Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

A Tale Of Two Neighbours: In U.S. Election, Only The Southern One Gets The Heat

The Canadian Press, 01 Sep, 2016 11:35 AM
  • A Tale Of Two Neighbours: In U.S. Election, Only The Southern One Gets The Heat
HOLTVILLE, Calif. — In this election year, in this place, in the rare event someone mentions Canada it's liable to be as a joke.
John Hernandez offers an example of the genre.
 
He greets a visitor to the southern tip of California and, upon learning he's Canadian, Hernandez cracks a quip about the border — not the one nearby that everyone's talking about in the presidential election, but the other one, way up north.
 
"You gonna build a wall there too?" the retired state employee says upon encountering a Canadian reporter outside a cemetery in Holtville, Calif., a few kilometres from Mexico.
 
"No? Canada's not gonna have to build a wall and pay for it yourselves?"
 
He's being sarcastic.
 
He knows the answer to both questions is no. Like many here, he's noticed that only one of America's neighbours has become an issue in this election — and it's not the one closest to the North Pole.
 
"People know the disparity," he said. "Mexicans are treated differently."
 
This tale of two disparately discussed neighbours has experienced its dramatic climax with Donald Trump flying into Mexico City on a public-relations mission Wednesday, followed by an evening speech where he doubled-down on his hardline approach of deporting millions, building a wall, and forcing Mexico to pay for it.
 
Trump delivered a one hour, 15-minute speech about border security without mentioning Canada.
 
It's the story of the campaign. Even when he raises an issue that seriously affects Canada, the northern neighbour's an incidental bystander. Like his threat to cancel a trade deal in the country that buys 76 per cent of Canada's exports.
 
In a major trade speech where he announced a renegotiation-or-cancellation policy on NAFTA, Trump referred to Mexican factories taking jobs; his campaign issued a statement railing against Mexico's allegedly unfair trade practices. But the northern amigo? Not a word about it — negative or otherwise.
 
The dynamic played out at the Republican convention. The opening night's speeches featured anecdotes about Americans being killed by illegal immigrants from the south. In hallway interviews, delegates gushed about the northern neighbour.
 
They confessed they hadn't thought about it much during the election. Of the half-dozen or so people interviewed there, none were even aware the U.S. had a trade deal with Canada that predated NAFTA.
 
All agreed with bringing back the old Canada-U.S. accord if NAFTA got spiked.
 
A Texas convention-goer's eyebrows scrunched in surprise when a reporter asked about trade with Canada: "Why wouldn't we favour a trade deal with Canada? Canada's awesome," said Michele Montgomery. "I do lots of work with Canada... I like keeping my friends happy. And I have friends in Canada, so I'd like to see them happy."
 
One Republican deadpanned that he worried about the northern border. In the next split-second, he made clear he was joking: "No, we're not really worried about the Canadians," said Jeff Hommedahl, alternate delegate from Minnesota.
 
"Canadians are such nice people anyway. They're kind of like Minnesotans."
 
He said he supported trade with Canada because living standards are similar, as are salaries. He wouldn't expect American workers to lose jobs like they do because of commerce with poorer countries.
 
Loren Spivack said the purpose of border walls is stopping illegal migration: "The idea of a wall with Canada is kind of ridiculous," said Spivack, who displayed conservative-themed comic books outside the convention. "The border's 3,000 miles long — and there's not much of an illegal immigration problem with Canada."
 
Closer to the Rio Grande, some people see a double-standard.
 
Enrique Morones is an advocate for southern migrants who drops water bottles in the desert to help them survive. It's true migration is a far bigger issue in the south but, he says, terrorism is also a concern in the north.
 
He's calling racism on it.
 
"Why does Canada not have a wall? We don't want them to have a wall. But why not? Because they have the same background (as the U.S.) — Anglo-Protestant. If the people in Canada were brown or black, you bet there'd be a wall," said Morones, who leads the California-based group Border Angels. 
 
"But it's like a cousin — the first cousin of the United States. You're the same people. You're white. That's why there's no wall... It's a double-standard."
 
On rare occasions, U.S. media have questioned candidates about the differing rhetoric towards the two neighbours.
 
One politician got tangled in it.
 
NBC raised the issue with Scott Walker who replied that, yes, maybe a wall with Canada was worth considering. He was widely ridiculed; Trump brushed off the idea; and it was one of the final nails in the coffin of Walker's presidential campaign.
 
Canada's government is perfectly pleased to remain in the background of this story. Officials say there aren't any plans to follow Mexico's lead and invite the election candidates to Ottawa.
 
Meanwhile, the embassy in Washington is quietly engaged in behind-the-scenes outreach, and gathering research on how the players in the next White House and Congress might shape important issues.
 
"It doesn't matter who I meet with — they're always friendly. It's amazing the number of times you see somebody and they say, 'I can't do anything to Canada because my wife's Canadian, or, 'My daughter goes to U of T,'" says Canada's ambassador, David MacNaughton.
 
"At that level there's an enormous amount of goodwill... That's all good. (But) when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, the issues that matter, they're tough.... What's in it for them?... 'What's it mean to my district, my state?'"
 
In the U.S. Congress, potential trade disputes loom over Canadian dairy imports and softwood-lumber exports. 
 
North of the border, these pass for top-level bilateral irritants.

MORE National ARTICLES

Liberals Pledge Up To 600 Soldiers, $450 Million For UN Peacekeeping Operations

Liberals Pledge Up To 600 Soldiers, $450 Million For UN Peacekeeping Operations
The Liberal government is putting the United Nations on notice that Canada is ready to provide money and, more importantly, troops for peacekeeping missions around the world.

Liberals Pledge Up To 600 Soldiers, $450 Million For UN Peacekeeping Operations

Ontario Police Close Investigation Into Death Of 19-Year-Old Soldier

Ontario Police Close Investigation Into Death Of 19-Year-Old Soldier
Police in Ontario say their investigation into the death of a 19-year-old soldier from Nova Scotia has concluded.

Ontario Police Close Investigation Into Death Of 19-Year-Old Soldier

B.C. Wildfire Costs Top $100 Million, But Still Less Than Half Of 2015 Expenditures

B.C. Wildfire Costs Top $100 Million, But Still Less Than Half Of 2015 Expenditures
Information officer Claire Allen of the BC Wildfire Service says that is less than half the amount spent in B.C. over the same period last year.

B.C. Wildfire Costs Top $100 Million, But Still Less Than Half Of 2015 Expenditures

Cause Of Earthquakes That Shook A New Brunswick Village For Months Is A Mystery

Cause Of Earthquakes That Shook A New Brunswick Village For Months Is A Mystery
Stephen Halchuk at Earthquakes Canada said the kind of earthquake swarm that began rumbling under the village of McAdam in February is unusual but not unheard of.

Cause Of Earthquakes That Shook A New Brunswick Village For Months Is A Mystery

Biggest Lottery Win In Saskatchewan: Woman Managed To Keep $60 Million A Secret

Biggest Lottery Win In Saskatchewan: Woman Managed To Keep $60 Million A Secret
Mary Wernicke of Neville says she had "a feeling" the day she learned she had won the Lotto Max $60-million jackpot of Aug. 12.

Biggest Lottery Win In Saskatchewan: Woman Managed To Keep $60 Million A Secret

Elusive Snake Finally Coaxed Out Of Drain Pipe Under Victoria Street

Elusive Snake Finally Coaxed Out Of Drain Pipe Under Victoria Street
VICTORIA — A reclusive reptile that has been living in a storm drain below the streets of Victoria now has a new home.

Elusive Snake Finally Coaxed Out Of Drain Pipe Under Victoria Street