada-USA Economic Ties:
Canada has 30 million people, the USA has 300
million. Canada’s economy made $500 billion last
year, the American economy made over $3
trillion. Canada has approximately 75,000 in our
armed forces, the USA has over 500,000. Canada
is the USA’s number one trading partner and
vice-versa, however, almost 50% of Canada’s
economy depends on trade with the U.S., less
than 10% of the US economy depends on trade
with Canada. Canada buys over $205 billion from
American sources and sells over $250 billion to
the United States. Major Canadian exports to the
U.S. include: pulp, paper, timber, auto parts,
communications equipment, natural gas and oil.
These industries would be crippled if the U.S. cut
off trade.
Many of Canada’s largest companies are actually branch plants of American businesses. This means
that all major decisions for the company are made in the U.S., and the American parent company
often puts the interests of its American business ahead of those for its Canadian branch.
Some examples:
ESSO Texaco Ford IBM CanadaSears Canada Nortel -
82% American owned
79%
94%
100%
60%
41%
Sunoco GM Chrysler Alcan General Electric Canadian Pacific -
66% American owned
100%
100%
40%
92%
50%
Local examples of large businesses that are branches of American companies are:
Black & Decker, Proctor & Gamble, DuPont Chemicals, Parke-Davis-Warner-Lambert. American
companies have over $150 billion invested in Canadian branches. This is 75% of all foreign
investment in Canada. In total American companies own over 20% of Canada’s manufacturing and
resource industries. Conversely, Canadians have $125 billion invested in American companies.
Canada-USA Defense Issues:
Canada relies heavily on the U.S. military to defend us in case of a war with another super power.
Canada has no defense against nuclear weapons. We have two major defense agreements with the
U.S. - NATO and NORAD. The U.S. provides over 80% of the personnel and weapons for both
alliance systems. Over 75% of all Canadian Armed Forces equipment is American made, including
100% of our war planes. In the last forty years, every time the U.S.A. has gotten into a conflict,
American leaders have put heavy pressure on Canada to help out. Canada sent soldiers and
warships to help in the Korean War in the 1950's. We did not send soldiers to Vietnam, but we did
sell lots of war supplies to the U.S. When the U.S. became involved in the Gulf War in 1991
Canada agreed to send warships, aircraft, and troops to protect supply bases. Our planes and
soldiers were not part of the major battles, however, unlike British and European soldiers.
Canada-USA Cultural Ties:
The U.S. also dominates Canadian culture. Cable and satellite TV allow us to watch all the American
sports and entertainment we want. Almost all of our movies and videos come from the U.S., as
well as much of our modern music. Consider these:
- How many U.S. TV. shows and TV. stars can you name? How many Canadian TV. shows and
stars can you name?
- How many U.S. movies and movie stars can you name? How many Canadian movies and
movie stars can you name?
- How many U.S. sports stars and teams can you name? How many Canadian sports stars can
you name?
- How many U.S. rock stars and groups can you name? How many Canadian rock stars and
groups can you name?
- How many American news-makers, leaders, celebrities can you name? How many Canadian
news-makes, leaders, celebrity’s can you name?
- How many U.S. magazines can you name? How many Canadian ones?
Roughly ten percent of the U.S. entertainment industry is actually Canadian.
Look at the NHL, as well. To a growing extent the NHL is controlled by American team owners.
Canadian teams with small home markets can’t compete for players with big salaries, and the
teams end up with a new American home. Quebec and Winnipeg are already gone, Edmonton and
Calgary could be gone soon. Hamilton, Ontario has a great arena, and a lot of potential fans, but
they won’t pay the huge entry fees that US cities can pay to get a team. Should our governments
give these teams multi-million dollar subsidies to make sure that a substantial part of the NHL has
Canadian ownership? Should “Canada’s game” be owned and controlled by Americans?
Canada - USA Issues:
Population:
USA 300 million
Canada 30 million
Military Power
USA 1.5 million personnel
$277 billion spending
Canada: 60,000 personnel
$ 6.5 billion spending
Economy
USA $5,000 billion economy
Canada $500 billion economy
As Canadians, what are our options?
1. Join the USA
2. Stay independent politically but have even closer
co-operation with the USA
3. Keep things as they are
4. Take steps away from the USA